Claims
- 1. A processing cell for laser peening, said cell comprising:
- an enclosure that substantially defines the processing cell, said enclosure containing a beam path for laser peening a contained workpiece;
- a transparent overlay material applicator disposed within said enclosure; and
- a cleaning system for clearing said beam path of transparent overlay material and debris prior to a laser peening operation.
- 2. The processing cell of claim 1 in which said cleaning system comprises an vapor exhaust connected to said enclosure for removing vapor therefrom.
- 3. The processing cell of claim 2 in which said vapor exhaust includes a filter.
- 4. The processing cell of claim 1 in which said cleaning system comprises a gas supply connected to said enclosure for injecting gas into said enclosure.
- 5. The processing cell of claim 1 in which said cleaning system comprises a liquid removal system connected to said enclosure for removing liquid from the processing cell.
- 6. The processing cell of claim 5 in which said liquid removal system includes a filter.
- 7. The processing cell of claim 5 in which said liquid removal system is connected to said transparent overlay material applicator and communicates at least some of the liquid removed from the enclosure to said transparent overlay material applicator.
- 8. The processing cell of claim 1 further comprising a workpiece manipulator disposed within the cell for moving workpieces within said enclosure.
- 9. The processing cell of claim 1 further comprising a sound suppression system.
- 10. A processing cell for laser peening, said cell comprising:
- an enclosure that substantially defines the processing cell;
- a transparent overlay material applicator disposed within said enclosure;
- a vapor exhaust connected to said enclosure for removing vapor therefrom;
- a liquid removal system connected to said enclosure for removing liquid from the processing cell; and
- a workpiece manipulator disposed within the cell for moving workpieces within said enclosure.
- 11. The laser processing cell of claim 10 in which said enclosure includes a port for entry of a laser beam.
- 12. The laser processing cell of claim 11 further comprising an air knife operationally oriented with said port to inhibit transparent overlay material from passing through or depositing on said port.
- 13. The laser processing cell of claim 10 in which said liquid removal system is a drain.
- 14. The processing cell of claim 10 in which said liquid removal system is connected to said transparent overlay material applicator and communicates at least some of the liquid removed from the enclosure to said transparent overlay material applicator.
- 15. The processing cell of claim 10 in which said gas supply is a fresh air source.
- 16. A processing cell for laser peening, said cell comprising:
- an enclosure that substantially defines the processing cell;
- a transparent overlay material applicator disposed within said enclosure; and
- a monitoring device disposed within said enclosure for monitoring a parameter of a laser peening process.
- 17. The processing cell of claim 16 further including an air knife operationally connected to said monitoring device.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/000,777, filed Dec. 30, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,035, entitled PROCESS CHAMBER FOR LASER PEENING by the same inventors as the instant application and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
000777 |
Dec 1997 |
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