A wire electrical discharge machine includes an upper wire guide and a lower wire guide supporting a wire electrode, a probe provided on an upper guide block having the upper wire guide, an offset storage unit for storing an offset amount from the upper wire guide to the probe, a position shift drive unit for changing the relative position between the table, and the upper and lower wire guides, a drive controller for controlling the position shift drive unit, a contact position calculator for calculating a contact position that is a position of the probe when it comes in contact, and a machining start position calculator for calculating a machining start position of the wire electrode, based on at least two contact positions and the offset amount. The drive controller controls the position shift drive unit so that the position of the wire electrode becomes the machining start position.

A wire electrical discharge machine determines the position of an endface of a workpiece by relatively moving a wire electrode toward the workpiece. The wire electrical discharge machine includes: a voltage application control unit configured to continuously apply voltage pulses between the wire electrode and the workpiece; a voltage detection unit configured to detect a voltage between the wire electrode and the workpiece; a pulse occurrence ratio calculation unit configured to calculate a pulse occurrence ratio that is a ratio of the number of the voltage pulses detected by the voltage detection unit to the number of the voltage pulses applied per a predetermined time by the voltage application control unit; and an endface position determination unit configured to determine the position of the endface of the workpiece based on the pulse occurrence ratio.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a wire electrical discharge machining system allowing a wire electrical discharge machining device and a robot to operate in conjunction with each other with high efficiency. A wire electrical discharge machining system 1 includes wire electrical discharge machining devices 7, 11, and 15, and a robot unit 17 that mounts a workpiece on the wire electrical discharge machining device. The wire electrical discharge machining devices 7, 11, and 15 may each perform either rough machining with supported cores or finishing machining after the cores are removed. Subsequently, core processing may be performed by means of a corresponding dedicated apparatus. Also, the core processing may be performed by means of a single common apparatus. The robot unit 17 mounts and collects the workpiece so as to allow these wire electrical discharge machining apparatuses to effectively operate, thereby providing wire electrical discharge machining with improved efficiency for the overall system.

A machining position correcting device is configured to be applied to an electrochemical machining device configured to make an electrolyte flow out of a distal end part of an electrode bar extending along an axis while rotating the electrode bar about the axis to electrochemically machine a material to be machined in a range from the distal end part of the electrode bar. The machining position correcting device includes a position detector configured to detect a rotational position of a feature point of the electrode bar.

A method of manufacturing a jointed device of a medical instrument includes providing a machining fixture on a wire electrical discharge machine having an electrical discharge wire.

The fixture includes member holes each adapted to accommodate at least one workpiece, the workpiece being adapted to form a portion of the jointed device of the medical instrument. At least two workpieces each include a first workpiece and a second workpiece, accommodated within at least two member holes of the member holes. The fixture is associated with the wire electrical discharge machine so that the electrical discharge wire can cut at most one workpiece at a time. The machining fixture is rotated around a fixture rotation axis at a predetermined angle, which is chosen to provide that the electrical discharge wire can cut only one workpiece at a time. The workpieces are cut by the electrical discharge wire.

A method of manufacturing a jointed device of a medical instrument includes providing a machining fixture on a wire electrical discharge machine having an electrical discharge wire. The fixture includes member holes each adapted to accommodate at least one workpiece, the workpiece being adapted to form a portion of the jointed device of the medical instrument. At least two workpieces each include a first workpiece and a second workpiece, accommodated within at least two member holes of the member holes. The fixture is associated with the wire electrical discharge machine so that the electrical discharge wire can cut at most one workpiece at a time. The machining fixture is rotated around a fixture rotation axis at a predetermined angle, which is chosen to provide that the electrical discharge wire can cut only one workpiece at a time. The workpieces are cut by the electrical discharge wire.

A method of manufacturing a jointed device of a medical instrument includes providing a machining fixture on a wire electrical discharge machine having an electrical discharge wire. The fixture includes member holes each adapted to accommodate at least one workpiece, the workpiece being adapted to form a portion of the jointed device of the medical instrument. At least two workpieces each include a first workpiece and a second workpiece, accommodated within at least two member holes of the member holes. The fixture is associated with the wire electrical discharge machine so that the electrical discharge wire can cut at most one workpiece at a time. The machining fixture is rotated around a fixture rotation axis at a predetermined angle, which is chosen to provide that the electrical discharge wire can cut only one workpiece at a time. The workpieces are cut by the electrical discharge wire.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a wire electrical discharge machining system allowing a wire electrical discharge machining device and a robot to operate in conjunction with each other with high efficiency. A wire electrical discharge machining system 1 includes wire electrical discharge machining devices 7, 11, and 15, and a robot unit 17 that mounts a workpiece on the wire electrical discharge machining device. The wire electrical discharge machining devices 7, 11, and 15 may each perform either rough machining with supported cores or finishing machining after the cores are removed. Subsequently, core processing may be performed by means of a corresponding dedicated apparatus. Also, the core processing may be performed by means of a single common apparatus. The robot unit 17 mounts and collects the workpiece so as to allow these wire electrical discharge machining apparatuses to effectively operate, thereby providing wire electrical discharge machining with improved efficiency for the overall system.

A machine tool includes a machining unit for feeding cutting oil to a work surface of a workpiece and machining the work surface, an optical sensor body unit dividing light outputted from a frequency sweep light source for outputting light whose frequency varies periodically into irradiation light with which the workpiece is to be irradiated and reference light, irradiating the workpiece with the irradiation light, detecting a peak frequency of interference light between reflected light which is irradiation light reflected by the workpiece, and the reference light, and measuring the distance from the machine tool to the work surface on the basis of the peak frequency, and a shape calculation unit calculating the shape of the workpiece on the basis of the distance measured by the optical sensor body unit.

A method for controlling a wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process, in which the wire traveling speed V.sub.W is adapted in-process, while cutting. The method for controlling a wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process according the invention includes adapting the wire traveling speed in-process, wherein the method comprises the steps of: determining the position of each discharge along the engagement line of a wire and a work piece; determining the size of a crater provoked at the wire by each discharge; creating a real time wire wearing model based on the position of each discharge along the engagement line of the wire and the work piece, and based on the size of the crater occurring at each said determined position of each discharge along the engagement line of a wire and a work piece, and based on the current wire traveling speed; and continuously comparing the wire wearing model with one or more wire wearing limits, and adjusting the wire traveling speed according to the comparison of the actual wire wearing model and the one or more wire wearing limits. The wire electrical discharge machining process is conducted with reduced wire consumption, safely, efficiently and profitably.