Study On Energy-Saving Pulse Generator For WEDM

As an important part of WEDM (Wire Cut Electrical Discharge Machining) machine, pulse generator is one of main factors which influence WEDM process. After analyzing the using ratio of the electric energy of pulse generator on the WEDM machine in existence, it shows that only 20% of the electric energy is actually used discharge machining in WEDM, while the other 80% of the electric energy is wasted on the limiting resistance as joule heat. Therefore, it has profound meaning to study on the energy-saving pulse generator for WEDM.The recent research on the pulse generator in oversea and domestic are generally analyzed, basing on the reading to the related Chinese and foreign literature. Aiming at the low efficiency of the pulse generator for the WEDM machine, a new type of energy-saving pulse generator for WEDM is designed. The dual-switch forward main circuit is used in this generator, and the limiting resistances are replaced by the high frequency transformers inductances. The using ratio of the electric energy is greatly raised by using the feedback energy from the primary winding of the high frequency transformers.In the design of the main oscillating circuit, the programmable timing counter IC of 8254 is controlled by the single chip computer to adjust the pulse width and interval, which provides the precise adjustment on the pulse width and interval in a wide range.Using the prototype of the energy-saving pulse generator, the machining process experiments are carried out on the WEDM machine and the machining status is analyzed. The effect of energy-saving can be obviously observed. It can save 75% more electric energy than the traditional pulse generator when cutting the same area. The machining result is nice. The cutting speed is raised, accompanying the highly-used electric energy and the low wearing of the electrode wires. The machining function is preferably finished and the feasibility of the energy-saving pulse generator is confirmed.