Electric heating – Metal heating – Cutting or disintegrating
Patent
1988-01-14
1989-05-23
Pellinen, A. D.
Electric heating
Metal heating
Cutting or disintegrating
B23H 710
Patent
active
048332917
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a guide for supporting a wire electrode in a wire electric discharge machine, and more particularly, to a threepoint support guide which is low-priced and capable of withstanding prolonged use.
BACKGROUND ART
In a wire electric discharge machine, a wire electrode, which is fed relatively to a workpiece, is generally supported on a wire electrode in a predetermined electrode feed path by means of upper and lower guides that are located above and below the workpiece, respectively. In order to support the wire electrode stably, as is generally known, the wire electrode is three-point-supported by means of a guide groove of a fixed guide portion and a movable guide member, which is opposed to the fixed guide portion so as to enable to get close to and away from the same. Since both these guide portions, subject to sliding friction with the wire electrode, are susceptible to wear, they are conventionally formed of a wear-resistant material, such as sapphire.
The conventional guide of this type does not, however, have satisfactory wear resistance yet, and cannot therefore resist prolonged use, thus requiring troublesome replacement work with relatively high frequency. Conventionally, moreover, the guide portions are fixed to a main body of the guide by staking, for example. On account of restrictions on the fixing technique, the guide portions, made of sapphire or some other expensive material, must inevitably be relatively large-sized. In consequence, it is hard to lower the costs of the guide.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention eliminates the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art three-point support guide, and has an object to improve the wear resistance of guide portions which are subject to sliding friction with a wire electrode, thereby lengthening the working life of a guide, and to reduce the size of the guide portions, thereby permitting reduction in the manufacturing cost of the guide.
In order to achieve the above object, a three-point support guide for a wire electrode in a wire electric discharge machine, according to the present invention, comprises a first guide member formed of a small, thin diamond embedded in a main body of the three-point support guide so as to face a wire electrode bore formed in the body of three-point support guide, the first guide member being formed with a guide groove for guiding a wire elecrode; and a second guide member formed of a small, thin diamond embedded in a movable member so as to face the first guide member, the movable member being movable toward and away from the first guide member.
According to the present invention, as described above, the wire electrode is three-point-supported by means of the guide groove of the first guide member and the second guide member which is embedded in the movable member which is movable toward and away from the first guide member. Thus, the wire electrode can be supported stably. Since both the guide members are formed of hard diamond which can well resist sliding friction with the wire electrode, they can be used for a long period of time. Therefore, the replacement work, which requires much labor, can be considerably reduced in frequency, so that the productivity of the wire electric discharge machine can be improved. Also, a small, thin diamond is used for each guide member. Accordingly, it is unnecesary to use many diamonds, which are expensive, so that the guide can be lowered in cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a three-point support guide according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic partial bottom view showing a movable member of the guide and an arrangement surrounding the same;
FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged sectional view of first and second guide members of the guide and an arrangement surrounding the same, as taken along line III--III of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a partial exploded perspective view showing the first guide member and a support member there
REFERENCES:
patent: 3943322 (1976-03-01), Lehmann et al.
patent: 4129052 (1978-12-01), Biebrich
patent: 4303442 (1981-12-01), Hara et al.
patent: 4392397 (1983-07-01), Engelfriet
patent: 4605834 (1986-08-01), Inoue
patent: 4613740 (1986-09-01), Ichikawa
patent: 4638140 (1987-01-01), Obara et al.
patent: 4686344 (1987-08-01), Nakayama
Aso Toshiyuki
Kita Yuki
Evans Geoffrey S.
Fanuc Ltd.
Pellinen A. D.
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