Electric heating – Metal heating – Cutting or disintegrating
Patent
1991-11-18
1992-11-17
Evans, Geoffrey S.
Electric heating
Metal heating
Cutting or disintegrating
83167, 269 21, B23H 1100, B23H 702
Patent
active
051645637
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing cores, which are cut out from a workpiece by means of wire-cut electric discharge machining and which have various shapes, from the workpiece.
BACKGROUND ART
In wire-cut electric discharge machining, a table mounted with a workpiece is moved, while electric discharge is intermittently caused between a wire traveling from an upper nozzle to a lower nozzle and the workpiece disposed between the upper and lower nozzles, to thereby produce products having various shapes. In the case of cutting out a plurality of cores, each of which corresponds to a product or a cavity portion of the product, from a single workpiece, each time the cut-out machining of one core is completed, the workpiece is moved to the initial position for the cut-out machining associated with the next core. At this time, collision may occurs between the core and the lower nozzle to cause damages to the core or the lower nozzle. Conventionally, in order to obviate this awkward situation, the core cut out from the workpiece is removed from the workpiece prior to the movement of the workpiece toward the initial position for the next cut-out machining. For instance, the cut-out core is pulled out from the workpiece upwardly by the use of suction means such as magnet, suction pad, collet, etc., and is delivered to the outside of a region in which falling of the core is prohibited. Then, the core is disengaged form the suction means. Alternatively, the cut-out core is moved, with the core held within the workpiece by suction means, toward a safety position at which the core never collides with the nozzle or an arm which supports the nozzle even if falling of the core occurs. Then, the core is disengaged from the suction means, so as to permit the natural or gravitational falling of the core, and further the fallen core is delivered to the outside of the falling prohibition region by a belt conveyer or a delivering arm.
However, depending on the core shape, the core cannot be pulled out from the workpiece, or the natural falling of the core from the workpiece cannot be caused. For instance, the core which is taper-machined in a manner having its upper diameter smaller than its lower diameter cannot be pulled out from the workpiece upwardly. And, the natural falling of the core which is taper-machined to have its upper diameter larger than its lower diameter, from the workpiece, cannot be caused. Namely, according to the prior art, it is only possible to effect the core removal from the workpiece in either upward or downward direction. As a consequence, the core shape in the workpiece is restricted, resulting in such a drawback that cores formed into a trapezoidal shape in cross section and cores having a inverted trapezoidal sectional shape cannot be mixedly arranged in a single workpiece, and efficiency in utilizing the workpiece raw material is also lowered.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a core removing apparatus which is capable of removing a core, cut out from a workpiece by means of wire-cut electric discharge machining, upwardly or downwardly of the workpiece in dependence on the core shape.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the core removing apparatus of the present invention comprises suction means for detachably sucking a core at an upper face of the core cut out from a workpiece; first drive means for causing the suction means to move vertically and horizontally; second drive means for causing the workpiece to move horizontally; control means for selecting either one of first and second operation modes in dependence on a core shape, and for causing the suction means and the first and second drive means to operate in the selected one operation mode. In the first operation mode, the suction means by which the core is sucked is moved upwardly of the workpiece and then to the outside of a prohibition region, and then the core is caused to be disengaged from the suction means. In the second operation mode, the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4745253 (1988-05-01), Girardin
patent: 4752665 (1988-06-01), del Santo
patent: 4996406 (1991-02-01), Nakayama
patent: 5015814 (1991-05-01), Morishita
Aso Toshiyuki
Yoda Shinji
Evans Geoffrey S.
Fanuc Ltd.
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