An improved laser cutting apparatus is provided that optimizes the amount of time required to perform all of the required cuts in a piece of sheet material. The optimization minimizes the amount of rapid-travel movement of the laser head, and virtually eliminates all head-up/head-down movements of the laser head. In one embodiment, the present invention performs a method that accepts NC code that has already been created by a conventional software product produced by a CAD/CAM vendor, and analyzes that NC code to create an optimized part program. The NC code is broken down and analyzed as a series of individual shapes to be cut by the laser head. Once the required shapes are known, a “sweep” is made to determine how many cut-outs are in each “band” being analyzed across the surface of the sheet material to be cut. The number of bands and the types of sweep are varied to analyze different possibilities of rapid-travel distance while still eliminating all head-up/head-down movements of the laser head. The order in which the cut-outs are to be cut within a particular band is analyzed, and the placement and direction of the lead-in for each of the cut-outs are determined. Each “sweep-type” for multiple numbers of bands are investigated so as to calculate the rapid-travel distance for each of the possibilities, thereby determining the minimum rapid-travel distance possible for the particular series of cut-outs to be made on this sheet material.

Method and apparatus for a cutting system for avoiding pre-cut features

A method for simultaneously cutting and welding ultra-thin foils having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches wherein two ultra-thin films are stacked and clamped together. A pulsed laser such as of the Neodymium: YAG type is provided and the beam of the laser is directed onto the stacked films to cut a channel through the films. The laser is moved relative to the stacked foils to cut the stacked foils at successive locations and to form a plurality of connected weld beads to form a continuous weld.

Method for laser welding ultra-thin metal foils

A method of welding an ultra-thin foil to the edge of a thicker sheet to form a vacuum insulation panel comprising the steps of providing an ultra-thin foil having a thickness less than 0.002, providing a top plate having an edge and a bottom plate having an edge, clamping the foil to the edge of the plate wherein the clamps act as heat sinks to distribute heat through the foil, providing a laser, moving the laser relative to the foil and the plate edges to form overlapping weld beads to weld the foil to the plate edges while simultaneously cutting the foil along the weld line formed by the overlapping beads.

Simultaneous laser cutting and welding of metal foil to edge of a plate

A thin film conductive line is formed between MR pads on an MR head for protecting an MR sensor from electrostatic discharge (ESD) during assembly steps between row level fabrication of the head and prior to merge of a head stack assembly with a disk stack assembly. The conductive line may have a reduced thickness delete pad. A laser beam having a fluence sufficient to sever the conductive line at the delete pad but insufficient to damage or cause debris from structure underlying or surrounding the conductive line is used to sever the conductive line. The method traverses minimum energy, short laser pulses at a high pulse rate across the width of the conductive line so that each laser pulse melts conductive material across the line, the melted material withdrawing from the melted area and being heaped on top of adjacent portions of the delete pad by surface tension and the melted material cooling to room temperature before the next pulse so that there is no cumulative heating and therefore no damage to or debris from the underlying structure. The conductive material of the line is incrementally plowed to each side of a severed path by successive overlapping laser pulses so that when the series of laser pulses has traversed the width of the delete pad the conductive line has been severed.

Method of laser cutting a metal line on an MR head

An apparatus comprises a fixture for positioning a first sheet metal part in proximity of a second sheet metal part so that each sheet metal part has one surface facing the other sheet metal part across a gap and one surface facing away from the other sheet metal part, wherein at least one of the sheet metal parts comprises galvanized steel. A laser beam delivery device applies a laser beam to one of the facing away surfaces. A feed wire source provides a feed wire comprising a supplemental wire and a reactive agent at an intersection of the laser beam and the one facing away surface. The apparatus affects relative movement between the one facing away surface and the laser beam to provide a laser weld between the two sheet metal parts.

Welding process and apparatus

A method of simultaneously cutting and welding metal, especially relatively thin sheets of metal, utilizing laser energy. The invention uses surface tension in the globule created at the site of the impingement of the laser beam on the work to form finished edges on both sides of the line of cut. A laser beam surrounded by a gaseous shield is used, the gas removing some of the molten metal but leaving sufficient to form the beads which comprise the finished edges on both sides of the cut. Using compressed air, as compared to an inert gas such as helium or argon, as the shield gas produces a significant cost savings at the "price" of some reduction in quality due to oxidation.

Robert R. Ulrich

Papers

Laser cutting and welding of sheet metal using a shield of compressed air