Electric corrosion machining equipment and electric corrosion machining method

Abstract

The invention provides electric corrosion machining equipment and an electric corrosion machining method, and belongs to the technical field of electric corrosion machining, the electric corrosion machining equipment comprises a rack, a conveying line capable of conveying workpieces in the first direction is arranged on the rack, a tool electrode is arranged on the rack in a reciprocating motion mode in the second direction and located above the conveying line, and the tool electrode comprises a plurality of electrode needles; one end of each electrode needle faces the conveying line; the driving mechanism is used for driving the tool electrode to move; the control system is used for controlling movement of the conveying line and the tool electrode. The first direction and the second direction are both horizontal directions and are not parallel, the tool electrode is connected with the circuit, and the conveying line is provided with an electric connection structure used for connecting a workpiece into the circuit, so that the workpiece can form a workpiece electrode, and the tool electrode can discharge electricity to the workpiece for electric corrosion machining. The electric corrosion machining equipment is high in machining efficiency, and the problem of environmental pollution caused by chemical etching is avoided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electro-erosion processing, in particular to an electro-erosion processing device and an electro-erosion processing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In industrial production, metal patterns are formed on the surface of an insulating substrate, such as the production of a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) or the production of an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) attached to a hard board. Taking the production of a PCB as an example, a copper-clad plate is first produced in the production of a PCB, the copper-clad plate including an insulating substrate and a copper layer on the surface of the insulating substrate, and in subsequent processing, part of the copper layer needs to be removed, and the remaining copper layer forms the required circuit pattern. The PCB is used in large quantities, and a high production efficiency is required. At present, the mainstream way to meet the production of a PCB is chemical etching, specifically, the copper-clad plate is placed in an etchant, and the etchant is used to etch away the part of the copper layer that is not needed, and the remaining part forms a circuit. Although chemical etching has the advantage of high production efficiency, it also has the technical problem that the etchant seriously pollutes the environment. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides an electro-erosion processing device for solving the technical problem that traditional chemical etching seriously pollutes the environment, and also provides an electro-erosion processing method.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application provides an electro-erosion processing device, comprising: a rack; a conveying line, the conveying line being used to convey a workpiece in a first direction; a tool electrode, the tool electrode being reciprocally movable in a second direction on the rack and located above the conveying line, the tool electrode comprising a plurality of electrode needles, each of the electrode needles having one end facing the conveying line; a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism being used to drive the tool electrode to reciprocate in the second direction; a control system, the control system being used to control the movement of the conveying line and the tool electrode; wherein the first direction and the second direction are both horizontal directions, and the first direction and the second direction are not parallel, the tool electrode is connected to an electric circuit, and the conveying line has an electric connection structure, the electric connection structure being used to electrically connect the workpiece to the electric circuit, so that the workpiece located on the conveying line can form a workpiece electrode, so that the tool electrode can discharge to the workpiece for electro-erosion processing through the electrode needles.

[0005] In an embodiment, the tool electrode comprises a needle holder reciprocally movable along the second direction and mounted on the frame.

[0006] In an embodiment, each of the electrode needles is mounted on the needle holder by a linear motor capable of driving the corresponding electrode needle to adjust the position of the corresponding electrode needle.

[0007] In an embodiment, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0008] In an embodiment, the electrical connection structure comprises an electrically conductive clamp movably provided on the conveying line, the electrical erosion machining device further comprises an electrically conductive slide rail fixed relative to the frame, the electrically conductive slide rail is electrically connected with the electric circuit and has a length extending along the first direction, the conveying line has an upper loading position, a working position and a lower unloading position in a conveying stroke, at the upper loading position, the electrically conductive clamp is not matched with the electrically conductive slide rail, so that the workpiece can be placed between the electrically conductive clamp and the conveying line, at the working position, the electrically conductive clamp is matched with the electrically conductive slide rail to be electrically connected with the electric circuit, and the electrically conductive slide rail forces the electrically conductive clamp to be able to clamp the workpiece, the tool electrode electrically erodes the workpiece at the working position, at the lower unloading position, the electrically conductive clamp is disengaged from the electrically conductive slide rail.

[0009] In an embodiment, the electrically conductive clamp is pivoted on the conveying line, and an axis of rotation of the electrically conductive clamp extends along a conveying direction of the conveying line, the electrically conductive clamp comprises a first end and a second end located on two sides of the axis of rotation to form a lever structure, at the working position, the second end is supported on the electrically conductive slide rail, so that the first end is able to clamp the workpiece.

[0010] In an embodiment, the electrically conductive clamp and the conveying line have an elastic driving structure therebetween, the elastic driving structure is used to drive the part of the electrically conductive clamp used to match with the workpiece to be away from the conveying line, the electrically conductive clamp and the electrically conductive slide rail have a guiding structure therebetween, the guiding structure is used to guide the electrically conductive clamp to match with the electrically conductive slide rail when the electrically conductive clamp moves from the upper loading position to the working position.

[0011] In one embodiment, the conveyor line is a conveyor belt, and the electro-erosion machining equipment further includes a support structure. The support structure includes a support plate portion located on the side of the conveyor belt facing away from the tool electrode, for supporting the portion of the conveyor belt carrying the workpiece during electro-erosion machining. The support structure also includes an upturned portion formed by at least one side of the support plate portion folding up along the width direction of the conveyor belt, and the upturned portion constitutes the conductive slide rail.

[0012] In one embodiment, the conveyor line is a conveyor belt, and the electro-erosion machining equipment further includes a support plate located on the side of the conveyor belt facing away from the tool electrode, for supporting the portion of the conveyor belt carrying the workpiece during electro-erosion machining.

[0013] Secondly, this application provides an electro-erosion machining method in which the workpiece to be processed is placed on a conveyor line, the tool electrode for electro-erosion machining of the workpiece has multiple electrode needles, both the tool electrode and the workpiece are connected to a circuit, the conveyor line is controlled by a control system to transport the workpiece in a first direction to move continuously or in a stepping motion, and the tool electrode is controlled to reciprocate in a second direction to perform electro-erosion machining on the workpiece. The first direction and the second direction are both horizontal and are not parallel.

[0014] According to the electro-erosion processing equipment and method in the above embodiments, when electro-erosion processing is required on a workpiece, the workpiece is placed on a conveyor line, the conveyor line carries the workpiece and moves it. When the workpiece reaches below the tool electrode, the tool electrode moves back and forth and discharges through the electrode needle to perform electro-erosion processing, removing the part of the workpiece that needs to be removed by electro-erosion. During the electro-erosion process, the control system controls the conveyor line to transport the workpiece, achieving high-efficiency electro-erosion processing and avoiding the technical problems of environmental pollution caused by chemical etching. Furthermore, the electro-erosion by the electrode needle discharge can ensure processing accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a workpiece being processed by an electro-erosion machining equipment in some embodiments of this application; Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a section at point A in the middle; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electro-erosion machining equipment with the workpiece installed in some embodiments of this application; Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified view of a section at point B in the middle; Figure 5 for Figure 3 A magnified view of a section at point C; Figure 6 Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electro-erosion machining device according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 Fig. 2 is a local enlarged view of the portion D in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the electro-erosion machining device according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the electro-erosion machining device according to another embodiment of the present application. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the electro-erosion machining device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0016] Fig. 6 is a list of the feature names corresponding to the reference numerals in the drawings. 10, rack; 101, liquid storage tank; 20, conveying line; 201, conveying belt driving shaft; 202, conveying belt driving motor; 30, workpiece; 301, circuit pattern; 40, electrical connection structure; 401, conductive compression member; 4011, first end; 4012, second end; 4013, elastic floating compression head; 4014, spring; 402, elastic driving structure; 50, tool electrode; 501, needle seat; 502, electrode needle; 503, linear motor; 60, position adjusting mechanism; 601, first vertical column; 602, second vertical column; 603, first guide sleeve; 604, second guide sleeve; 605, positioning slide rail; 606, driving mechanism; 6061, driving motor; 607, lifting motor; 608, lifting rod; 609, connecting cross bar; 70, control box; 701, external power cord; 80, conductive slide rail; 801, first guide slope; 802, second guide slope; 90, support flat plate portion; 100, liquid spraying system; 1001, spray head; 1002, pipeline; 110, machine adjusting plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings. In different embodiments, similar elements are denoted by similar reference numerals. In the following embodiments, many details are described in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, one skilled in the art can easily recognize that some features can be omitted in different cases, or can be replaced by other elements, materials, methods. In some cases, some operations related to the present application are not shown or described in the specification in order to avoid the core part of the present application being overwhelmed by too much description, and it is not necessary to describe these related operations in detail for one skilled in the art according to the description in the specification and general technical knowledge in the art.

[0018] In addition, features described in the specification, operations or characteristics can be combined in any appropriate manner to form various embodiments, and the steps involved in each embodiment can be sequentially exchanged or adjusted in a manner that can be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the description and drawings are only for the purpose of clearly describing one embodiment, and do not mean the necessary composition and / or order.

[0019] The serial numbers of the components described herein, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish the described objects, and do not have any order or technical meaning. The "connection" and "coupling" in the present application include direct and indirect connection (coupling) unless otherwise specified.

[0020] The present application provides an electro-erosion machining device. Electro-erosion machining is also called electric spark machining. When the electro-erosion machining device is working, one pole of the pulse power source is connected to the tool electrode, and the other pole is connected to the workpiece electrode. Both poles are immersed in a liquid medium (usually kerosene or mineral oil or deionized water) with a certain degree of insulation. The tool electrode and the workpiece electrode maintain a very small discharge gap during normal machining. When a pulse voltage is applied between the two poles, the liquid medium is broken down to form a discharge channel. The discharge time is very short, resulting in a high concentration of energy. The instantaneous high temperature generated in the discharge area causes the material to melt or even evaporate, achieving the removal of the material at the target machining position.

[0021] Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7 , the electro-erosion machining device includes a rack 10, which constitutes the overall framework of the electro-erosion machining device and provides a mounting base for other working components. The structure of the rack 10 is not unique, and is not specifically limited here. The structure of the rack 10 can only meet the requirement of being a mounting base for other functional components.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7 , the electro-erosion machining device further includes a conveying line 20, the conveying direction of the conveying line 20 is defined as the first direction, and the conveying line 20 is provided with an electrical connection structure 40 for electrical connection with the workpiece 30 to be machined, so that the workpiece 30 can be connected to the corresponding circuit through the electrical connection structure 40. The workpiece 30 carried by the conveying line 20 moves relative to the rack 10 along the first direction. Generally, the first direction is the horizontal direction, and the first direction is defined as the front-back direction, and the conveying line 20 carries the workpiece 30 from the rear to the front.

[0023] The following takes the processing of a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) as an example to introduce the electro-erosion processing equipment. The workpiece 30 is a copper-clad plate, which includes an insulating base and a copper layer on the insulating base. The copper layer on the insulating base is a relatively thin film layer. The purpose of electro-erosion processing is to electro-erode and remove part of the copper layer. The removed part is the part to be processed and removed of the workpiece 30, so that the remaining copper layer forms the required circuit pattern 301. In other embodiments, the electro-erosion processing equipment can also be used to process other workpieces 30 that can be processed.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 7 , the electro-erosion processing equipment also includes a tool electrode 50, which is reciprocally movably mounted on the rack 10 along a second direction and located above the conveying line 20 so that the conveying line 20 can carry the workpiece 30 to pass under the tool electrode 50. The second direction is also a horizontal direction, and the second direction is not parallel to the first direction. In some embodiments, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, i.e., the second direction is the left-right direction. Of course, in other embodiments, the second direction can also be not perpendicular to the first direction, and there is an included angle between the first direction and the second direction, which is greater than or less than 90°.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the tool electrode 50 includes a needle seat 501 and a plurality of electrode needles 502 arranged on the needle seat 501. The structure of the electrode needle 502 is a thin rod structure as its name implies. Each electrode needle 502 has one end downwardly facing the conveying line 20. The plurality of electrode needles 502 are arranged in an array on the needle seat 501. Compared with discharging through one electrode needle 502, discharging through the plurality of electrode needles 502 of the tool electrode 50 can significantly increase the electro-erosion area and thus improve the electro-erosion processing speed.

[0026] In some embodiments, twenty-four electrode needles 502 are arranged on the needle seat 501. In other embodiments, the number of electrode needles 502 of the tool electrode 50 can be greater than twenty-four, such as thirty, or less than twenty-four, such as ten, and at least two. The tool electrode 50 is designed in the form of the needle seat 501 matched with the electrode needles 502. Different thicknesses of electrode needles 502 can be matched according to the line thickness of the circuit pattern 301 to be processed. For example, the circuit lines of a high-power PCB are relatively wide and have a large line spacing, so relatively thick electrode needles 502 can be used. In this way, the electro-erosion area is relatively large, and the processing efficiency is improved. For a small-power precision circuit board, the line is very thin and has a small line spacing, so relatively thin electrode needles 502 can be used to achieve super-precision processing.

[0027] In order to ensure that the lower ends of the plurality of electrode pins 502 are in the same plane, the plurality of electrode pins 502 are adjustably installed on the pin holder 501. When the lower end of one or more electrode pins 502 is higher than the lower end of the other electrode pins 502, the position of the one or more electrode pins 502 can be adjusted downward, so that the lower ends of the plurality of electrode pins 502 are in the same plane.

[0028] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 2 , the pin holder 501 is provided with the same number of linear motors 503 as the electrode pins 502. Each electrode pin 502 is installed on the pin holder 501 by a corresponding linear motor 503. The up-down position of each electrode pin 502 can be adjusted by the linear motor 503. As a person skilled in the art would understand, the linear motor 503 is a micro motor. In other embodiments, the linear motor 503 can not be provided. Instead, the pin holder 501 is provided with the same number of mounting holes as the electrode pins 502. The electrode pins 502 are inserted into the mounting holes by a tight fit. When the position of the electrode pins 502 needs to be adjusted, the insertion amount of the electrode pins 502 in the mounting holes can be changed.

[0029] The pin holder 501 is installed on the rack 10 by a position adjusting mechanism 60. Referring to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 7 , the position adjusting mechanism 60 includes a first vertical column 601 and a second vertical column 602 connected to the rack 10. The first vertical column 601 and the second vertical column 602 extend upward and downward. One of the first vertical column 601 and the second vertical column 602 is located on the left side of the conveying line 20, and the other is located on the right side of the conveying line 20.

[0030] The position adjusting mechanism 60 further includes a sliding carriage that can slide up and down along the first vertical column 601 and the second vertical column 602. The sliding carriage is connected to the first vertical column 601 and the second vertical column 602 by a first guide sleeve 603 and a second guide sleeve 604. The sliding carriage further includes a positioning slide rail 605 connected between the first guide sleeve 603 and the second guide sleeve 604. The length of the positioning slide rail 605 extends in the second direction. The pin holder 501 is slidably installed on the positioning slide rail 605. In this way, the tool electrode 50 can be reciprocally moved along the second direction on the rack 10.

[0031] The position adjusting mechanism 60 further includes a driving mechanism 606 for driving the tool electrode 50 to reciprocally move. In some embodiments, the driving mechanism 606 includes a driving motor 6061. The driving motor 6061 is drivingly connected to the pin holder 501. The driving connection structure can be a synchronous belt, a lead screw, or the like. The driving motor 6061 can drive the pin holder 501 to reciprocally move along the positioning slide rail 605.

[0032] In order to change the up-down position of the tool electrode 50, the position adjusting mechanism 60 further comprises a height adjusting mechanism, which comprises a lifting motor 607 fixed on the upper end of the first column 601 and the second column 602, and a lifting rod 608 cooperating with the lifting motor 607, the lower end of the lifting rod 608 is fixedly connected with the sliding frame, and the lifting rod 608 is a threaded rod and cooperates with the lifting motor 607 to form a nut and screw mechanism, so that the lifting motor 607 can drive the lifting rod 608 to move up and down, and then drive the sliding frame to move up and down, so as to change the position height of the tool electrode 50.

[0033] In order to realize the fixed connection with the lifting rod 608, the sliding frame further has a connecting cross rod 609 fixed above and opposite to the positioning slide rail 605, and the lower end of the lifting rod 608 is fixedly connected with the connecting cross rod 609. In other embodiments, the position adjusting mechanism 60 can also use other two-dimensional moving mechanisms in the prior art to realize the reciprocating movement of the tool electrode 50 on the rack 10 and the adjustment of the height position.

[0034] The electro-erosion machining device further comprises a control system, please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7 The electro-erosion machining device is provided with a control box 70 for installing the hardware devices related to the control system, and the control system can control the conveying speed of the conveying line 20 and the reciprocating movement speed of the tool electrode 50. The control box 70 has an operation interface for the operator to operate. The control box 70 is connected with the circuit of the electro-erosion machining device through an external wire 701, including the connection with the position adjusting mechanism 60, the connection with the power device for driving the movement of the conveying line 20, and the connection with each linear motor 503, so as to control the action of each linear motor 503 through the control box 70, and adjust the position height of the corresponding electrode needle 502.

[0035] The tool electrode 50 and the electrical connection structure 40 are connected with the circuit, and the circuit here is a pulse circuit. By connecting with the circuit, the workpiece 30 connected with the electrical connection structure 40 can be electrified to form a workpiece electrode.

[0036] In the electro-erosion machining, the tool electrode 50 is in a proper height position, which means that the distance between the lower end of the electrode needle 502 of the tool electrode 50 and the workpiece 30 meets the electro-erosion discharge distance when the workpiece 30 is directly below the tool electrode 50. The control system controls the workpiece 30 carried by the conveying line 20 to move from back to front, and controls the driving mechanism 606 to drive the tool electrode 50 to reciprocate, so that the workpiece 30 passes below the tool electrode 50, the electrode needle 502 of the tool electrode 50 discharges to the workpiece 30, and the electro-erosion machining for material removal is performed. After the workpiece 30 passes below the tool electrode 50 with the conveying line 20, the electro-erosion machining of the workpiece 30 is completed, and the required circuit pattern 301 is processed on the workpiece 30. According to the actual shape of the circuit pattern 301, the movement of the conveying line 20 can be continuous movement or step-by-step movement.

[0037] Since the electro-erosion machining of the workpiece 30 is completed when the workpiece 30 carried by the conveying line 20 passes below the tool electrode 50, the electro-erosion machining has very high efficiency, and the tool electrode 50 can be used for 5000 to 30000 times. The electro-erosion machining can realize pipeline production, especially when producing PCBs, the copper layer of the workpiece 30 is only 0.03mm-0.07mm thick, and the thickest is only 0.1mm. The consumption of the tool electrode 50 is very small, and the tool electrode 50 can be used for more than hundreds of thousands of times, which can fully meet the machining of large quantities of workpieces 30, so that the electro-erosion machining equipment in the present application can process large quantities of workpieces 30 with high efficiency. Such electro-erosion machining equipment can avoid environmental pollution caused by chemical etching in the production of PCBs.

[0038] In addition, the electro-erosion machining has the characteristics of high machining precision, which can reach ±0.01mm, so that the electro-erosion machining equipment can be used in the field of high-precision machining. Therefore, using the electro-erosion machining equipment, low-cost, high-efficiency and pollution-free production can be realized.

[0039] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 The electrical connection structure 40 includes a conductive pressing piece 401 movably arranged on the conveying line 20, and the electro-erosion machining equipment further includes a conductive sliding rail 80 fixed relative to the rack 10. The conductive sliding rail 80 is arranged beside the conveying line 20 along the second direction and has a certain length along the first direction. The conductive sliding rail 80 is electrically connected to the circuit. The conductive pressing piece 401 can be a conductive pressing plate, a conductive pressing rod, etc. The conductive pressing piece 401 can be made of conductive material as a whole, or partially made of insulating material and have a conductive part to meet the requirement of connecting the workpiece 30 to the circuit. Similarly, the conductive sliding rail 80 can be made of conductive material as a whole, or partially made of insulating material and have a conductive part.

[0040] The conveying line 20 has an upper feeding position, a working position and a lower discharging position on the conveying stroke. The upper feeding position is located at the rear side of the rear end of the conductive slide rail 80, at which the conductive pressing piece 401 is not matched with the conductive slide rail 80, so that the workpiece 30 can be placed between the conductive pressing piece 401 and the conveying line 20. At the working position, the conductive pressing piece 401 is matched with the conductive slide rail 80 to be connected with the circuit, and the conductive slide rail 80 forces the conductive pressing piece 401 to press the workpiece 30, and the tool electrode 50 electrically erodes the workpiece 30 at the working position. The lower discharging position is located at the front side of the front end of the conductive slide rail 80, at which the conductive pressing piece 401 is disengaged from the conductive slide rail 80, so that the pressing of the workpiece 30 by the conductive pressing piece 401 is released, and the workpiece 30 after processing can be conveniently unloaded from the conveying line 20. With such a structure, the conductive pressing piece 401 not only realizes the connection of the workpiece 30 to the circuit, but also reliably maintains the position of the workpiece 30 on the conveying line 20. The installation of the workpiece 30 on the conveying line 20, the connection to the circuit and the unloading operation after processing are very convenient.

[0041] In other embodiments, the structure for connecting the workpiece 30 to the circuit and the structure for maintaining the position of the workpiece 30 on the conveying line 20 can be relatively independent structures, i.e. a special installation structure is provided to positionally install the workpiece 30 on the conveying line 20. Of course, if the workpiece 30 can be positionally maintained on the conveying line 20 by itself, the installation structure can not be provided, and the electrical connection structure 40 only needs to be used to connect the workpiece 30 to the circuit.

[0042] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 4 The conductive pressing piece 401 is a conductive pressing plate, and is pivotally connected to the conveying line 20, so that the conductive pressing piece 401 can rotate relative to the conveying line 20 about the rotation axis. The rotation axis of the conductive pressing piece 401 extends along the conveying direction (i.e. the first direction) of the conveying line 20. The conductive pressing piece 401 is a lever structure, including a first end 4011 and a second end 4012 located on both sides of the rotation axis. At the working position, the second end 4012 is supported and pressed on the conductive slide rail 80, so that the electrical connection structure 40 is connected to the circuit, and the conductive slide rail 80 has the function of lifting the second end 4012, so that the first end 4011 can press the workpiece 30, and reliable electrical connection is ensured. The conductive pressing piece 401 is provided in the form of a lever, which can reduce the setting height of the conductive slide rail 80. In order to ensure durability, the part where the conductive slide rail 80 and the second end 4012 are in contact can be made of a self-lubricating and conductive material, such as a graphite-based composite material or a copper-based material.

[0043] In some embodiments, the conductive pressure member 401 is movably mounted on the conveying line 20, and the lower end of the conductive pressure member 401 is used to press the workpiece 30, and the upper end of the conductive pressure member 401 is used to cooperate with the conductive slide rail 80. Correspondingly, the position of the conductive slide rail 80 can be set relatively high, so that the upper end of the conductive pressure member 401 can cooperate with the lower side of the conductive slide rail 80.

[0044] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 4 , the conductive pressure member 401 and the conveying line 20 have an elastic driving structure 402, which can drive the first end 4011 of the conductive pressure member 401 away from the conveying line 20, that is, the conductive pressure member 401 is opened relative to the conveying line 20, so as to facilitate the placement of the workpiece 30 between the conductive pressure member 401 and the conveying line 20 at the loading position. Based on the pivoting of the conductive pressure member 401 on the conveying line 20, the elastic driving structure 402 can be a torsion spring. In other embodiments, the elastic driving structure 402 can also be a compression spring arranged between the first end 4011 and the conveying line 20. Before the second end 4012 cooperates with the conductive slide rail 80, the compression spring is in an expanded state, so that the first end 4011 is opened away from the conveying line 20. After the second end 4012 cooperates with the conductive slide rail 80, the compression spring is compressed.

[0045] For the case that the conductive pressure member 401 is movably mounted on the conveying line 20, the elastic driving structure 402 can be a spring arranged between the conductive pressure member 401 and the conveying line 20. In the case that the conductive pressure member 401 does not cooperate with the conductive slide rail 80, the spring makes the lower end of the conductive pressure member 401 be away from the conveying line 20. After the upper end of the conductive pressure member 401 cooperates with the conductive slide rail 80, the conductive slide rail 80 forces the conductive pressure member 401 to move downward to press the workpiece 30 to realize electrical connection.

[0046] The conductive pressure member 401 and the conductive slide rail 80 also have a guide structure. Through the guidance of the guide structure, the conductive pressure member 401 can be automatically and smoothly slid onto the upper side of the conductive slide rail 80 to be supported by the conductive slide rail 80 when moving from the loading position to the working position. In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 5 , based on the fact that the loading position is behind the working position, the guide structure includes a first guide slope surface 801 located at the rear end of the conductive slide rail 80. The first guide slope surface 801 is a slope surface gradually rising from back to front, which can guide the second end 4012 to slide onto the conductive slide rail 80. In other embodiments, the first guide slope surface 801 can be arranged on the second end 4012 of the conductive pressure member 401. The first guide slope surface 801 can also be an arc surface. In order to avoid the second end 4012 of the conductive pressure member 401 from bouncing off the conveying line 20 when it is separated from the cooperation with the conductive slide rail 80, the front end of the conductive slide rail 80 has a second guide slope surface 802, which is a slope surface gradually descending from back to front.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7 In some embodiments, the conveying line 20 is a conveying belt, which is a looped structure and is movably installed on the frame 10. The upper layer is conveyed from back to front, and the lower layer is looped from front to back. The use of the conveying belt makes the conveying line 20 have the advantages of simple structure and easy arrangement. In other embodiments, the conveying line 20 can also be a chain conveying structure, which includes a conveying chain in motion, and the conveying chain is connected with conveying trays, and each conveying tray is provided with an electrical connection structure 40. The electrical connection structure 40 can also include a conductive spring sheet riveted at one end on the conveying line 20. The conductive spring sheet deforms elastically at the free end to press the workpiece 30 tightly on the conveying line 20. To realize the conductive spring sheet to be conductively connected to the circuit, a conductive connection structure can be provided on the conveying line 20. The conductive connection structure moves with the conveying line 20 and is conductively connected to the circuit and the conductive spring sheet.

[0048] Further considering that the workpiece 30 needs to have a stable posture during machining and maintain a suitable distance with the tool electrode 50, the electro-erosion machining device further includes a support structure corresponding to the conveying belt. The support structure includes a support flat plate portion 90 located on the side of the conveying belt away from the tool electrode 50, specifically on the lower side of the upper layer of the looped conveying belt. The support flat plate portion 90 is used to support the part of the conveying belt carrying the workpiece 30 during electro-erosion machining, to ensure the flatness of the conveying belt and further ensure the stable height position of the workpiece 30. The support structure further includes an upturned portion including a vertical portion and a horizontal portion upturned from both sides of the support flat plate portion 90 along the width direction of the conveying belt (i.e. the second direction). The horizontal portion is located on the upper side of the conveying belt and constitutes a conductive slide rail 80. Thus, the conductive slide rail 80 and the support flat plate portion 90 are integrally arranged, which can realize the synchronous manufacturing and installation of the conductive slide rail 80 and the support flat plate portion 90, and is convenient for the manufacturing of the electro-erosion machining device. In addition, based on the support structure being fixed relative to the frame 10, the support structure can limit the conveying belt in the second direction through the upturned portion.

[0049] As described above, two conductive slide rails 80 are arranged on the left and right sides of the conveying belt. Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7The electric connection structure 40 comprises four conductive pressing members 401, the four conductive pressing members 401 are arranged in two columns, the conductive pressing members 401 in each column are arranged at intervals in front and back, so that the arrangement of the electric connection structure 40 does not affect the cooperation of the conveying belt with the conveying belt driving shaft 201 at the reversing position, in other words, the cooperation of the conveying belt with the conveying belt driving shaft 201 at the reversing position does not affect the electric connection structure 40 on the conveying belt. The number of the electric connection structure 40 on the conveying line 20 can be one or multiple arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the conveying line 20. The electro-erosion processing device further comprises a conveying belt driving motor 202 in driving connection with the conveying belt driving shaft 201, the conveying belt driving motor 202 drives the conveying belt to rotate by driving the conveying belt driving shaft 201 to rotate.

[0050] In some other embodiments, the support flat plate part 90 can be separately arranged, that is, the support flat plate part 90 is not an integral structure with the conductive slide rail 80, and the separately arranged support flat plate part 90 is a support flat plate used for supporting the conveying belt.

[0051] In order to ensure that the conductive pressing member 401 can stably conduct electricity with the workpiece 30, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 6 The first end 4011 of the conductive pressing member 401 is provided with an elastic floating pressing head 4013, and the elastic floating pressing head 4013 is elastically and floatingly mounted on the conductive pressing member 401 by a spring 4014. The arrangement of the elastic floating pressing head 4013 also enables the conductive pressing member 401 to cooperate with workpieces 30 of different thicknesses.

[0052] During electro-erosion processing, an insulating medium is needed between the tool electrode 50 and the workpiece 30, therefore, the electro-erosion processing device further comprises a liquid spraying system 100, the liquid spraying system 100 comprises a spraying head 1001 and a pipeline 1002 connected with the spraying head 1001, during processing, the spraying head 1001 can spray insulating liquid medium towards the cooperation position of the tool electrode 50 and the workpiece 30, the insulating liquid medium is commonly kerosene or mineral oil or deionized water, since the sprayed insulating medium is in a flowing state, the metal powder generated by electro-erosion can be carried away by the flowing insulating medium, avoiding the accumulation of metal powder affecting the precision of electro-erosion, and meanwhile, heat dissipation is also achieved. In order to better carry away the metal powder generated by electro-erosion, the insulating liquid medium can be sprayed in a horizontal direction or at an angle to the horizontal direction. Based on the pressing of the conductive pressing member 401, the workpiece 30 can be reliably kept in position and will not be affected by the insulating liquid medium.

[0053] In view of the fact that the workpiece 30 has a certain width, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 7The liquid outlet of the spray head 1001 is a flat structure, which increases the spraying area of the spray head 1001. The rack 10 has a liquid storage groove 101 located at the lower side of the conveying line 20, which can collect the insulating medium and the metal powder generated by the electric erosion, and facilitate the recycling of the metal powder.

[0054] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 7 The electric erosion machining device is also equipped with a machine adjusting plate 110, which has the same size as the workpiece 30 and can conduct electricity. Before machining, the machine adjusting plate 110 can be adjusted by the following method: The pattern to be machined is imported into the electric erosion machining device through a computer, a U disk or other mobile storage devices. The machine adjusting plate 110 is installed on the conveying line 20 through the electrical connection structure 40. The interface operation is performed on the operation interface of the control box 70 (the control box 70 has a circuit control unit for controlling the electric erosion machining device). The machine adjusting mode is started, the current of the electrode is set, the horizontal stroke is set, the vertical stroke of the tool electrode 50 is set, and then the lifting motor 607 is operated. The adjusted vertical stroke controls the lifting motor 607 to drive the sliding frame to slide along the first vertical column 601 and the second vertical column 602, so that the tool electrode 50 descends. When the lower end of the electrode needle 502 of the tool electrode 50 is about to contact the machine adjusting plate 110 without contacting, such as a distance of 0.5 mm, the electric erosion of electric spark occurs between the electrode needle 502 and the machine adjusting plate 110, and the liquid spraying system 100 sprays the insulating medium. At this time, the circuit control unit controls the tool electrode 50 to stop descending, and then the circuit control unit automatically records the vertical position of the tool electrode 50 descending, and controls the tool electrode 50 to rise. When the tool electrode 50 rises to the highest position, it stops and the liquid spraying system 100 is turned off. At this time, the machine adjusting plate 110 can be replaced with the workpiece 30 to be machined.

[0055] The machine adjusting plate 110 can also be used to adjust the electrode needle 502. When the needle seat 501 approaches the machine adjusting plate 110, each electrode needle 502 is controlled to be powered, and then the linear motor 503 of the powered electrode needle 502 operates to make the electrode needle 502 descend. When the electric discharge between the electrode needle 502 and the machine adjusting plate 110 starts, the linear motor 503 of the electrode needle 502 stops, and the electrode needle 502 is powered off. The electrode needles 502 that need to be adjusted are adjusted in turn until all the electrode needles 502 are adjusted to be on the same plane.

[0056] The application also provides an electro-erosion machining method. When the electro-erosion machining method is implemented, the workpiece 30 can be machined by using the electro-erosion machining equipment in each of the above embodiments. When the electro-erosion machining method is operated, the workpiece 30 to be machined is placed on the conveying line 20. As described above, the tool electrode 50 has a plurality of electrode needles 502. The conveying line 20 is controlled by the control system to transport the workpiece 30 in the first direction, and the tool electrode 50 is controlled by the control system to reciprocate in the second direction to electro-erode the workpiece 30. The tool electrode 50 moves in the second direction once to complete electro-erosion of one row. The control system controls the conveying line 20 to advance by a set distance. The above cycle is repeated to complete electro-erosion of the workpiece 30. Of course, in other embodiments, the control system can also control the conveying line 20 to advance continuously in combination with the shape of the circuit pattern 301 to be machined. The electro-erosion machining method can also include the above-described machine adjustment method.

[0057] The above describes the application by using specific examples, which is only used to help understand the application and does not limit the application. According to the idea of the application, those skilled in the art can make several simple deductions, deformations or substitutions.

Claims

1. An electro-erosion machining apparatus characterized by, The application relates to an electro-erosion machining device, comprising: a rack; a conveying line for conveying workpieces in a first direction; a tool electrode reciprocally movable in a second direction on the rack and above the conveying line, the tool electrode comprising a plurality of electrode needles, each of the electrode needles having one end facing the conveying line; a driving mechanism for driving the tool electrode to reciprocally move in the second direction; a control system for controlling the movements of the conveying line and the tool electrode; wherein the first direction and the second direction are both horizontal directions, and the first direction and the second direction are not parallel, the tool electrode is connected with a circuit, the conveying line has an electric connection structure, the electric connection structure is used for electrically connecting the workpieces into the circuit, so that the workpieces on the conveying line can form workpiece electrodes, and the tool electrode can discharge to electro-erode the workpieces through the electrode needles.

2. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of claim 1, wherein The tool electrode comprises a needle holder reciprocally movable in the second direction on the rack, and each of the electrode needles is adjustably installed on the needle holder.

3. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of claim 2, wherein Each of the electrode needles is installed on the needle holder through a linear motor, and the linear motor can drive the corresponding electrode needle to adjust the position.

4. The electro-erosive machining apparatus of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

5. The electro-erosive machining apparatus of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The electric connection structure comprises a conductive pressing piece movably arranged on the conveying line, the electro-erosion machining device further comprises a conductive slide rail fixed relative to the rack, the conductive slide rail is connected with the circuit, the conveying line has a feeding position, a working position and a discharging position on a conveying stroke, at the feeding position, the conductive pressing piece is not matched with the conductive slide rail, so that the workpieces can be placed between the conductive pressing piece and the conveying line, at the working position, the conductive pressing piece is matched with the conductive slide rail to be connected with the circuit, and the conductive slide rail forces the conductive pressing piece to press the workpieces, the tool electrode electro-erodes the workpieces at the working position, and at the discharging position, the conductive pressing piece is disengaged from the conductive slide rail.

6. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of claim 5, wherein The conductive pressing piece is pivoted on the conveying line, and the rotation axis of the conductive pressing piece extends along the conveying direction of the conveying line, the conductive pressing piece comprises a first end and a second end located on both sides of the rotation axis to form a lever structure, at the working position, the second end is supported on the conductive slide rail, so that the first end can press the workpieces.

7. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of claim 5, wherein The conductive pressing piece and the conveying line have elastic driving structures, the elastic driving structures are used for driving the part of the conductive pressing piece for matching with the workpieces to be away from the conveying line, the conductive pressing piece and the conductive slide rail have guiding structures, the guiding structures are used for guiding the conductive pressing piece to match with the conductive slide rail when the conductive pressing piece moves from the feeding position to the working position.

8. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of claim 5, wherein The conveying line is a conveying belt, and the electro-erosion machining device further comprises a support structure, which comprises a support flat plate part located on the side of the conveying belt away from the tool electrode, for supporting the part of the conveying belt carrying the workpiece during electro-erosion machining, and further comprises an upturned part formed by upturning at least one side of the support flat plate part along the width direction of the conveying belt, which constitutes the conductive slide rail.

9. The electro-chemical machining apparatus of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The conveying line is a conveying belt, and the electro-erosion machining device further comprises a support flat plate part located on the side of the conveying belt away from the tool electrode, for supporting the part of the conveying belt carrying the workpiece during electro-erosion machining.

10. An electro-erosive machining method, characterized by, The workpiece to be machined is placed on the conveying line, the tool electrode for electro-erosion machining of the workpiece has a plurality of electrode needles, the tool electrode and the workpiece are both connected to an electric circuit, the conveying line is controlled by a control system to continuously move or stepwise move the workpiece in a first direction, and the tool electrode is controlled to reciprocate in a second direction to electro-erode the workpiece, the first direction and the second direction are both horizontal directions, and the first direction and the second direction are not parallel.

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