Protective shield for liquid guided laser cutting tools

1. A shield comprising:

a rigid body with a target facing surface;

wherein the rigid body defines a through hole with a diameter that accommodates a liquid guided laser path and the rigid body has a thickness that defines a length of the liquid guided laser path through the rigid body;

wherein the thickness of the rigid body is at least twice the diameter of the through hole;

whereby the rigid body is positioned in the liquid guided laser path of a liquid guided laser system between a discharge nozzle of the liquid guided laser system and a target; and

wherein the shield is removably connected to a nozzle cap that separates the shield from the discharge nozzle of the liquid guided laser system while maintaining the position of the shield relative to the liquid guided laser path.

2. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the rigid body is comprised of a material having a Young's modulus greater than 200 Gpa.

3. The shield of claim 2 , wherein the rigid body is comprised of materials selected from tungsten carbide, boron nitride, and ceramic matrix composites.

4. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the rigid body is substantially non-reflective adjacent the liquid guided laser path.

5. The shield of claim 4 , wherein the rigid body is substantially non-reflective on all surfaces.

6. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the ratio between the thickness of the rigid body and the diameter of the through hole is in the range of 2:1 to 10:1.

7. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the rigid body is a cylinder, the thickness of the rigid body is a height of the cylinder, and a diameter of the cylinder is at least three times the diameter of the through hole.

8. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the shield is disposed in a shield housing and the shield housing is connected to the nozzle cap.

9. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the diameter of the through hole is larger than a diameter of a liquid guided laser beam in the liquid guided laser path and accommodates passage of a protective gas layer adjacent the liquid guided laser beam through the through hole.

10. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the rigid body further defines at least one drainage feature that is not the through hole for the liquid guided laser path.

11. The shield of claim 1 , wherein the shield is initially positioned in the liquid guided laser path of a liquid guided laser system as a blank without the through hole and the liquid guided laser system uses a liquid guided laser beam to create the through hole in the liquid guided laser path.

12. A system comprising:

a liquid guided laser system with a discharge nozzle defining a liquid guided laser path and capable of generating a liquid guided laser beam along the liquid guided laser path;

a shield comprising a rigid body with a target facing surface, wherein the rigid body defines a through hole with a diameter that accommodates the liquid guided laser path and the rigid body has a thickness that defines a length of the liquid guided laser path through the rigid body, wherein the thickness of the rigid body is at least twice the diameter of the through hole, and whereby the rigid body is positioned in the liquid guided laser path of the liquid guided laser system between the discharge nozzle of the liquid guided laser system and a target; and

a nozzle cap positioned between the discharge nozzle of the liquid guided laser system and the shield and wherein the shield is attached to the nozzle cap, with the position of the shield relative to the liquid guided laser path being maintained.