Electric discharge machining condition setting system

Claim 1

A wire cut electric discharge machining condition setting system comprising: a display unit; cursor shift push button switch means for shifting a cursor on the display unit and for selecting, via said cursor, a machining condition to be changed; numerical push button switch means for receiving manual inputs and for changing the selected machining condition in accordance with said manual inputs; increment and decrement push button switch means including an increment button and a decrement button, for updating a preset value of said selected machining condition, including means for determining whether or not the increment button is depressed and for determining whether or not the decrement button is depressed; means for increasing the preset value by a predetermined amount in accordance with the increment button being depressed; means for decreasing the preset value by a predetermined amount in accordance with the decrement button being depressed; means for changing the rate at which said selected machining condition is changed in accordance with a depression time of said increment and decrement push button switch means and such that the preset value is changed so that neither hunting nor undesirable cutting of the wire electrode occurs when the preset value is updated during machining, including means for detecting the time that said increment and decrement push button switch means is depressed; means for determining if the detected time falls in a first time period of a second time period larger than the first time period; and renewal means for selectively operating said increment and decrement push button switch means for a first time interval when the detected time falls within the first time period, for operating said increment and decrement push button switch means for a second interval when the detected time falls within the second time period and for operating said increment and decrement push button switch means during a first time period so as to prevent abrupt changes in the preset value during a time from just after said increment and decrement push button switch means is depressed to the time at which said first time period begins.