WIRE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE MACHINE AND WIRE ELECTRODE REMOVAL DEVICE

• US 20130193113A1
• Filed: 01/27/2012
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Ishihara, Syuichiro, Nakajima, Yoji
• Granted Patent: US 9,333,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/69.12
• CPC Class Codes: B23H 1/00 Electrical discharge machining, i.e. removing metal with a series of rapidly recurring electrical discharges between an electrode and a workpiece in the presence of a fluid dielectric
• CPC Class Codes: B23H 7/10 Supporting, winding or electrical connection of wire-electrode
• CPC Class Codes: B23H 7/102 Automatic wire threading

Abstract

To provide a wire electrode removal device of a wire electric discharge machine, the wire electrode removal device including a wire-electrode guide unit that guides an end on a cut point side of a wire electrode cut by wire-electrode cut devices to outside of a running path, a rewind shaft that pressure-fixes the wire electrode on the cut point side guided by the wire-electrode guide unit with an end face thereof and rewinds the wire electrode on a columnar member having angular portions with subsequent rotational driving thereof, a rewind-shaft drive unit that drives the rewind shaft to perform pressure fixing or pressure releasing of the wire electrode with the rewind shaft, a scraper member that removes a wound wire electrode from the columnar member at a time of pressure releasing of the rewind shaft by the rewind-shaft drive unit, and a collection member that collects the removed wire electrode.

Claims

1. A wire electric discharge machine comprising:

a wire-electrode cutting unit that is placed on a running path of a wire electrode to cut the wire electrode; and

a removal unit that removes a wire electrode cut by the wire-electrode cutting unit from the running path, wherein

the removal unit includes

a wire-electrode guide unit that guides an end on a cut point side of the wire electrode cut by the wire-electrode cutting unit to outside of the running path,

a rewind shaft that pressure-fixes the wire electrode on the cut point side guided by the wire-electrode guide unit with an end face thereof, and rewinds the wire electrode on a columnar member having angular portions with subsequent rotational driving,

a rewind-shaft drive unit that drives the rewind shaft to perform pressure fixing or pressure releasing of the wire electrode with the rewind shaft,

a scraper member that removes the wound wire electrode from the columnar member at a time of pressure releasing of the rewind shaft by the rewind-shaft drive unit, and

a collection member that collects the removed wire electrode.

2. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein a rewind roller is placed to face the end face of the rewind shaft that pressure-fixes the wire electrode, and the rewind roller is rotated with the wire electrode sandwiched by the end face and the rewind roller, thereby rewinding the wire electrode on the columnar member of the rewind shaft.

3. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 2, wherein the rewind-shaft drive unit horizontally drives the rewind shaft to sandwich the wire electrode between the end face and the rewind roller, and the wire electrode wound on the columnar member is scraped by the scraper member during horizontal driving for releasing pressure fixing through the sandwiching.

4. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein an opposite side of the wire electrode to that pressure-fixed is sandwiched by a sandwiching unit, thereby rewinding the wire electrode with load applied thereto during rewinding of the wire electrode by the rewind shaft.

5. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 4, wherein the sandwiching unit sandwiches the wire electrode between a rewind-wire-electrode holding upper-unit provided in the wire-electrode guide unit and a rewind-wire-electrode holding lower-unit provided on a side of the removal unit, to apply sufficient load to the wire electrode to be plastically deformed during wire electrode rewinding by the rewind shaft.

6. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein a wire-electrode holding roller that holds the wire electrode when the end on the cut point side of the wire electrode is guided by the wire-electrode guide unit to outside of the running path is located below the wire-electrode guide unit.

7. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein the columnar member of the rewind shaft has a cross section in a concave polygon shape.

8. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein a removed-wire-electrode guide unit is formed on the collection member that collects the removed wire electrode, thereby forming a path for guiding the removed wire electrode to the collection member.

9. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 8, wherein a fluid member that sprays a fluid for guide to the removed-wire-electrode guide unit is provided to guide the removed wire electrode to the collection member.

10. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 1, wherein the wire-electrode guide unit has a through hole through which a vertical wire electrode is inserted during electric discharge machining with the wire electrode, and rotates around a rewind-wire-electrode guide shaft during a removal operation of a wire electrode cut by the wire-electrode cutting unit, thereby guiding the end on the cut point side of the wire electrode to outside of the running path with the cut wire electrode placed in the through hole.

11. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 10, wherein a wire-electrode guide pipe is inserted into the through hole formed in the wire-electrode guide unit during a wire connection operation, thereby performing a connection operation.

12. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 10, wherein the wire-electrode guide unit rotates around the rewind-wire-electrode guide shaft with a horizontal movement of a rewind-wire-electrode guide cylinder with a rack connected to the rewind-wire-electrode guide shaft.

13. The wire electric discharge machine according to claim 10, wherein the wire-electrode guide unit has a substantially L-shaped member with a notch formed thereon, and the wire electrode is pressure-fixed by the rewind shaft that is inserted into the notch of the substantially L-shaped member during a removal operation of the wire electrode.

14. A wire electrode removal device in a wire electric discharge machine, the wire electrode removal device comprising:

a wire-electrode guide unit that guides an end on a cut point side of a wire electrode cut by a wire-electrode cut device to outside of a running path;

a rewind shaft that pressure-fixes the wire electrode on the cut point side guided by the wire-electrode guide unit with an end face thereof, and rewinds the wire electrode on a columnar member having angular portions with subsequent rotational driving thereof;

a rewind-shaft drive unit that drives the rewind shaft to perform pressure fixing or pressure releasing of the wire electrode with the rewind shaft;

a scraper member that removes a wound wire electrode from the columnar member at a time of pressure releasing of the rewind shaft by the rewind-shaft drive unit; and

a collection member that collects the removed wire electrode.

15. The wire electrode removal device according to claim 14, wherein the wire-electrode guide unit has a through hole through which a vertical wire electrode is inserted during electric discharge machining with the wire electrode, and rotates around a rewind-wire-electrode guide shaft during a removal operation of a wire electrode cut by the wire-electrode cut device, thereby guiding the end on the cut point side of the wire electrode to outside of the running path with the cut wire electrode placed in the through hole.