Wire Cutting Patents (Class 219/69.12)
  • Patent number: 10500660
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machine provided with a disconnection repairing unit includes a core-fixing-end-position storing unit for storing a core fixing end position of a depositing and accumulating operation machined most lately among positions at which the depositing and accumulating operation for machining wastes by a core fixing function ends in a machining shape currently being machined and a disconnection repairing unit for executing automatic connection between a disconnection position and the core fixing end position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shouta Irie, Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 10503135
    Abstract: CAM software creates a machining program that executes wire electrical discharge machining under appropriate machining conditions even when the actual arrangement state is unknown at the time of creating the machining program. The CAM software causes a computer to create a machining program for a wire electrical discharge machine to machine a workpiece. The computer is connected to a database that stores a correspondence between setting conditions of the wire electrical discharge machine and the workpiece, and machining conditions suitable for the setting conditions, and the computer performs a first procedure of selecting a plurality of different setting conditions, a second procedure of retrieving machining conditions corresponding to the selected setting conditions, from the database, and a third procedure of creating the machining program that designates one of the machining conditions retrieved in the second procedure, with respect to each of the setting conditions selected in the first procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Ken Inukai
  • Patent number: 10471528
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machine includes: a wire electrode cumulative moving time calculator for calculating a value correlated to a wire electrode cumulative moving time as a cumulative value of time for which a wire electrode has moved in each of multiple wire electrode moving regions which are defined by dividing a movable range of the wire electrode moving relative to a worktable; and a display control unit for displaying on a display unit the information on values correlated to the wire electrode cumulative moving time for respective wire electrode moving regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Ryuunosuke Tomioka
  • Patent number: 10457514
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided for a self-contained tension control system. An example self-contained tension control system can include a brake system configured to provide tension friction to a web, a tension transducer to provide tension information indicative of tension of the web, a controller configured to receive the tension information, to compare the tension information to set point information, and to provide a command signal to the brake system, and an enclosure configured to enclose the brake system, the tension transducer, and the controller, the enclosure including a first web opening and a second web opening configured to allow the web to enter the enclosure and to pass through the enclosure to equipment downstream of the self-contained tension control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: The Montalvo Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher Osgood, Jonathan Hanson
  • Patent number: 10421140
    Abstract: A threading nozzle for threading a wire electrode for a threading device in a wire electrical discharge erosion machine includes a threading-nozzle body having a guide bore configured to guide the wire electrode along a longitudinal axis of the former and a gap that splits the threading-nozzle body in two parts which are connected at a flexural hinge configured in the threading-nozzle body. The gap splits the guide bore in two parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: AGIE CHARMILLES SA
    Inventors: Franco Volpi, Karl Tobler, Renato Rota
  • Patent number: 10376975
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machine with tension monitoring function comprising a tension generation unit configured to generate tension in the wire electrode, a first tension measurement unit set on the wire electrode and configured to measure tension, and a tension control unit configured to feedback tension value measured by the first tension measurement unit and output tension command value to the tension generation unit such that the tension value is equal to a target value, wherein a warning signal is configured to be generated when the tension command value output by the tension control unit is not within a set range corresponding to the target value of the tension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Masuda, Akiyoshi Kawahara, Yasuo Nakashima
  • Patent number: 10337284
    Abstract: A device, such as a valve, includes a hard seat having an axial bore extending along a central axis. A flapper pivotally connected with the hard seat at a hinge axis and pivotal between an open position to allow flow through the bore and a closed position to block flow through the bore, the flapper having a flapper sealing surface that slopes inward toward the central axis along a full circumference of the flapper sealing surface and the hard seat having a hard sealing surface that slopes inward toward the central axis conforming to the flapper sealing surface and on which the flapper sealing surface bears when in the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Richard T. Caminari
  • Patent number: 10329116
    Abstract: A sensing apparatus for yarn feeder may comprise a yarn feeder and a tension controller. The tension controller has an elongated sensing block installed therein, and a horizontal extending board is connected to the sensing block. An operating rod is mounted on a middle upper surface of the extending board at one end and upwardly sticks out of the tension controller to pivotally connect to a tension pulley at the other end. A yarn wound on a winding wheel of the yarn feeder is configured to couple with the tension pulley. At least an impedance sensing piece is attached on a surface of the sensing block, and a deformable hole horizontally penetrates through the sensing block. When the sensing block is pressed or pulled, the tension controller can obtain the tension value of the yarn and further calculate the torsion value of the yarn feeder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Sunshine Kinetics Technology Co. Ltd.
    Inventor: Shen-Te Feng
  • Patent number: 10315261
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machine includes: a supporting member for relatively moving a wire electrode relative to a measurement target; servomotors for moving the supporting member; a setting changer for changing the setting of a directive speed; and a motor controller that controls the servomotors in performing move-and-contact detection for detecting contact between the wire electrode and the measurement target by moving the two relative to each other, so that the wire electrode is moved relative to the measurement target based on the directive speed changed and specified by the setting changer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Abe
  • Patent number: 10315263
    Abstract: In a wire electric discharge machine of the present invention, a control variable detection apparatus is an inter-pole voltage detection apparatus and detects an average inter-pole voltage as a control variable correlating with an inter-pole distance. The wire electric discharge machine comprises a machining feed speed calculation apparatus determining a machining feed speed on the basis of a deviation between target voltage set by a target value setting apparatus 7 and the average inter-pole voltage so as to eliminate the deviation. The wire electric discharge machine further comprises a feed speed distribution apparatus and a relative movement apparatus. The inter-pole distance can be kept constant by the relative movement of a wire electrode and a workpiece made on the basis of a command of thus determined machining feed speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Kawahara, Yasuo Nakashima
  • Patent number: 10307847
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machine has a function of performing correction of corner shapes independently on an upper surface and a lower surface of workpiece. On the basis of the positions of upper and lower wire guides and the position and the thickness of the workpiece, the wire electric discharge machine calculates, on the upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece, a shape correction amount in a state in which there is a space between the upper nozzle and the upper surface of the workpiece and also in which there is a space between the lower nozzle and the lower surface of the workpiece, from a correction amount at the time when nozzles of the upper and lower wire guides are closely attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the workpiece. The wire electric discharge machine performs shape correction according to the calculated shape correction amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuo Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 10307848
    Abstract: An electrical discharge machining electrode wire includes a core including a copper or a copper alloy, and a covering layer covering a periphery of the core and including a zinc. The covering layer includes an inner layer including a ?-phase of copper-zinc based alloy and covering the periphery of the core, and an outer layer including an ?-phase of copper-zinc based alloy and covering a periphery of the inner layer. An x-ray diffraction intensity of (0001) of the ?-phase is more than twice an x-ray diffraction intensity of (332) of the ?-phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI METALS, LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki Tsuji, Hiromitsu Kuroda, Tetsuya Tokumitsu, Takamitsu Kimura, Yosuke Shiba, Hiroshi Matsuzaki, Yuichi Komuro, Shingo Amamiya
  • Patent number: 10300543
    Abstract: To provide a wire electric discharge machine which can appropriately perform thermal displacement correction of upper/lower guides even when the installation environment changes. Provided are a storage unit that stores temperatures of machine elements as temperature data, and a rendering unit that digitizes the installation environment and renders as environmental data. Additionally provided are a position command unit that commands a relative position of the upper/lower guides; and a relational expression calculation unit that sets the temperature data environmental data as input data, sets the relative position as training data, and calculates the relational expression by way of machine learning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keita Hada
  • Patent number: 10300542
    Abstract: A controller controls cutting of simultaneously cutting wafers by performing electrical discharge machining while moving a workpiece relative to cutting wire sections in a direction at right angles to the cutting wire sections in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of main guide rollers and leaving a connection at which a part of each wafer that has been incompletely cut is still connected to the workpiece, and shape correction of causing the cutting wire sections to perform scanning while performing electrical discharge machining along a path of the cutting wire sections in a cutting direction at the time of the cutting to simultaneously correct the shape of a plurality of cut surfaces that are cut at the time of the cutting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetaka Miyake, Takashi Hashimoto, Takashi Yuzawa
  • Patent number: 10265790
    Abstract: In order to prevent a reduction in the rate of operation and malfunction due to dirt in a machining tank, a wire electric discharge machine configured to perform electric discharge machining in the machining tank is provided with a camera for capturing an image of the inside of the machining tank and determining unit for detecting dirt in the machining tank based on the image captured by the camera. The dirt in the machining tank is detected by the determining unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoaki Matsunaga, Akiyoshi Kawahara, Yasuo Nakashima
  • Patent number: 10239280
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a set (1) of plates (2, 3; 12, 13; 21, 22; 41) or parts obtained by cutting a block (4, 4?, 4??, 35) of metal or composite material extending around a plane (5) comprising a first plate (2, 12, 21, 41) or part having an upper face (7, 33) and is second plate (3, 13, 22) or part having a lower face (8). The upper face (7, 33) of the first plate (2, 12, 21, 41) or part has a surface (7, 330) having at least two lines of inflection or changing slope with respect to said plane (5), and the lower face (8) of the second plate (3, 13, 22) or part has a surface (8) with a shape complementary to the upper face (7, 33) of the opposite first plate (2, 12, 21, 41) at a more or less constant height, corresponding to the height of the cutting line (34) in the block (4,35).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Mecachrome France
    Inventors: Arnaud De Ponnat, Cedric Bonnet, Olivier Martin
  • Patent number: 10207265
    Abstract: A microfluidic device molded in a single step provides a seamless fluid communication path from fluid input features to microfluidic channels. The device comprises a molded material which is formed around thread for forming high aspect ratio microfluidic channels. An associated method for the manufacture of the device is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Hummingbird Nano
    Inventor: Eleanor Augusta Hawes
  • Patent number: 10189101
    Abstract: A wire electrode is hung from an upper die guide of a wire electric discharge machine toward a workpiece, a distance from a position where the wire electrode on the top surface of the workpiece is hung down to a top end position of a machined groove formed by the electric discharge machining is calculated based on a commanded taper angle and the distance from the top surface of the workpiece to an upper die guide fulcrum position of the upper die guide, and automatic wire connection is performed by moving an upper nozzle by the calculated distance. In this way, a wire connecting operation can be performed in the vicinity of the tapered groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Harutora Inaba
  • Patent number: 10189103
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machining apparatus capable of improving the shape precision of a continuous corner part includes a corner speed coefficient calculation device calculating a machining speed ratio between a middle corner section and a straight part from a machining volume ratio between the straight part and the middle corner section in which machining volume becomes a constant value. A corner speed coefficient interpolation device interpolates a speed coefficient calculated by the corner speed coefficient calculation device in a pre-corner section and a post-corner section. A speed reference calculation device calculates a machining speed reference based on a representative speed and the corner speed coefficient, and a drive control device controls a drive device. A continuous corner detection device determines whether continuous corner sections overlap each other when the length of the straight part connecting two corner parts is shorter than the length of the pre-corner section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuo Onodera, Yuhei Domori
  • Patent number: 10144077
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge apparatus includes a wire bobbin on which a wire electrode is wound, a straightening treatment unit to perform straightening treatment on the wire electrode fed from the wire bobbin, a machining power supply to apply a voltage between the wire electrode and a workpiece via a feed terminal set above the workpiece and contacting the wire electrode, and a control unit to control the straightening treatment unit and the machining power supply so as to apply a voltage between the workpiece and the wire electrode that has been subjected to the straightening treatment, to perform electrical discharge machining to form an initial hole in the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takayuki Nakagawa, Tomoaki Takada
  • Patent number: 10105776
    Abstract: There is provided a wire electric discharge machine including a calibrating unit which carries out calibration for obtaining a detected deviation amount of the tensile force detector based on the set tensile force and a tensile force detected by the tensile force detector when the set tensile force is applied, the calibrating unit correcting output of the tensile force detector by the detected deviation amount which is obtained by the calibration, and the wire electric discharge machine carries out feedback control of the tensile force of the wire electrode based on a corrected detected tensile force which is obtained by correcting the detected tensile force of the tensile force detector by the calibrating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keita Hada
  • Patent number: 10095214
    Abstract: Workpieces are placed in the workstation so one is in registration with a fixed locator. Measurement data are obtained reflecting the positions of the respective features of the workpieces and represented in a common reference frame associated with the fixed locator. A processor uses the collection of assembly data and the measurement data to define and store ordered pairs of mating feature locations. The pairs are then reoriented using a computationally discovered best fit. The position of a feature demarked for registration with the adjustable locator is calculated and the adjustable locator is caused to move to the calculated position of the feature demarked for registration thereby establishing a best fit orientation of the mating workpieces in physical space. The mating workpieces are then positioned in said best fit orientation by registration with said fixed and adjustable locators and then mechanically joining the mating workpieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: ProcessChamp, LLC
    Inventor: George K. Ghanem
  • Patent number: 10086456
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machine according to the present invention includes a multijoint robot including a wire crossing mechanism for crossing a wire electrode on its tip end, a robot controller for controlling the multijoint robot, a numerical controller for controlling the wire electric discharge machine, and a transmission unit for transmitting a coordinate position when the multijoint robot is driven and controlled to move the wire crossing mechanism from the robot controller to the numerical controller, and the numerical controller synchronizes a position of each shaft of the wire electric discharge machine with a movement of the wire crossing mechanism with reference to the coordinate position transmitted by the transmission unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Meguru Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 10052703
    Abstract: Disclosed is a wafer slicing apparatus which cuts a silicon ingot to fabricate a silicon wafer, and more specifically, a silicon wafer slicing apparatus cutting the silicon ingot using wire discharge machining is disclosed. The present invention provides a silicon wafer slicing apparatus using wire discharge machining comprising: a water tank which contains an electrolyte; a cutting wire which has a cutting section dipped into the water tank and is transferred by a wire driving means; an ingot transferring unit which includes an electrode on which a silicon ingot, an object to be cut, is fixed, and moves the silicon ingot up and down within the cutting section of the cutting wire; an electrolyte circulating means which circulates and refines the electrolyte stored in the water tank; and a power supply unit which supplies a source voltage to the electrode of the ingot transferring unit and the cutting wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
    Inventors: Bo-Yun Jang, Sun-Ho Choi, Hee-Eun Song
  • Patent number: 10046407
    Abstract: In a wire electric discharge machine, a workpiece mounting unit mounts a workpiece tilted at a preset angle to a plane based on two orthogonal axes, X- and Y-axes. An XY-coordinate system is tilted at the preset angle so that it is transformed into an X?Y?-coordinate system. A machining command value commanded by a machining program is corrected based on the X?Y?-coordinate system. Thus, the tilted workpiece is taper-machined with a wire electrode kept substantially perpendicular to the XY-plane (table surface).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuo Arakawa, Kaoru Hiraga, Yuji Tuboguchi
  • Patent number: 10040139
    Abstract: A measurement program for sequentially measuring measurement points, which are to be measured with a touch sensor, is created on the basis of a machining program, which is read in, for machining a turning tool. Then, the rake face height is measured on each of the measurement points and the measurement data is stored. Subsequently, a calculation method of a correction amount is selected so as to calculate the correction amount, and whether or not the calculated correction amount is smaller than a regulation value is determined. The machining program is modified on the basis of the correction amount when the correction amount is not smaller than the regulation value, while the machining program is modified on the basis of the correction amount in accordance with the selected method when the correction amount is smaller than the regulation value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hikaru Yamane, Yasuo Arakawa
  • Patent number: 10035206
    Abstract: A controller for a wire electric discharge machine recognizes that a consumable, such as a filter, an electrode pin, and an ion exchange resin, has reached the end of its life and the timing at which discharge machining is interrupted and temporarily stops programmed operation in accordance with the timing. When receiving an evaluation result representing that time for exchange of the consumable has been reached, the controller instructs a consumable exchanging unit, such as a robot, to cause it to exchange the consumable for automatic exchange of the consumable. After the consumable has been exchanged, a programmed operation resumption instructing unit resumes the programmed operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 10030655
    Abstract: This oil pump is equipped with a rotatable inner rotor that includes a vane-housing unit housing multiple vanes so as to be capable of sliding in the radial direction, a rotatable annular outer rotor that includes multiple vane-connecting parts connecting the tip ends of the multiple vanes on the outside in the radial direction, first volume-changing parts, which are provided between the inner rotor and the outer rotor, and a first volume of which is changed in response to eccentricity of the inner rotor with respect to the outer rotor, thereby providing a pumping function, and second volume-changing parts, which are provided in the outer rotor, and a second volume of which is changed by a change in the distance between adjacent vane-connecting parts in the circumferential direction in response to eccentricity of the inner rotor with respect to the outer rotor, thereby providing a pumping function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Mitsuru Terada
  • Patent number: 10024644
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machine for detecting an end face of an object, configured so that when a contact detection movement is started and if contact between the wire electrode and the workpiece is detected, positions in which the contact between the wire electrode and the workpiece is detected are stored as contact detection positions and that when a non-contact detection movement is then started and if non-contact between the wire electrode and the workpiece is detected, positions in which the non-contact between the wire electrode and the workpiece is detected are stored as non-contact detection positions. When it is determined whether or not a set number of times of execution is reached and if the set number of times of execution is reached, a reference position is obtained by adding the radius of the wire electrode and a clearance of the wire guide to an end face determination position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Abe, Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 10010957
    Abstract: A control device 8 controls a tension device 10 to apply a tension to a wire electrode WE such that a set tension value is as small as possible within a range of 80 g or less during a particular anneal period when a particular anneal current is supplied from a current supply device 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: SODICK CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hirotoshi Inoue
  • Patent number: 9993888
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machine recognizes that the finished piece (core) has been separated from the piece of work as a result of electrical discharge machining, allows fluid to be jetted against the finished piece (core) from the lower nozzle so that the finished piece (core) floats upward, recognizes that the finished piece (core) has floated upward by a predetermined amount on the basis of the completion of the process program or the information gained from the sensor, and allows the core removal unit to catch the finished piece (core) for removal and collection after it has been recognized that the finished piece (core) has floated upward by the predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hirotsugu Kasai, Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 9987698
    Abstract: When machining of a workpiece is started in a wire electric discharge machine, before a voltage is applied between a wire electrode and the workpiece (a machining gap), practicable shaft feed control systems are discriminated on the basis of machining conditions set in advance. According to the discrimination, running into an inability state of continuity of machining and an accuracy failure after machining are prevented beforehand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Furuta, Akiyoshi Kawahara
  • Patent number: 9950378
    Abstract: In a wire electric discharge machine, a discharge delay time is used to classify the inter-electrode state into three categories; a short-circuit state, small-gap state, and large-gap state. Based on this classification, the magnitude of a machining current supplied from a main discharge circuit is determined. If the discharge delay time is zero (i.e., if no electric discharge is generated) after the lapse of a predetermined time since the start of the application of a machining voltage to an inter-electrode gap by an auxiliary discharge circuit, the inter-electrode gap is determined to be short-circuited by machining chips. Thereupon, a short-circuit machining current is supplied from the main discharge circuit to the inter-electrode gap to remove the machining chips. In this way, establishment of a complete short-circuit state is prevented so that the machining efficiency is improved to increase the machining speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Furuta, Shinji Yoda, Akiyoshi Kawahara, Yasuo Nakashima
  • Patent number: 9946927
    Abstract: The present invention describes a method for marking an object (18), the object (18) having a surface of a conductive material. The method comprises a step of applying an electric spark to the surface such that the material is at least one of partially melted and partially ablated by the electric spark, thereby forming a pattern on the object (18). Further, the present application relates to a marking system (10) for marking an object (18) using a spark generator (12) having a counter electrode (14) and a connector (16) for electrically connecting the spark generator (12) to the surface of the object (18) to be marked. Further, the present application relates to an authenticating system for authenticating or identifying an object (18) marked by the above described method for marking the object (18).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: SICPA Holding SA
    Inventors: Edmund Halasz, Jean-Luc Dorier
  • Patent number: 9914590
    Abstract: Provided is a workpiece conveyance method for conveying a workpiece (1) in a predetermined direction by applying a conveying force (F) to the workpiece (1) while supporting the workpiece (1) through use of free rollers (11), and the workpiece conveyance method includes: applying flows of a fluid to the free rollers (11) to apply a rotation auxiliary force (f) to the free rollers (11) in a rotation direction of the free rollers (11) during conveyance of the workpiece (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: NIPPON ELECTRIC GLASS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shuji Akiyama, Kaoru Mitsugi, Koji Nishijima
  • Patent number: 9895759
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machining apparatus includes a machining unit that forms a product part by cutting off an outer frame portion from a workpiece and a control device that controls the machining unit. The machining unit machines a first boundary region in a boundary between the outer frame portion and the product part to leave an uncut portion, cuts off the product part from the outer frame portion by machining a second boundary region, which is the uncut portion, and repeats machining for the first/second boundary regions. When n is a natural number equal to or larger than 2, the control device sets, based on a machining state when the first boundary region is machined, different machining conditions as first machining conditions in machining the first boundary region for n-th time and second machining conditions in machining the second boundary region for n-th time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Hashimoto, Takashi Yuzawa
  • Patent number: 9889538
    Abstract: To control cutting process with cutting quality to obtain product without any uncut portion on a corner portion, and to respond to a change in cutting speed. Water jet cutting performed by: inputting a cutting program, set cutting speed, cutting parameters; calculating cutting speed matching the cutting quality; calculating cutting shape from the cutting program and dividing the cutting shape into a linear portion and a corner portion; calculating a corner cutting speed for the corner portion on the basis of a shape of the corner portion within range from the calculation cutting speed to the set cutting speed, set cutting speed equal to or higher than the calculation cutting speed; set cutting speed and the corner cutting speed to the linear portion and the corner portion, respectively, in the cutting program; moving the nozzle relative to the workpiece on the basis of the cutting program assigned with cutting speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: SUGINO MACHINE LIMITED
    Inventors: Koichi Noda, Takuya Aoki, Naotsugu Terasaki
  • Patent number: 9878387
    Abstract: An example electrical discharge machining electrode assembly includes an electrode base and an electrode coating containing diamond that is electroplated to the electrode base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: John P. Rizzo, Jr., Gordon Miller Reed
  • Patent number: 9878385
    Abstract: A wire electric discharge machining apparatus includes a machining unit that forms a product part by cutting off an outer frame portion from a workpiece and a control device that controls the machining unit. The machining unit machines a first boundary region in a boundary between a member to be the outer frame portion and a member to be the product part to leave an uncut portion, cuts off the product part from the outer frame portion by machining a second boundary region, which is the uncut portion, and repeats machining for the first/second boundary regions. The uncut portion has a side crossing a machining direction in machining the second boundary region, and when machining the second boundary region, the control device controls the machining unit to start the machining from the crossing side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Hashimoto, Takashi Yuzawa
  • Patent number: 9868170
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machining apparatus includes an NC control device, and the NC control device determines, during taper machining, whether the type of machining is a type (first type) in which an upper die is located on a workpiece side in comparison with a lower die or a type (second type) in which the upper die is located on the side opposite to the workpiece in comparison with the lower die on the basis of a machining program and corrects the positional relationship between the upper die and the lower die in accordance with the determined type of machining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Yuhei Domori
  • Patent number: 9855616
    Abstract: A control device includes an interpolar average machining voltage detection unit that detects an interpolar average machining voltage between an electrode and a workpiece, an interpolar average machining voltage correction unit that corrects the detected interpolar average machining voltage, a machining speed control unit that calculates a machining speed of the electrode based on the difference between the set voltage, which is set in advance as a target value of the interpolar average machining voltage, and the corrected interpolar average machining voltage, and a drive control device that controls a machining speed of the electrode based on the calculated machining speed. The interpolar average machining voltage correction unit corrects the detected interpolar average machining voltage based on a difference between the calculated machining speed and the set speed, which is set in advance as a target value of the machining speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Ieyoung Kim, Takayuki Nakagawa, Daisuke Sekimoto
  • Patent number: 9849529
    Abstract: There is provided a wire electrical discharge machine that includes a temperature detection unit, an actual position correction amount calculation unit, a correction amount calculation unit, a correction amount adjustment unit, a position correction amount adjustment unit, and a corrective movement amount calculation unit. The actual position correction amount calculation unit calculates an actual position correction amount for an upper/lower guide section in accordance with reference position coordinates at a reference temperature and with actual position coordinates at a temperature different from the reference temperature. The correction amount calculation unit uses a prepared correction amount arithmetic expression. The correction amount adjustment unit calculates a correction amount adjustment value from the actual position correction amount and the position correction amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daisuke Yoshizaki, Yoshinori Makino
  • Patent number: 9796034
    Abstract: In the case where the shape of a machining path generated by analyzing a machining program includes a concave arc corner portion, the machining path is compensated by inserting a path leading from the end point to the start point of the concave arc along a path inside the concave arc and leading from the start point to the end point of the concave arc on the concave arc again.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shouta Irie, Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 9796026
    Abstract: A machining program creating device for a wire electric discharge machine creates a machining program for machining a keyway on the side surface of a round hole in a workpiece, based on a previously specified diameter of the round hole, a center position of the round hole measured by bringing a wire electrode into contact with the workpiece, and a previously defined shape of the keyway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kaoru Hiraga, Masanobu Takemoto
  • Patent number: 9766613
    Abstract: According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of setting up a work piece based on a vision is present. The method of setting up a work piece based on a vision comprises: calculating a start point of a work piece from the image of a work piece within a vision screen formed by a camera; capturing an image when a tool is captured in the vision screen; and calculating an offset value of the tool from the captured image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Doosan Machine Tools Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Gye Bong Jang, Dong Hwan Kim
  • Patent number: 9744607
    Abstract: A power supply system for wire electric discharge machining includes a first power supply circuit and a second power supply circuit. The first power supply circuit applies, to the machining gap, a voltage that induces a discharge. The second power supply circuit, which includes a low inductance line, supplies a current, which contributes to the machining, to the machining gap,. A blocking diode is series-connected between the low inductance line and the machining gap. A container, which has a contact surface contacting with the blocking diode and contains a cooling liquid, is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: SODICK CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kuniharu Yamada, Tomoyuki Yanagisawa
  • Patent number: 9724776
    Abstract: In a corner portion formed at an intersection of a first block to be machined first and a second block to be machined second, an end point of the first block is extended. Then, after moving from the first block to the extended end point of the first block, a wire electrode of an electrical discharge machine returns to an end point of the original block (an end point of the original first block and a start point of the original second block) therefrom along the same path as before, and machines the second block therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kaoru Hiraga
  • Patent number: 9707636
    Abstract: A wire electrical discharge machining apparatus includes: multiple main rollers around which a wire winds in parallel; multiple workpiece feeding units for feeding the workpiece toward the wire; a machining power supply unit for supplying a machining voltage to the workpiece; and a power supply terminal for supplying the machining voltage to the wire. The multiple workpiece feeding units are respectively arranged at a first position for feeding the workpiece toward a wire portion having a wire plane of the wire and a second position for feeding another workpiece toward another wire portion having another wire plane of the wire. The power supply terminal is arranged at a third position between the first position and the second position. The machining voltage supplied from the single machining power supply unit is supplied to the workpieces to be electrically discharge machined by the multiple workpiece feeding units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignees: CANON MARKETING JAPAN KABUSHIKI KAISHA, KABUSHIKI KAISHA MAKINO KURAISU SEISAKUSHO
    Inventor: Haruya Kurihara
  • Patent number: 9707638
    Abstract: A wire electric-discharge machining device includes a control unit that selects a cutting wire to which a pulse voltage is applied by a pulse-voltage generation unit on a basis of an angle formed between an end face of a workpiece and a plane including a plurality of cutting wires, which are not parallel to the end face, an interval between parallel cutting wires, and a relative distance between the cutting wires and the workpiece. A drive unit drives a workpiece in a direction not vertical to the plane including the cutting wires, and the workpiece is cut by electric-discharge machining by applying a pulse voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Itokazu, Hidetaka Miyake
  • Patent number: 9682436
    Abstract: The invention relates to a pulse generator module (50) for electric discharge machines which comprises a generator enclosure (51) containing printed circuit boards (PCBs), wherein at least one of the PCBs is a generator board (52). The PCBs (52) are all arranged in one plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Agie Charmilles SA
    Inventor: Rino d'Amario