Development of a virtual reality wire electrical discharge machining system for operation training

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) uses a metallic thin wire to cut a programmed profile with high strength having sharp edges such as extrusion dies and blanking punches. However, the cost of purchasing and maintaining of WEDM equipment is very high for both the industry and general education institutions. Therefore, there are potential demands to reduce the expensive machine operation training cost, provide off-line collision-free simulation verification of the tool path, and examine the correctness of the programmed wire cutting NC codes. This paper presents the development of a virtual reality-based WEDM full machine simulation system which can emulate major functions of a real controller related to operation training and education. These functions include the tool path simulation, NC program interpretation and processing, kinematics of the machine mechanism, workpiece origin setting, etc. To demonstrate the developed system and illustrate the adopted method, the system capability is explained and shown in this paper. The research result can be used as a cost-effective interactive 3D digital tutoring system that has the benefits of improving on the inefficient, dangerous, and costly drawbacks in traditional learning and training for operating the real WEDM machine.