Laser-plasma arc metal cutting apparatus
AssigneeThe ESAB Group, Inc.
InventorsJoseph V. Warren, Jr., Chester E. Stanley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A metal cutting apparatus which comprises a longitudinally moveable gantry and a transversely moveable carriage which is mounted on the gantry. The carriage in turn mounts a laser cutting head and a plasma arc cutting head mounted in a parallel, side-by-side arrangement. The apparatus may thus be programmed to operate either the laser cutting head or the plasma arc cutting head as the gantry and carriage move in a predetermined path above the underlying workpiece. The laser generator is mounted in the gantry so that the beam is transported to the laser head with minimal bends and turns. The apparatus may also include a second carriage, which mounts a second laser cutting head and second plasma arc cutting head, so as to permit simultaneous cutting along two cut lines.
Claims10
An apparatus for cutting metal workpieces comprising
- at least one table for supporting a workpiece in a fixed location,
- a gantry mounted for back and forth movement across the one table in a longitudinal direction, said gantry comprising a pair of transversely separated housings and a support beam extending transversely therebetween,
- a carriage mounted to said support beam for back and forth movement across the one table in a transverse direction,
- a laser cutting head and a plasma arc cutting head each mounted to said carriage in a side by side relationship,
- a laser beam generator mounted to one of said housings of said gantry and means for transporting the generated beam to said laser cutting head so as to operate the laser cutting head,
- a plasma control module and means operatively connecting the plasma control module to said plasma arc cutting head so as to operate the plasma arc cutting head, and
- control means for selectively moving the gantry in the longitudinal direction and selectively moving the carriage in the transverse direction, while operating either the laser cutting head or the plasma arc cutting head, so as to cut a workpiece positioned on said one table.
An apparatus for cutting metal workpieces comprising
- at least one table for supporting a workpiece in a fixed location,
- a gantry mounted for back and forth movement across the one table in a longitudinal direction, said gantry comprising a pair of transversely separated housings and a support beam extending transversely therebetween,
- a first carriage mounted to said support beam for back and forth movement across the one table in a transverse direction,
- a second carriage mounted to said support beam for back and forth movement across the one table in the transverse direction,
- a first laser cutting head mounted to said first carriage,
- a second laser cutting head mounted to said second carriage,
- a first laser beam generator mounted to one of said housings of said gantry and means for transporting the generated beam to said first laser cutting head so as to operate the first laser cutting head,
- a second laser beam generator mounted to the other of said housings of said gantry and means for transporting the beam generated by said second laser beam generator to said second laser cutting head so as to operate the second laser cutting head, and
- control means for selectively moving the gantry in the longitudinal direction and selectively moving each of the first and second carriages in the transverse direction, while selectively operating either one or both of the first and second laser cutting heads so as to cut a workpiece positioned on said one table.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.