Large scanning field laser concurrent drilling system with a five-axis independent control for special-shaped holes.

Abstract

Five-axis laser scanning technology is an effective drilling method for special-shaped holes. Due to a gap in laser angle-of-incidence (AOI) control within a large scanning field, current technologies are challenging for fabricating large-size holes or special-shaped hole arrays. In this paper, a large scanning field five-axis laser concurrent drilling system was proposed. The laser AOI was independently controlled using two pairs of synchronous deflection mirrors. The laser control deviations under a large scanning field were investigated systematically by simulation and experiment. By establishing a complete correction method, the laser AOI control within a scanning field diameter of up to 35 mm was achieved. A series of special-shaped holes were fabricated concurrently on a 3.6 mm thick glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), verifying that the AOI can be controlled by the five-axis laser scanning system. Our work provides a novel method to increase the scanning field of the five-axis laser scanning technology, expanding the application scope of the five-axis laser processing.