Laser machining system and method for machining a workpiece using a laser beam

1. A method for machining a workpiece using a laser beam, comprising:

providing a machining head with a housing having an opening for emitting said laser beam from said machining head and at least one reflective reference for reflecting an optical measurement beam, the at least one reflective reference being provided on an inner surface of the housing;

directing the optical measurement beam partially through said opening onto said workpiece and partially onto said reflective reference, said optical measurement beam being at least partially parallel to said laser beam;

determining a distance (d 1 ) between said machining head and said workpiece based on a first reflection (A) of said optical measurement beam from said at least one reflective reference and on a second reflection (B) of said optical measurement beam from said workpiece; and

determining a distance (d 2 ) to a machining ground by subtracting a distance of said first reflection (A) from a distance of a third reflection (C) from a machining point of said laser beam,

wherein said optical measurement beam is a single measurement beam having a circular diameter greater than a diameter of said opening of said housing and extending continuously over its entire cross-section in order to simultaneously obtain the first, second, and third reflection (A, B, C).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining the distance (d 1 ) comprises determining said distance (d 1 ) between an end portion of said machining head and said workpiece while taking into account a known offset (z) between said reflective reference and said end portion of said machining head including said opening.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said reflective reference is adjacent to said opening.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said optical measurement beam is coaxial with said laser beam through said opening.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said housing comprises a nozzle including said opening and said reflective reference.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining the distance (d 1 ) comprises determining the distance (d 1 ) using an optical coherence tomograph.

7. A method for machining a workpiece using a laser beam, comprising:

providing a machining head with a housing having an opening for emitting said laser beam from said machining head and at least one reflective reference for reflecting an optical measurement beam;

directing the optical measurement beam partially through said opening onto said workpiece and partially onto said reflective reference, said optical measurement beam being at least partially parallel to said laser beam; and

determining a distance (d 1 ) between said machining head and said workpiece based on a first reflection (A) of said optical measurement beam from said at least one reflective reference and on a second reflection (B) of said optical measurement beam from said workpiece, and

determining a distance (d 2 ) to a machining ground by subtracting a distance of said first reflection (A) from a distance of a third reflection (C) from a machining point of said laser beam,

wherein the at least one reflective reference is oriented such that the first reflection of said optical measurement beam and the optical measurement beam are coaxial,

wherein said optical measurement beam is a single measurement beam having a circular diameter greater than a diameter of said opening of said housing and extending continuously over its entire cross-section in order to simultaneously obtain the first, second, and third reflection (A, B, C).

8. A method for machining a workpiece using a laser beam, comprising:

providing a machining head with a housing having an opening for emitting said laser beam from said machining head and at least one reflective reference for reflecting an optical measurement beam, wherein the at least one reflective reference is located in a circumferential area of the opening;

directing the optical measurement beam partially through said opening onto said workpiece and partially onto said reflective reference, said optical measurement beam being at least partially parallel to said laser beam; and

determining a distance (d 1 ) between said machining head and said workpiece based on a first reflection (A) of said optical measurement beam from said at least one reflective reference and on a second reflection (B) of said optical measurement beam from said workpiece, and

determining a distance (d 2 ) to a machining ground by subtracting a distance of said first reflection (A) from a distance of a third reflection (C) from a machining point of said laser beam,

wherein said optical measurement beam is a single measurement beam having a circular diameter greater than a diameter of said opening of said housing and extending continuously over its entire cross-section in order to simultaneously obtain the first, second, and third reflection (A, B, C).

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining the distance (d 1 ) comprises determining the distance (d 1 ) by subtracting a distance of said first reflection (A) from a distance of said second reflection (B).

10. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the step of determining the distance (d 1 ) comprises determining the distance (d 1 ) by subtracting the distance of said first reflection (A) from the distance of said second reflection (B).

11. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the step of determining the distance (d 1 ) between said machining head and said workpiece comprises determining the distance (d 1 ) by subtracting the distance of said first reflection (A) from the distance of said second reflection (B).