ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING APPARATUS WITH CLAMPING DEVICE AND ELECTRODE ALIGNED IN THE SAME DIRECTION

Abstract

An electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the same direction includes a platen, a lower seat, an anode electrode and a cathode electrode. The platen and the lower seat are located relatively for clamping. A working space is formed between the platen and the lower seat for allowing a workpiece to be placed therein. The anode electrode is disposed on the platen and is electrically connected to the workpiece. The cathode electrode is disposed inside the lower seat and is corresponding to the working space. An isolation layer is disposed between the cathode electrode and the lower seat to avoid an electrical connection. A working gap with a constant distance is preserved between the cathode electrode and the workpiece for allowing an electrolyte to flow therethrough and performing electrochemical machining.

Claims

1. An electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the same direction, comprising a platen, a lower seat, an anode electrode and a cathode electrode; wherein the platen and the lower seat are located relatively for clamping; a working space is formed between the platen and the lower seat for allowing a workpiece to be placed therein the anode electrode is disposed on the platen and is electrically connected to the workpiece, the cathode electrode is disposed inside the lower seat and is corresponding to the working space, an isolation layer is disposed between the cathode electrode and the lower seat to avoid an electrical connection, a working gap with a constant distance is preserved between the cathode electrode and the workpiece for allowing an electrolyte to flow therethrough and performing electrochemical machining; thus, the anode electrode is electrically connected to the workpiece, the cathode electrode is corresponding to a portion desired to be cut of the workpiece, and a voltage is subsequently applied to enable the electrolyte to flow through the working gap so as to perform electrochemical machining to cut the workpiece and form a groove shape configured by the cathode electrode.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a conventional electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the opposite direction;

[0016] FIG. 2 shows a graph of a precision and a depth of the electrochemical machining apparatus without a Z-axis feed device of FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 shows a graph of a precision and a depth of the electrochemical machining apparatus with a Z-axis feed device of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the same direction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0019] FIG. 5 shows a graph of a precision and a depth of the electrochemical machining apparatus of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present disclosure relates to an electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the same direction. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a high-precision electrochemical machining apparatus which is capable of performing accurate deep cutting on a surface of a workpiece, and reducing an initial deviation value effectively. FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device and an electrode aligned in the same direction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 5 shows a graph of a precision and a depth of the electrochemical machining apparatus of FIG. 4. The electrochemical machining apparatus with the clamping device and the electrode aligned in the same direction includes a platen 1, a lower seat 2, an anode electrode 3 and a cathode electrode 4.

[0021] The platen 1 and the lower seat 2 are located relatively for clamping. A working space 5 is formed between the platen 1 and the lower seat 2 for allowing a workpiece 6 to be placed therein. The anode electrode 3 is disposed on the platen 1 and is electrically connected to the workpiece 6. The workpiece 6 is disposed on the workpiece positioning surface 61. The cathode electrode 4 is disposed on an electrode positioning surface 42 inside the lower seat 2 and is corresponding to the working space 5. An isolation layer 21 is disposed between the cathode electrode 4 and the lower seat 2 to avoid an electrical connection. A working gap A with a constant distance is preserved between the cathode electrode 4 and the workpiece 6 for allowing an electrolyte to flow therethrough and performing electrochemical machining.

[0022] Thus, the anode electrode 3 is electrically connected to the workpiece 6, the cathode electrode 4 is corresponding to a portion to be cut of the workpiece 6, and the electrolyte is subsequently applied to flow through the working gap A along a tube 7. Therefore, a groove shape configured by the cathode electrode 4 can be formed on the workpiece.

[0023] According to the aforementioned description, the electrochemical machining apparatus with the clamping device and the electrode aligned in the same direction of the present disclosure can perform electrochemical machining on a portion to be cut of the workpiece 6 without a feed device to control the cathode electrode 4, so that the high processing expenditure caused by the high-precision feed device can be reduced effectively. In addition, the electrochemical machining apparatus of the present disclosure can control the cutting depth of the workpiece 6 by using the fixed working gap A, such that a stable yield rate can be further provided. Moreover, the electrochemical machining apparatus of the present disclosure uses the workpiece 6 disposed in the working space 5 between the platen 1 and the lower seat 2 to perform electrochemical machining and provides a simple and convenient operation. In addition, the cathode electrode 4 of the present disclosure is disposed inside the lower seat 2 (i.e. a clamping device), and the processed surface of the workpiece 6 and the cathode electrode 4 are aligned in the same direction, thereby effectively reducing the initial deviation value during the ECM process.

[0024] In FIG. 5, the present disclosure relates to an electrochemical machining apparatus with a clamping device an electrode aligned in the same direction, wherein the initial deviation value is only about 2 m in region E, and the initial deviation value is increased as the depth is increased. However, when the ECM process is operated under an appropriate voltage, the precision of the electrochemical machining apparatus of the present disclosure can be smaller than 20 m under 300 m of the processing depth, and the precision even can be smaller than 10 m under 100 m of the processing depth. In FIG. 5, there are a voltage strength I, a voltage strength II and a voltage strength III which represent a first voltage, a second voltage and a third voltage, respectively. The second voltage is smaller than the first voltage and greater than the third voltage Therefore, the present disclosure is quite suitable for performing high-precision shallow cutting on the workpiece.

[0025] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.