Wire electrical discharge machine and method of controlling wire electrical discharge machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10974333-B2
Application number	US-201916259193-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2019
Priority date	Feb 1, 2018
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

A wire electrical discharge machine includes a wire feeding hole position acquisition unit configured to obtain a position of a wire feeding hole that allows for insertion and feeding of a wire electrode. In this wire electrical discharge machine, when the position of the wire feeding hole obtained by the wire feeding hole position acquisition unit is deviated from a wire feeding position defined by a machining program, a wire feeding control unit controls a machine main body to move the wire electrode to the position of the wire feeding hole and feed the wire electrode there, and a machining control unit controls the machine main body to perform electrical discharge machining on a workpiece with the wire electrode while moving the wire electrode on a path segment between a position where the wire electrode has been fed and the wire feeding position defined by the machining program.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wire electrical discharge machine comprising:
a machine main body for performing electrical discharge machining on a workpiece with a wire electrode in accordance with a machining program;
a camera configured to take an image of the workpiece and fixed so as to move relative to the workpiece; and
a control device configured to:
control the machine main body so as to move the wire electrode to a wire feeding position on the workpiece defined by the machining program and feed the wire electrode;
control the machine main body so as to perform electrical discharge machining on the workpiece with the wire electrode while moving the wire electrode along a machining path defined by the machining program; and
obtain a position of a wire feeding hole that allows for insertion and feeding of the wire electrode, from the image of the workpiece taken by the camera, wherein:

when the position of the wire feeding hole is deviated from the wire feeding position defined by the machining program, the control device is configured to:
control the machine main body to move the wire electrode to the position of the wire feeding hole and feed the wire electrode there, and
control the machine main body to perform electrical discharge machining on the workpiece with the wire electrode while moving the wire electrode on a path segment between a position where the wire electrode has been fed and the wire feeding position defined by the machining program, and wherein the control device is further configured to, before start of machining the workpiece, control the machine main body to move the camera relative to the workpiece along the machining path defined by the machining program to obtain the position of the wire feeding hole.

2. The wire electrical discharge machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is further configured to, when the position of the wire feeding hole is deviated from the wire feeding position defined by the machining program, modify the machining program so as to set the position of the wire feeding hole as a new wire feeding position on the workpiece and also so as to add a path segment between the new wire feeding position defined by the modified machining program and the wire feeding position defined by the machining program before the modification as part of the machining path, to the machining path defined by the machining program before the modification.

3. The wire electrical discharge machine according to claim 1 , wherein:
the camera is fixed so as to move relative to the workpiece, together with a wire guide configured to guide the wire electrode.

4. The wire electrical discharge machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is further configured to, when at least part of the wire feeding hole is located outside of a machining shape enclosed by the machining path defined by the machining program, give notice that machining of the workpiece is unfeasible.

5. The wire electrical discharge machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is further configured to, when at least part of the wire feeding hole is located outside of a machining shape enclosed by the machining path defined by the machining program, give notice that machining of the workpiece is unfeasible, before start of machining the workpiece.

6. The wire electrical discharge machine according to claim 1 , wherein, after at least part of the wire feeding hole is determined to be located outside of a machining shape enclosed by the machining path defined by the machining program, the control device does not control the machine main body.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Hiraga Kaoru

Classifications

• B23H7/065

  Electric circuits specially adapted therefor · CPC title

• B23H2500/20

  Methods or devices for detecting wire or workpiece position · CPC title

• G05B2219/45043

  EDM machine, wire cutting · CPC title

• B23K7/06

  Machines, apparatus or equipment specially designed for scarfing or desurfacing · CPC title

• B23H7/08

  Wire electrodes · CPC title