Method of making spring washer with laser beam

{
  "publication_number": "US5015820A",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A",
  "title": "Method of making spring washer with laser beam",
  "abstract": "It is a method of making spring washers by means of a laser beam and a spring coil; the laser beam is focused perpendicularly at the spring coil in a 1/3 depth from the surface of the spring coil; a relative movement between the laser beam and the spring coil is made during cutting the spring coil.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of making a spring washer comprising the steps of: positioning a laser adjacent a spring coil, said spring coil serving as stock from which a plurality of individual spring washers are to be cut, said spring coil further including a central axis; directing a laser beam emitted from said laser perpendicular to and intersecting with said spring coil central axis; focusing the laser beam into said spring coil at a depth of one-third of a diameter of said spring coil; and moving said laser relative to said spring coil central axis so as to cut said spring coil into a plurality of individual spring washers."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The spring washers have widely been used in mechanical parts, and have become indispensable parts in the mechanical field. According to the conventional method of making spring washers, a steel wire is first wound into a spring coil, and then the spring coil is cut, with a punching machine, into a plurality of spring washers; however, the conventional method of making spring washer results in a considerable noise, which would badly affect the working efficiency of washer. Moreover, since the working speed of a punching machine is limited, the production efficiency would be bottlenecked thereby, and the quality of the products cannot easily be controlled at a given level.\n\nThis invention relates to a method of using laser to cut a spring coil into a plurality of spring washers. The prime object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing method to replace the punching method of making spring washer with a view of improving the product quality and the efficiency of production. The major feature of the present invention is to use a laser beam to aim at the axis of a spring coil perpendicularly, and the laser beam is focused to a point about 1/3 in depth from the surface of the coil. During cutting operation, the spring coil moves axially and relatively to the laser beam.\n\nFIG. 1 is a front view of the processing tools according to the method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a spring wash made according to the method of the present invention.",
  "cpc": [
    "B23K 26/364",
    "F16B 39/24"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B23K 26/36",
    "F16B 39/24"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "IND TECH RES INST"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "LIOU CHUEH-HORNG"
  ],
  "filing_date": "1990-05-25",
  "publication_date": "1991-05-14",
  "grant_date": "1991-05-14",
  "priority_date": "1990-05-25",
  "application_number": "US-52885190-A",
  "family_id": "24107449",
  "citations": [
    "JPS59150682A",
    "JPS59202195A",
    "JPS6096383A"
  ]
}