Improvement of the control system of the installation of electrical processing of metals based on a linear electrodynamic motor

Electrochemical and electrophysical methods of processing metals and alloys have found wide application in mechanical engineering and instrument making, including rocket and space technology. These processing methods have a number of advantages and wide technological capabilities. However, the pace of industrial adoption is still not high, which is largely due to the novelty of these methods. There are known cases of practical use of linear electrodynamic motors as feed drives for machine tools for the implementation of electrochemical and electrophysical methods of processing metals and alloys, namely, pulse electrochemical processing and electrical contact processing. The linear electrodynamic drive was the best suited for moving the electrode - the tool for each pulse of the process current. The article discusses the basic control schemes for a linear electrodynamic motor. Currently, there is a need to create an engine control unit based on modern electronic components. The article presents a control system for a linear electrodynamic motor used in an electrical processing installation for copy-piercing operations in the manufacture of dies, molds and other technological equipment. On the basis of modern advances in electronics, a block diagram of the control of an electrical processing unit was developed. The setup is controlled via a personal computer, where the corresponding control program is loaded. This setup provides a system for recording the movement of the electrode - tool using a linear displacement sensor. With this sensor, the control module varies the input parameters that are necessary for machining the workpiece. The sensor is powered directly from the microcontroller. Using the above sensor, the processing depth and the speed of movement of the tool electrode are recorded and analyzed. The article presents the results of checking the operability of the microcontroller with an oscilloscope. The developed control system with inductive displacement sensors and modern digital technology will make it possible to obtain the positioning accuracy of the tool electrode within a few micrometers, which corresponds to the world level.