Method of and apparatus for electrical-discharge machining with a traveling-wire electrode
AssigneeInoue-Japax Research Incorporated
InventorKiyoshi Inoue
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The relative movement of a workpiece and a traveling-wire electrode in an electrical-discharge machining apparatus is interrupted temporarily while the application of the usual electrical pulses for effecting machining is continued until and after discharge substantially ceases. The leakage current is then measured to provide an indication of workpiece thickness. This indication is used to control a machining parameter, whereupon the relative movement and machining with the new parameter, are resumed.
Claims11
In a method of electrically machining a conductive workpiece in which:
- a traveling-wire electrode and the workpiece are relatively displaced transversely to the length of the traveling-wire electrode and define a machining gap between them,
- a machining liquid is supplied to said gap, and
- a series of electrical pulses are applied across the workpiece and the electrode to generate machining discharges in the gap to remove material from the workpiece, the improvement which comprises:
- a. temporarily interrupting said relative displacement of said electrode and said workpiece;
- b. continuing the application of said pulses during the interruption until the discharges across the gap substantially cease;
- and
- c. when said discharges across the gap substantially cease, measuring the leakage current across said gap for at least one further applied pulse, said leakage current providing an indication of workpiece thickness.
In an apparatus for the electrical machining of a conductive workpiece including:
- a traveling-wire electrode,
- means for relatively displacing said traveling-wire electrode and a workpiece in accordance with a predetermined program while maintaining a machining gap therebetween,
- means for supplying a machining liquid to said gap, and
- means for applying electrical pulses across said workpiece and said electrode to effect material-removal machining discharges across said gap, the improvement which comprises:
- a. means for temporarily halting said relative displacement while permitting continued application of said pulses;
- and
- b. means effective to the substantial termination of said discharges for measuring leakage current across said gap upon application of at least one further electrical pulse, the magnitude of said leakage current being an indication of the thickness of said workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.