Method and apparatus for hole drilling with one or more radiation beams.

摘要

A method and apparatus for controlling radiation beam hole drilling, especially laser hole drilling, in which radiation passing through a drilled hole is detected and utilized to contollably terminate the hole-drilling beam action. When a backer is used on the workpiece exit surface to improve hole configuration and resist penetration of the beam, the backer transmits impinged radiation from the hole location to a detector coupled to a controller. In a preferred embodiment, a pulsed drilling laser beam is used with a continuous coaxial indicator laser beam; an epoxy resin backer adhered to the workpiece exit surface transmits indicator beam radiation to a fiber optic receptor that guides the radiation to a photomultiplier which is coupled to a controller of the drilling laser.