Electric heating – Metal heating – Cutting or disintegrating
Patent
1991-12-05
1993-06-29
Evans, Geoffrey S.
Electric heating
Metal heating
Cutting or disintegrating
137577, 219 6914, B63H 110, B63H 736
Patent
active
052236889
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a fluid level adjusting apparatus in an electric discharge machining tank.
BACKGROUND ART
An electric discharge machine is arranged to perform electric discharge machining, with a workpiece immersed in machining fluid filled in an electric discharge machining tank, or while jetting the machining fluid from a nozzle toward the workpiece. In the case of machining the workpiece immersed in the machining fluid, it is undesirable if an upper wire guide or the like is immersed in the machining fluid, or if the upper part of the workpiece is exposed above the machining fluid level. Conventionally, therefore, an opening which extends vertically is formed in the peripheral wall of the electric discharge machining tank, and a fluid level adjusting plate is attached to the opening-formed portion of the peripheral wall of the machining tank in a manner vertically slidable relative to the peripheral wall, so as to make it possible to manually adjust the height of the top edge of the plate for adjustment of the fluid level in accordance with the workpiece thickness.
However, according to the aforementioned conventional fluid level adjusting device, it takes time to manually adjust the height of the top edge of the fluid level adjusting plate. Also, it is difficult to maintain the watertightness between the fluid level adjusting plate and the peripheral wall of the machining tank, and hence machining fluid tends to leak through a gap between the peripheral wall and the plate. For this reason, conventionally, in order to compensate for the leakage of the machining fluid, a machining fluid supplying pump is driven to discharge a little more volume of machining fluid than actually required, thus causing the machining fluid to overflow at all times. Therefore, the fluid level must be adjusted in dependence on the leakage of the machining fluid so as to assure proper overflow. This makes it difficult to accurately adjust the fluid level. In addition, extra energy is wasted for driving the pump, leading to a shortened service life of the pump.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a fluid level adjusting apparatus capable of easily and accurately adjusting the fluid level of machining fluid in an electric discharge machining tank.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the fluid level adjusting apparatus of the present invention comprises an exhaust pipe communicated with a machining fluid exhaust port of an electric discharge machining tank, and an adjustment pipe which has an upper opening end and a lower opening end which is communicated with the exhaust pipe. The height of the upper opening end of the adjustment pipe is adjustable, and the machining fluid in the electric discharge machining tank is drained out of the electric discharge machining tank via the upper opening end of the adjustment pipe, so that the fluid level of the machining fluid is maintained at the height of the upper opening end.
Preferably, the fluid level adjusting apparatus further includes a height adjusting mechanism for automatically adjusting the height of the upper opening end of the adjustment pipe, and a float switch for detecting an overflow of the machining fluid through the upper opening end of the adjustment pipe.
As described above, according to the present invention, machining fluid is drained out of an electric discharge machining tank through the upper opening end of an adjustment pipe which is communicated with a machining fluid exhaust port in the electric discharge machining tank via an exhaust pipe, the height of the upper opening end being adjustable, so that the leakage of the machining fluid through a gap between the fluid level adjusting apparatus and the electric discharge machining tank can be easily and reliably prevented by watertightly connecting the exhaust pipe and the adjustment pipe. Thus, unlike the prior art wherein the fluid level is adjusted while monitoring the degree of the leakage of machining fluid and the overflow of
REFERENCES:
patent: 3646961 (1972-03-01), Marquardson
patent: 4153071 (1979-05-01), Black et al.
patent: 4162745 (1979-07-01), Anderson, Jr.
patent: 4755651 (1988-07-01), Tsutsui et al.
patent: 4978827 (1990-12-01), Sakai
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 5, No. 33 (M-57) (705) Feb. 28, 1981.
Aso Toshiyuki
Hosoda Hiroshi
Evans Geoffrey S.
Fanuc Ltd
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