Patent Publication Number: US-2013233724-A1

Title: System and method of electrolytic deburring for metal pieces

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a system and a method of deburring, particularly to a system and a method of electrolytic deburring for metal workpieces. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Metal workpieces have burrs remaining after a mechanical machining process. Removal of such burrs makes subsequent handling safer and improves the workpiece appearance. Burrs of the metal workpieces are usually removed by a manual deburring or a machining deburring method. However, the whole procedures of such deburring ways are time consuming. In addition, the burrs may not be removed completely. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a system of electrolytic deburring including an electrolyte chamber, a anode, a cathode and a nozzle. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the system for electrolytic deburring. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded, isometric view of the electrolyte chamber, the anode, the cathode and the nozzle. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method of electrolytic deburring. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a system  100  of electrolytic deburring for workpiece  200 . The system  100  includes an electrolyte chamber  10 , an anode  20  , a cathode  30 , a power supply case  40 , a filter  50 , a heating container  60 , a pump  70 , a nozzle  80 , and a plurality of connecting hoses  90 . A liquid (electrolyte  101 ) is received in the electrolyte chamber  10 . The anode  20 , the cathode  30  and the nozzle  80  are immersed in the electrolyte  101 . The power supply case  40  includes an anode connector  41  and a cathode connector  43 . The anode connector  41  is electrically connected to the anode  20 , and the cathode connector  43  is electrically connected to the cathode  30 . The filter  50  is positioned between the electrolyte chamber  10  and the heating container  60  via the connecting hoses  90  for filtering the electrolyte  101 . The pump  70  is connected to the heating container  60  and the nozzle  80  via the connecting hoses  90  for pressurizing the electrolyte  101  heated by the heating container  60 . The electrolyte  101  delivered from the pump  60  is sprayed into the electrolyte chamber  10  by the nozzle  80 , which also functions to create turbulence in the electrolyte. 
     Also referring to  FIG. 3 , the electrolyte chamber  10  is a closed and hollow chamber. The electrolyte chamber  10  includes an electrolyte receiver  11  and a protective cover  13 . The electrolyte receiver  11  is substantially rectangular. The electrolyte  101  is received in the electrolyte receiver  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the electrolyte  101  is a salt solution of low concentration, and the pH value range is from about  9  to about  11 . In other embodiments, the protective cover  13  is omitted. 
     The anode  20  is a substantially cubic platform received in the electrolyte receiver  11 . A U-shaped passing groove  211  is defined in a bottom of the anode  20 . Thus, the electrolyte  101  flows easily into the electrolyte chamber  10  via the U-shaped passing groove  211 . The workpiece  200  is supported on the anode  20 . 
     The cathode  30  is positioned in the electrolyte chamber  10  above the anode  20 . The cathode  30  includes a connecting portion  31  and a mounting portion  33  connecting and communicating with the connecting portion  31 . The mounting portion  33  is immersed in the electrolyte  101 . In other embodiments, the whole cathode  30  may be immersed in the electrolyte  101 . 
     The power supply case  40  supplies electrical current to the electrolyte chamber  10  and the cathode  30 . The anode connector  41  and the cathode connector  43  are mounted on the power supply case  40 . The anode connector  41  is electrically connected with the anode  20  to form a conducting pin. The cathode connector  43  is electrically connected to the cathode  30  to form a conducting pin. In the illustrated embodiment, the voltage range supplied by the power supply case  40  is from about 5 to about 24 volts. 
     The filter  50  communicates with the electrolyte receiver  11  via a connecting hose  90 , for filtering the electrolyte  101  delivered from the electrolyte receiver  11 . The filtering of the electrolyte  101  avoids damage to the workpiece  200  during the cycle. 
     The heating container  60  communicates with the filter  50  by a connecting hose  90  for heating the electrolyte  101 , drawn through the filter  50 , to a suitable temperature for electrolyte reaction. The preferable temperature range for electrolyte  101  is from about 50 to about 70 Celsius degrees 
     The pump  70  is connected to the heating container  60  and the cathode  30 . The electrolyte  101  drawn from the heating container  60  is pressured by the pump  70  to increase velocity of the flow. Thus, a reaction time of the electrolytic reaction is shortened to avoid the size of the workpiece  200  having an effect on the processing time. In the illustrated embodiment, the pressure range applied by the pump  70  is from about 2 to about 6 Mpa. 
     The nozzle  80  is mounted between the mounting portion  33  and the workpiece  200 . The nozzle  80  is immersed into the electrolyte  101  in the electrolyte receiver  11 . The nozzle  80  is trumpet-shaped. The trumpet-shaped nozzle  80  sprays the electrolyte  101  firstly pressured by the pump  70 , so that a vortex is formed in the electrolyte receiver  10  and extreme turbulence results. The vortex and turbulence exerts forces on the burrs of the workpiece  200  to help remove the burrs. In the illustrated embodiment, a distance range between the nozzle  80  and the workpiece  200  is about 1 to about 10 centimeters. In other embodiments, the nozzle  80  may be other shapes, the nozzle  80  and the cathode  30  can be mounted on a movable device (not shown), or only the nozzle  80  can be mounted on the movable device for spraying while moving along a path. 
     The system  100  further includes a pressure gauge (not shown) and a plurality of valves to monitor and control the system  100 . 
     In assembly, the anode  20  and the cathode  30  are positioned in the electrolyte chamber  10 . The anode  20  is electrically connected to the anode connecter  41  The electrolyte chamber  10 , the filter  50 , the heating container  60 , the pump  70  and the cathode  30  are connected in that order via the plurality of connecting hoses  90  to form a recycling system. The nozzle  80  is mounted on the mounting portion  33 . The cathode  30  is electrically connected to the cathode connecter  43 . 
     The electrolyte  101  is poured into the electrolyte receiver  11  and the heating container  60 . The nozzle  80  is immersed in the electrolyte  101  together with the mounting portion  33 . The workpiece  200  is supported by the anode  20 , and is immersed in the electrolyte  101 . The power supply case  40  provides electrical current between its anode connector  41  and the cathode connector  43 . The electrolyte reaction occurs in the electrolyte chamber  10 . Because the current density in the burrs, edges and corners of the workpiece  200  is higher than other portions of the workpiece  200 , the burrs are quickly electrochemically removed. In the illustrated embodiment, the duration of the electrolyte reaction is from about 10 to about 120 seconds. The nozzle  80  sprays the pressured electrolyte  101  to form the vortex and turbulence. The workpiece  200  is taken from the electrolyte chamber  10  and cleaned after deburring process. In the cycle system  100 , the electrolyte  101  taken from the electrolyte chamber  10  is filtered by the filter  50 . Then the electrolyte  101  is heated by the heating container  60  after filtering. In other embodiments, the electrolyte  101  may be filtered after some time. 
       FIG. 4  shows a flowchart of a method for electrolytic deburring of metal workpieces  200 . The method includes steps as follows: 
     Step  401 : The system  100  of electrolytic deburring for metal workpieces  200  is provided. 
     Step  402 : The workpiece  200  is placed on the anode  20 , and is immersed in the liquid electrolyte  101 . 
     Step  403 : The electrical current is applied between the anode connector  41  and the cathode connector  43  by the power supply case  40 , the electrolytic reaction takes place to remove burrs of the workpiece  200 , and the electrolyte  101  drawn from the electrolyte chamber  10  is sprayed to form a vortex and turbulence by the nozzle  80 . 
     Step  404 : The workpiece  200  is taken from the electrolyte chamber  100  after deburring, and then is cleaned. 
     In the present disclosure, the burrs are removed during the electrolytic reaction. The vortexes and turbulence formed by the nozzle  80  apply pressure to the burrs to help remove burrs of the workpiece  200  cleanly and efficiency. The pump  70  applies pressure to the electrolytic  101  to the velocity and force of the electrolytic  101  flow, and the time of the electrolytic reaction is shortened. The electrolytic  101  is heated by the heating container  60  to a suitable temperature for electrolytic reaction. The filter  50  filters the electrolytic  101 , then the electrolytic  101  can be recycled to save resources. In addition, the U-shaped passing groove  211  is formed on the anode  20  for maximum effectiveness in the flow of the electrolytic  101  in the electrolyte chamber  10 . 
     In other embodiments, the nozzle  80  is directly positioned above the electrolytic  101  of the electrolytic room  10  for directly spraying electrolytic  101 . 
     In other embodiments, the nozzle  80  can be directly connected and connected to the pump  70  by the connecting hose  90 , and the cathode  30  can be directly connected to the cathode connector  43 . 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments or sacrificing all of its material advantages.