1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing machines and more particularly, to a laser processing machine having a cutting guide.
2. Description of the Related Art
When cutting a glass substrate for LCD panel, a cutting wheel is rotated on the glass substrate to form fine cut groves on the surface of the glass substrate, and then a bending force is applied to the glass substrate to break the glass substrate along the cut grooves. According to this cutting method, the broken edge of the substrate is uneven and has cracks. Laser means may be used to substitute for the cutting wheel. By means of projecting a laser beam onto the surface of a glass substrate, the heat and energy of the laser beam are concentrated on the surface of the glass substrate, and therefore the glass substrate breaks along the traveling path of the laser beam subject to the effect of the stress.
However, either a cutting wheel or a laser beam is applied, the cut edge is not perfectly straight and, a deficit angle or cracks will be found in the cut edge.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a laser processing machine, which achieves high cutting accuracy and obtains excellent product quality.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser processing machine, which achieves high-speed processing.
To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the laser processing machine is adapted for processing a workpiece along a predetermined traveling path. The laser processing machine comprises a laser device adapted for generating a laser beam onto the workpiece and moving the laser beam along the traveling path, an ultrasonic apparatus adapted for generating a ultrasonic wave, and a guide member arranged near and movable with the laser device along the traveling path and adapted for transferring the ultrasonic wave onto the workpiece along the traveling path. By means of the double-processing effect of the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam, the laser processing machine achieves the objects of high cutting precision, excellent product quality and fast processing speed.
Referring to
The laser device 20 is controlled to generate a laser beam 22 that is projecting onto the surface of the glass substrate 12 and the laser beam 22 is moving along a straight path. When the laser beam 22 is projecting onto the surface of the glass substrate 12, a cooling fluid supply device 24 ejects a jet of cooling fluid onto the glass substrate 12 at the rear side of the incident point of the laser beam 22.
The guide member 30 is a tubular member having a conical bottom side, thereby defining a relatively greater inlet 32 at the top side and a relatively smaller outlet 34 at the bottom side. The guide member 30 is filled up with water. The guide member 30 is disposed adjacent to the laser device 20 at one side in front of the path of the traveling path of the laser beam 22. The outlet 34 is kept in proximity to the top surface of the glass substrate 12.
The ultrasonic apparatus 40 is adapted for generating an ultrasonic wave and transmitting the generated ultrasonic wave into the inlet 32 of the guide member 30 so that the water in the guide member 30 works as transfer medium to transfer the ultrasonic wave out of the outlet 34 to the glass substrate 12. The guide member 30 is moved with the laser device 20 along the traveling path of the laser beam 22 when the ultrasonic wave is being transferred out of the outlet 34 to the glass substrate 12.
When operating the laser processing machine of the aforesaid first embodiment to cut the glass substrate 12, the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic apparatus 40 is transferred to the glass substrate 12, forming a line of stress zone. The internal stress in the line of stress zone is greater than the other area of the glass substrate 12. When the ultrasonic wave is moving along the traveling path and being transferred to the glass substrate 12, the laser beam 22 of the laser device 20 is being projected onto the glass substrate 12 and moved along the line of stress zone, i.e., the ultrasonic wave guides the laser beam 22, therefore the energy of the laser beam 22 is applied to the line of stress zone to increase the internal stress in the line of stress. By means of effect of the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam, the glass substrate 12 breaks straightly along the line of stress.
Because the glass substrate 12 breaks directly following the step of the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam 22, no external bending force is necessary to break the glass substrate 12. After cutting, the cut edge is smooth, neither deficit angle nor crack will be found. Further, the small working size of the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam 22 allows precise setting of the size and location of the stress zone, assuring a precise cutting work. Further, the time in which the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam works on the glass substrate 12 is short, saving much the processing time.
Therefore, by means of the double-processing effect of the ultrasonic wave and the laser beam, the invention achieves the objects of high cutting accuracy, excellent product quality and fast processing speed.
To obtain a clean processing environment, the guide member can be arranged in the form shown in
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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97104047 | Feb 2008 | TW | national |