The Importance of Laser Cutting Head Sensor

In the laser cutting process, the distance between the cutting head and the work piece and the perpendicularity between the nozzle and the work piece surface are two extremely important factors, which directly affect the processing quality.  

In order to improve the cutting quality and reduce the generation of waste products, the laser cutting machine needs to install some special sensors on the cutting head to ensure that it can produce stable and consistent cutting quality and increase process safety.

The laser cutting head equipped with sensors can automatically detect changes and adjust the height according to the changes when the workpiece shape changes and uneven obstacles appear on the surface, so that it can always keep the same distance from the workpiece surface and process materials faster without continuous supervision.

The process of automatic detection involves one of the most basic measurement work-displacement measurement, which is realized by displacement sensor. According to whether the sensor is in contact with the measured workpiece, the displacement sensor can be divided into two types: contact type and non-contact type.

The non-contact sensor, sometimes called proximity sensor, was first used as a proximity switch, that is, when the detected object and the sensitive probe are close to a certain distance, the switch signal is given.

The current proximity sensor has been developed to not only detect the presence of an object, but also give the distance from the object to the sensitive probe, and provide information about the workpiece shape and spatial position, Because it can be used to measure the displacement of moving objects, this type of sensor is also called non-contact displacement sensor.

Commonly used displacement sensors include magnetostrictive displacement sensor, eddy current displacement sensor, capacitive displacement sensor, inductor displacement sensor, etc.

At present, the displacement sensors used at home and abroad are basically capacitive type, whose structure and shape are compatible with the machining head, and are equipped with a detection signal processing unit. Compared with the contact sensor, the non-contact sensor has fast dynamic response speed, low hysteresis error, or even zero, while ensuring high resolution.

About HGLASER：

HGLASER is the pioneer and leader of laser industrial application in China, and the authoritative provider of global laser processing solutions. We comprehensively layout the construction of laser intelligent equipment, measurement and automation production lines, and smart factories to provide an overall solution for intelligent manufacturing.

We deeply grasp the development trend of manufacturing industry, constantly enrich products and solutions, adhere to exploring the integration of automation, informatization, intelligence and manufacturing industry, and provide various industries with laser cutting systems, laser welding systems, laser marking series, laser texturing complete equipment, laser heat treatment systems, laser drilling machines, lasers and various supporting devices special equipment for laser processing and plasma cutting equipment, as well as the overall plan for the construction of automatic production lines and smart factories.