Electrical discharge machine
AssigneeSarclad Limited
InventorsMark David Wybrow, Nigel Hyde Corbett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An EDT apparatus 1 is disclosed, comprising a dielectric fluid return system for use with an EDT machine of the type in which the workpiece is not submersed in dielectric fluid. The return system comprises a first collector 19 for catching spills from a dielectric bath 9 associated with a set of electrodes 10 which apply electrical pulses to the workpiece through the dielectric fluid in the bath. Also, a separate, second collector 21 is positioned substantially beneath the workpiece and arranged both to receive fluid from the first collector 19 and to catch fluid that drips from the workpiece itself, the second collector being connected to a pump 13 which returns the fluid from the second collector to the dielectric bath.
Claims16
An electric discharge texturing (“EDT”) apparatus for producing a textured or matt finish on the surface of an electrically-conductive roll workpiece, the machine comprising:
- a rotatable mount for mounting a roll workpiece,
- at least one electrode mounted on a carrier that in use is spaced from a mounted workpiece surface to define a gap across which electrical pulses are transmitted,
- a dielectric bath for holding dielectric fluid and arranged to provide dielectric fluid between the electrode(s) and the workpiece surface,
- a dielectric fluid return system for transmitting dielectric fluid which spills from the dielectric bath back to the dielectric bath via a return feed pipe, and
- a separate drip bath spaced from, and positioned below, the workpiece for collecting dielectric fluid that falls from the workpiece and which communicates with the dielectric fluid return system so that the collected fluid can be returned to the dielectric bath.
An apparatus for applying electrical pulses to a rotating roll comprising a dielectric fluid return system for use with an electric discharge texturing (“EDT”) machine of a type in which the roll workpiece is not submersed in dielectric fluid, the dielectric fluid return system comprising a first collector for catching spills from a dielectric bath associated with a set of electrodes which apply electrical pulses to the workpiece through the dielectric fluid in the bath, a separate, second collector positioned substantially beneath the rotating roll workpiece and arranged both to receive fluid from the first collector and to catch fluid that drips from the workpiece, the second collector being connected to a pump which returns the fluid from the second collector to the dielectric bath via a return feed pipe.
A method of recycling dielectric fluid used in an electric discharge texturing (“EDT”) apparatus in which a workpiece is a rotatably mounted roll that is not entirely or substantially submerged in dielectric fluid, the method comprising:
- pumping dielectric fluid into a dielectric bath associated with an EDT texture station;
- catching overspill from the dielectric bath within a first bath;
- catching dielectric fluid that drips from the workpiece within a second bath located beneath the workpiece;
- and
- feeding the dielectric fluid caught in the first and second baths back to the dielectric bath.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.