Efficient Laser Image Engraving by Work Area Sectioning and Multi-laser Head Cooperation: A Conceptual Study

초록

In the machining of large size parts, one of the most important problems is the long processing time. Hence, it is very important to find new methods to save the processing time of the large part machining. This research presents the idea of a cooperative laser engraving system in which a work area is divided into multiple sections and the sections are distributed to multiple different laser heads. The different laser heads work on their given sections simultaneously and all finished works are integrated to complete a target geometry in a reduced amount of time compared to the traditional method of engraving by a single laser head. This research aims to study the feasibility of the new idea and adoptability of the idea for the industrial use. By adopting two laser heads and some basic algorithms developed in this research, the new cooperative engraving method was able to finish the engraving in about 73% of the time of the engraving by a single laser head and about 60% by further improving the machining algorithm. In terms of the energy consumption, all of the different algorithms using 2 laser heads consumed similar amount of energy of about 5 kWh whereas the engraving by a single laser head consumed about 3 kWh. The main findings of this research are that the new idea of area sectioning strategy could be very efficient and effective method for large part machining and the idea can be further developed for the realistic applications. Some issues arising from the cooperative machining system and future research topics are also discussed.

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