METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MACHINING COMPONENTS BY MEANS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING

Abstract

The invention relates to a method machining a particularly planar component by means of electrochemical machining, wherein the component has internal stresses resulting particularly from preceding manufacturing steps. In a first step a) of the method, the component to be machined is provided. Subsequently, in step b), at least two tools are provided in the form of electrodes and, in step c), an electrolyte is provided between the component and the at least two electrodes. In step d), a positive voltage is applied to the component and a negative voltage is applied to the at least two electrodes. Thus, in step e), by moving the at least two electrodes along their respective movement paths with respect to the component, electrochemical machining can take place; in the process, the gap between each electrode and the component is flushed with the electrolyte at least intermittently.

Claims

1. A method for machining a substantially planar component by electrochemical machining, wherein the component has internal stresses resulting from preceding manufacturing steps, comprising the steps of: a) providing the component to be machined; b) providing at least two tools in the form of electrodes; c) providing an electrolyte between the component and the at least two electrodes; d) applying a positive voltage to the component and applying a negative voltage to the at least two electrodes; e) electrochemical machining by moving the at least two electrodes along their respective movement paths with respect to the component, whereby a gap between each electrode and the component is flushed with the electrolyte at least intermittently; wherein the electrochemical machining by the at least two electrodes that are arranged distributed on the component takes place parallel in time and with electrodes separated in space from each other, the respective movement paths thereof running parallel at least in sections or at an angle to an axis of the component arranged in the direction of a short extension of the component.

2. The method for machining according to claim 1, further comprising at least one further machining step by electrochemical machining, which takes place parallel in time and with electrodes spatially separated from one another, by at least two electrodes arranged distributed on the periphery of the component, the respective movement path running parallel or at an angle to an axis of the component arranged in the direction of a short extension of the component.

3. The method for machining according to claim 1, wherein the component is formed substantially rotationally symmetric and the movement paths of the at least two electrodes run in a cylinder surface arranged coaxially to the component.

4. The method for machining according to claim 1, wherein the component is formed substantially rotationally symmetric and the movement paths of the at least two electrodes run in a hollow cylinder surface coaxially to the component.

5. The method for machining according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte is guided integrally through the at least one electrode, or in a counterflow method, through a pressure chamber arranged between the component and the electrodes.

6. An apparatus for machining components by electrochemical machining, comprising: a machining station, in which a component to be machined is rigidly held; at least two tools that are arranged distributed on the component, the tools being in the form of electrodes, which can be moved with respect to a component held in the machining station; a device providing fresh electrolyte for providing and feeding fresh electrolyte between the component and the at least two electrodes during the machining process; a device for removing spent electrolyte for removing and storing spent electrolyte from the component or from the at least two electrodes during and after the machining process; a current supply device having a control device for applying a positive voltage to the component and for applying a negative voltage to the at least two electrodes; and at least one access to the machining station, by which the component and/or the machining station are accessible to operating personnel and/or at least one manipulating apparatus, wherein the device for providing fresh electrolyte is arranged on a first side and the device for removing spent electrolyte is arranged on a second side adjacent to the machining station, and at least one access to the machining station is arranged between the device for providing fresh electrolyte and the device for removing spent electrolyte.

7. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein the respective movement path of the electrodes that are movable with respect to the component that is held in the machining station runs parallel at least in sections or at an angle to the vertical.

8. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein the machining station has an active axis of rotation.

9. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein said apparatus has two opposite-lying accesses arranged at the machining station, each of which is arranged between the device for providing fresh electrolyte and the device for removing spent electrolyte.

10. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein elements of the current supply device are arranged adjacent to the device for providing fresh electrolyte and/or adjacent to the device for removing spent electrolyte in such a way that the at least one access to the machining station between the device for providing fresh electrolyte and the device for removing spent electrolyte remains free.

11. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein the at least one access to the machining station extends substantially over the width of the machining station.

12. The apparatus for machining components according to claim 6, wherein, in each case, between elements of the current supply device that is adjacent to the device for providing fresh electrolyte and/or adjacent to the device for removing spent electrolyte, one access to the device for providing fresh electrolyte and/or to the device for removing spent electrolyte remains.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0041] Further features, advantages and application possibilities of the invention result from the following description in connection with the figures. Herein:

[0042] FIG. 1a shows a schematic representation of an exemplary apparatus according to the invention for machining components by electrochemical machining in a view from above;

[0043] FIG. 1B shows a schematic three-dimensional representation of the exemplary apparatus according to the invention from FIG. 1a; and

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the sequence of the method according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] FIG. 1a shows a schematic representation of an exemplary apparatus 10 according to the invention for machining components by electrochemical machining. The apparatus has a machining station 5, in which a component 3 to be machined can be rigidly held and four tools in the form of electrodes 8 that are arranged uniformly distributed, by way of example, on the component 3, the electrodes being able to move with respect to a component 3 held in the machining station 5. The component 3 held in the machining station 5 is formed disk-shaped, so that the component axis A runs in the direction of the short extension of the component 3. At the left in FIG. 1, next to the machining station 5, there is arranged a device for providing fresh electrolyte 11, which serves for providing and feeding fresh electrolyte between the component 3 and the electrodes 8 during the machining process. In this case, the exemplary apparatus 10 has four fresh-electrolyte pumps, so that each electrode 8 can be supplied by a separate fresh-electrolyte pump. A device for removing spent electrolyte 12, which serves for removing and storing spent electrolyte from the component 3 and/or from the electrodes 8 during and after the machining process, is arranged at the right next to the machining station 5, and has only one spent-electrolyte pump, which feeds back the spent electrolyte.

[0046] On the exemplary apparatus 10, two opposite-lying accesses 15 to machining station 5 are arranged, by which the component 3 or the machining station 5 is accessible to operating personnel 2 (FIG. 1B), and/or at least one manipulating apparatus, such as a crane or a feeder. In the exemplary apparatus 10 according to the invention, the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11 is arranged on a first side adjacent to machining station 5, and the device for removing spent electrolyte is arranged on a second side adjacent to the machining station 5. Further, the two accesses 15 to the machining station 5 are arranged between the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11 and the device for removing spent electrolyte 12, and essentially extend over the width of the machining station 5.

[0047] The apparatus 10 further has a current supply device 14 that is arranged distributed on the apparatus and that has a control device and the necessary equipment for applying a positive voltage to the component 3 and for applying a negative voltage to the electrodes 8. The elements of the current supply device 14 in this case are arranged adjacent to the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11 and the device for removing spent electrolyte 12, whereby the accesses 15 to the machining station 5 between the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11 and the device for removing spent electrolyte 12 remain free. Additionally, an access 16 to the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11 remains free between elements of the current supply device 14 that are arranged adjacent to the device for providing fresh electrolyte 11, and in the same way, an access 17 to the device for removing spent electrolyte 12 remains free between elements of the current supply device 14 that are arranged adjacent to the device for removing spent electrolyte 12.

[0048] The electrodes 8 of the apparatus 10 can travel perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 1, so that the movement path thereof runs in the vertical direction with respect to the component 3 held in the machining station 5. Additionally, the machining station 5 has an active axis of rotation D overlying the component axis A, whereby, in addition to axis-parallel recesses or recesses formed obliquely to the axis (“crooked”) for this purpose, for example, a spiral-shaped machining can also be produced at the periphery of a rotationally symmetric component 3.

[0049] FIG. 1B shows a schematic three-dimensional representation of the exemplary apparatus according to the invention from FIG. 1a, wherein identical elements are referred to by the same reference numbers. In addition, in FIG. 1B, an operator 2 of the apparatus 10 is shown as well as an operator interface 14a of the control device of the current supply device 14.

[0050] In FIG. 2, the sequence of the method according to the invention for machining a component 3, particularly a planar component, by electrochemical machining, wherein the component 3 has internal stresses resulting, in particular, from preceding manufacturing steps, is shown schematically. For example, the method can be carried out with an apparatus 10, as it is shown and described by way of example in FIGS. 1a and 1b. The method has the following steps:

[0051] In a first step a), the component 3 to be machined is provided. Subsequently, in step b) at least two tools are provided in the form of electrodes 8, and in step c) an electrolyte is provided between the component 3 and the at least two electrodes 8. In step d) a positive voltage is applied to the component 3 and a negative voltage is applied to the at least two electrodes 8. Thus, in step e), by moving the at least two electrodes 8 along their respective movement path with respect to the component 3, an electrochemical machining can take place; in this case, the gap between each electrode 8 and the component 3 is flushed with the electrolyte at least intermittently. Here, the electrochemical machining by the at least two electrodes 8 that are arranged distributed on the component 3 takes place parallel in time and with electrodes separated in space from each other, the respective movement paths thereof running parallel at least in sections, or running at an angle to an axis A of the component arranged in the direction of a short extension of the component 3.

[0052] Alternatively, in another machining step e), a further electrochemical machining can be carried out by at least two electrodes that are arranged distributed on the periphery of the component 3, said machining also being parallel in time and with electrodes locally separated from one another. In this case, the respective movement path of the at least two electrodes 8 also runs parallel or at an angle to an axis A of the component 3 arranged in the direction of a short extension of the component 3. The axis A of the component 3 is arranged vertically and, in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, corresponds to the active axis of rotation D of the machining station 5.