System and method of workpiece alignment in a laser milling system

Abstract

A method is provided for aligning a workpiece in a laser drilling system. The method includes: determining position data for two or more target alignment markers residing on a movable workpiece holder, where the target alignment markers are defined in relation a drilling pattern for the workpiece and indicate a target workpiece position; placing a workpiece on the movable workpiece holder; measuring position data for alignment markers associated with the workpiece, thereby determining an actual workpiece position; and computing a translation angle between the actual workpiece position and the target workpiece position simultaneously with computing a translation distance between the actual workpiece position and the target workpiece position. The method may further include adjusting the workpiece based on the computed translation angle and translation distance, thereby aligning the workpiece in the laser drilling system.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.