Electrical machining apparatus for forming a three-dimensional surface contour in a workpiece
AssigneeInoue-Japax Research Incorporated
InventorKiyoshi Inoue
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multiple-axis milling-, sculpturing- or shaving-type EDM machine removes material from a selected surface portion of a workpiece with a continuous traveling-wire electrode guided at an end portion of a tool head and juxtaposed with the workpiece. The wire is continuously advanced and transported from a supply reel to a takeup reel on the tool head by drive means to continuously renew the active electrode surface at the guide section while a position controller moves the tool head in a scanning manner relatively over the workpiece surface. A high-frequency mechanical vibration is imparted directly or indirectly to the wire electrode carried by the guide section while traveling in juxtaposition with the workpiece.
Claims8
An electrical machining apparatus for forming a three-dimensional surface contour in a workpiece, comprising:
- a continuous elongate electrode;
- electrode advancing means for axially advancing said electrode from a supply means to a takeup means;
- a workpiece support for carrying said workpiece;
- electrode guide means carried by a tool head and formed with an arcuate wire-reception groove having an electrically nonconductive wire-guiding surface for guiding said axially advancing electrode under tension so that a portion of said electrode guided on said electrically nonconductive wire-guiding surface is exposed from said wire-reception groove and positioned in a machining relationship with a portion of said workpiece;
- power supply means for electrically energizing said electrode and said workpiece to electroerosively remove material from said portion of said workpiece;
- and machining feed means for relatively displacing tool head and said workpiece support so as to cause said electrode advanced over said guide means to sweep in a scanning manner over a predetermined machining path to form said three-dimensional surface contour therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.