US 11,697,177 B2
Laser processing method and laser processing apparatus
Koji Funaoka, Tokyo (JP); Masayuki Saiki, Tokyo (JP); and Takashi Inoue, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Sep. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/480,144.
Application 17/480,144 is a division of application No. 17/289,235, granted, now 11,548,099, previously published as PCT/JP2018/044411, filed on Dec. 3, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0001493 A1, Jan. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. B23K 26/382 (2014.01); B23K 26/0622 (2014.01); B23K 26/14 (2014.01); B23K 26/073 (2006.01); B23K 26/402 (2014.01); B23K 103/16 (2006.01)
CPC B23K 26/382 (2015.10) [B23K 26/0622 (2015.10); B23K 26/073 (2013.01); B23K 26/1462 (2015.10); B23K 26/402 (2013.01); B23K 2103/172 (2018.08)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A laser processing apparatus for laser processing of a workpiece, the laser processing apparatus comprising:
a processing head to irradiate the workpiece with a pulsed laser light to form a plurality of through-holes extending through the workpiece to divide the workpiece into a processed product and an offcut, the workpiece being made of a base material and a fiber reinforced composite material, the fiber reinforced composite material containing fibers having a thermal conductivity and a processing threshold higher than physical properties of glass fibers;
a driver to move at least one of the workpiece and the processing head in a predetermined cutting direction during the irradiation;
a controller to control irradiation of the workpiece with the pulsed laser light; and
a nozzle to emit, during the pulsed laser light irradiation, a jet of gas from outside of an optical axis of the pulsed laser light toward the optical axis from the side of the processed product toward a processing point of the workpiece and the offcut, wherein
the pulsed laser light has a pulse width smaller than 1 ms and an energy density capable of forming each of the through-holes by a single pulse, and
each of the through-holes is formed by a single irradiation with the pulsed laser light.