Laser High Speed Control provides CNC/oscillator interface

Available on C4000i-B 4,000 W, CO2 laser oscillator, Laser High-Speed Control provides servo-to-beam integration and data transfer speeds of 125 [micro]m. It features interface that transmits laser power command data at control cycle of 125 [micro]s by connecting CNC and laser oscillator with fiber optic FANUC Servo Serial Bus I/O. Synchronization between servos and beam allows for reduced position gap between cutting head position and beam on/off command.

High Speed Laser Interface Between CNC and Laser Oscillator Provides Improved Accuracy in Laser Processing
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, JULY 12, 2007 GE Fanuc Automation, a unit of GE Industrial, today announced the availability of its new Laser High-Speed Control product. The unit provides tight servo to beam integration so that the laser control is synchronized with the servo system for higher speed and improved accuracy in laser processing. The control is available on the C4000i-B laser, a 4000 watt laser oscillator, providing the machine with improved beam quality, better beam mode stability and high-speed laser control.

With data transfer speeds of 125 [micro]m, the lag between beam on/off commands has been reduced by 16 times, therefore improving the synchronization between servo and beam to reduce position gap.

"Laser High-Speed Control uses the servo system to control the C4000i-B at a very high speed and tight integration with the moving axes," said Paul Webster, GE Fanuc CNC Product Manager. "This allows for much improved speed and precision in the cutting process. Improvements in cutting precision and maximum speed are achieved and scrap is reduced by eliminating over cutting."

The laser interface has been improved to transmit the laser power command data at high speed by connecting the CNC and laser oscillator with the fiber optic FANUC Servo Serial Bus (FSSB) I/O. The high-speed fiber optic network improves both speed and accuracy of laser processing by tightly integrating the CNC, servos and laser oscillator. This feature transmits the laser power command data from the CNC to the laser oscillator at the control cycle of 125 [micro]s.

The control of the C4000i-B 4000 watt CO2 laser is tightly synchronized with the servo control because the same interface is used for the controlled axes of the laser-processing machine. The improvements to the speed of the laser control cycle and the tight synchronization between the servos and beam allow for reduced position gap between the cutting head position and beam on/off command producing faster processing, higher accuracy and less scrap.

This tight integration is only possible by using a FANUC system where the CNC, servo amplifiers, motors and CO2 laser oscillator is from one company. The end result is higher speed and higher precision laser cutting when using the C4000i-B CO2 laser with the high speed laser control option.



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