Spark erosion gap width regulation - with continuous predetermined tool electrode oscillation to eliminate cyclic delay and response to gap information to be accelerated

摘要

Gap width regulation in spark erosion machining, by means of planetary control in which the tool electrode is adjusted along a three-dimensional trajectory. The tool electrode dependent on the gap information moves continuously back and forth between a nominal trajectory point and a predetermined retraction position. Control of the tool electrode incorporates separate gap and position regulation. Retraction positions can be stored in the memory of the planetary control system. The gap regulation system can be switched at a frequency of at least 20 kH between nominal trajectory and retraction positions. The switching process covers all three spatial axes in chosen order. Both trajectory and retraction positions can be specified as nominal values. The retraction position can be issued as input for the gap regulation system. The planetary control apparatus incorporates an additional device for gap width control. The additional device consists of a control system and three position regulators for storing in memory the retraction positions of three spatial axes of the tool electrode. The retraction positions in the position regulators are adjustable. USE/ADVANTAGE - Allows the cyclic delay inherent in traditional spark erosion systems to be eliminated and the response to gap information to be accelerated. Both the productivity and the quality of spark erosion machining are improved.