Control apparatus for a three-dimensional laser working machine and three-dimensional laser working machine

A control apparatus for controlling a three-dimensional laser working machine that includes a head structure having a nozzle, and capable of preventing working points from shifting when a rotational axis and an attitude axis are rotated, the control apparatus determining a tip position and an attitude of the nozzle by a teaching operation and carrying out work based on the determined tip position, the control apparatus comprising:

• a unit that calculates a nozzle direction vector from current angles of the rotational axis and the attitude axis at a teaching point;
• a unit that calculates a variation of an angle in the attitude axis between its value at teaching points and an amount of an angle for the rotational axis to be rotated at the teaching point so that X and Y directions of the nozzle direction vector are kept constant according to the variation of the angle in the attitude axis;
• and
• a unit that controls the rotation of the rotational axis based on the amount of the angle calculated, wherein
• when the teaching point is moved to a new teaching point accompanying a rotation of the attitude axis from the previous teaching point, the rotation of the rotational axis is controlled so that a positionally orthogonal relationship between the nozzle and a workpiece is maintained according to the amount of the angle calculated.