Electrolytic shaping apparatus for sequentially reducing the thickness of an elongated workpiece

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC EXTRUSION OF AN ELONGATE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE AND ELECTROCHEMICALLY ERODIBLE WORKPIECE, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A SERIES OF SPACED APART ELECTRODES EACH HAVING A LEAST ONE CONDUCTIVE WORKING FACE, ELECTRICALLY NONCONDUCTIVE GUIDE RECESS MEANS DEFINING A PLANAR SUPPORTING SURFACE FOR SUPPORTING A MOVABLE WORKPIECE IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF SAID ELECTRODE WORKING FACES TO DEFINE NARROW WORK GAPS THEREBETWEEN, MEANS FOR MOVING THE WORKPIECE PAST EACH OF SAID ELECTRODE WORKING FACES IN SEQUENCE, SAID WORKING FACES DEFINING A PLANE CONVERGING WITH THE PLANE DEFINED BY SAID GUIDE RECESS MEANS, MEANS FOR PUMPING A ELECTROLYTE BETWEEN EACH ELECTRODE WORKING FACE AND THE WORKPIECE, A SERIES OF BRUSHES SPACED ALONG THE PATH OF WORKPIECE MOVEMENT AND ADAPTED TO BE ENGAGED WITH THE WORKPIECE, MEANS FOR PROJECTING EACH BRUSH SEQUENTIALLY INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WORKPIECE AS THE LATTER REACHES ITS POSITION, AND A SOURCE OF LOW VOLTAGE DIRECT CURRENT CONNECTED TO SAID BRUSHES AND SAID ELECTRODES IN A SENSE TO MAKE SAID ELECTRODES CATHODIC, WHEREBY EACH ELECTRODE IS ADAPTED ELECTROLYTICALLY TO ERODE SUCCESSIVE PORTIONS OF THE WORKPIECE AS THE WORKPIECE IS MOVED PAST SAID WORKING FACES.