Wire-cut electric discharge machine having wire tension control function

• US 7,800,010 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fanuc Ltd (Fanuc Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fanuc Ltd (Fanuc Corporation)
• Inventors: Abe, Hiroyuki, Makino, Yoshinori, Kita, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans; Geoffrey S
• Application Number:
  US12/029,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20080217300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 219/69.12, 242/563, 700/162
• US Class Current: 219/69.12
• CPC Class Codes: B23H 7/104 Wire tension control

Abstract

When a wire electrode is arranged along a traveling path by manual operation, a motor M1 for feeding the wire electrode to a workpiece is driven in response to a predetermined torque command from a control section with a switch SW1 on a side a. The wire electrode is connected, and a motor M2 for delivering the electrode from the wire is driven at a predetermined speed, whereby the electrode is run. Then, the switch SW1 is shifted to a side b and a switch SW2 to the side a, and the motor M1 is subjected to torque control such that a tension on the wire electrode detected by a tension detector is equal to a command tension. When a variation of the tension on the wire electrode is converged, the switches SW1 and SW2 are shifted to the side b, speed control of the motor M1 is performed so that detected tension is equal to the command tension, and electric discharge machining is started.

Claims

1. A wire-cut electric discharge machine having a wire electrode tension control function and comprising a first motor for feeding a wire electrode to a workpiece to be machined, a second motor for delivering the wire electrode from the workpiece, and tension detecting means which is located between the workpiece and the first motor and detects a tension on the wire electrode, the wire-cut electric discharge machine further comprising:

speed detecting means for detecting respective rotational speeds of the first and second motors;

first control means for controlling the rotational speed of one of the first and second motors to be equal to a preset rotational speed;

second control means for controlling a rotational torque of the other of the first and second motors so that the tension on the wire electrode detected by the tension detecting means is at a preset value;

third control means for controlling the rotational speed of the other motor so that the tension on the wire electrode detected by the tension detecting means is at a preset value; and

switching control means which causes the first control means to drivingly control the one motor, causes the second control means to perform torque control for the other motor, thereby running the wire electrode, and switches the second control means over to the third control means to perform speed control for the other motor when machining is started.

2. The wire-cut electric discharge machine having a wire electrode tension control function according to claim 1, wherein the switching control means starts the machining and switches the second control means over to the third control means after the passage of a preset time since the start of travel of the wire electrode.

3. The wire-cut electric discharge machine having a wire electrode tension control function according to claim 1, wherein the switching control means starts the machining and switches the second control means over to the third control means after the tension on the wire electrode detected by the tension detecting means is kept within a predetermined range for a preset time or longer after the wire electrode is run.

4. The wire-cut electric discharge machine having a wire electrode tension control function according to claim 1, which further comprises drive control means for driving the first motor with a preset torque.

5. The wire-cut electric discharge machine having a wire electrode tension control function according to claim 1, said one motor is the second motor and the other motor is the first motor.