Electrode assembly for electro-hydraulic forming process

1. An electrode assembly comprising:

an electrode rod in an electro-hydraulic forming tool that has a chamber;

an insulation sleeve assembled over the electrode rod, the insulation sleeve having an inner end that is closer to the chamber than an outer end;

an adaptor disposed about the insulation sleeve that secures the electrode and the insulation sleeve in an opening defined by the chamber;

a conical receptacle assembled to the adaptor that defines an opening;

a replaceable insulator tip that is assembled within the opening in the conical receptacle and extends through the opening in the conical receptacle, wherein the inner end of the insulation sleeve is received within the insulator tip, and wherein the conical receptacle retains the insulator tip when the electrode assembly is discharged and the conical receptacle is removed from the adaptor to replace the insulator tip.

2. The electrode assembly of claim 1 wherein the adaptor defines a cup-shaped end that is disposed within the chamber, and wherein the conical receptacle is at least partially received in the cup-shaped end of the adaptor.

3. The electrode assembly of claim 1 further comprising a holder that receives the electrode and the insulation sleeve, a retainer that is attached to the holder to secure the insulation sleeve and the electrode rod within the holder, and a lock ring that locks the retainer to the holder.

4. An electrode assembly comprising:

an electrode rod in an electro-hydraulic forming tool having a chamber, the electrode rod extending from outside to inside the chamber and having a main portion and a tip portion;

an insulation sleeve assembled over the electrode rod, the insulation sleeve having a chamber end and a connector end, the chamber end is closer to the chamber than the connector end;

a holder attaches the electrode rod and the insulation sleeve to the chamber; and

a replaceable insulator tip assembled to the chamber end of the insulation sleeve, wherein the chamber end of the insulation sleeve is received within the insulator tip.

5. The electrode assembly of claim 4 wherein the tip portion is formed of a different material than the main portion of the electrode rod and wherein the tip portion is welded to the main portion.

6. The electrode assembly of claim 4 wherein the tip portion is selected from the group consisting essentially of mild steel, tungsten, molybdenum or a tungsten-copper alloy.

7. The electrode assembly of claim 4 wherein the main portion is selected from the group consisting essentially of low carbon steel.

8. The electrode assembly of claim 4 wherein the tip portion is formed with a tip having a tip profile that has a flat tip and rounded edges that conform to the shape of the electrode after a substantial number of pulses.

9. The electrode assembly of claim 4 wherein the tip portion is formed with a profile described by the following equation:

y ( x )= y o −A 1 e (1-x)/t1 −A 2 e (1-x)/t2 −A 3 e (1-x)t3 ,

wherein

e=a base of natural logarithms (2.718 . . . )

and constants used to define tip geometry are

y o

A 1

t 1

A 2

t 2

A 3

t 3

Maximum

0.00048

0.40939

0.14818

0.72452

0.01097

0.38186

0.00026

Optimum

0.0038865

0.59789

0.19858

0.71285

0.01263

0.19676

0.00065

Minimum

0.01164

0.80809

0.23584

0.83625

0.01788

1.61654

0.00031

wherein the tip portion is formed with a profile that is larger than:

Y=− 1.6 x 2

and that is smaller than a polyline defined by the horizontal line (y=0) and the vertical line (x=1) with a radius of ⅛R 0

where:

y is an electrode tip length, as measured form an end of the electrode tip;

x is a distance from an electrode centerline;

R 0 is an electrode radius equal to half of a width of the electrode; and

A and t are constants.

10. The electrode assembly of claim 1 wherein a deflection surface is provided at the inner end of the insulation sleeve that forms a tapered surface between a chamber end of the electrode rod and the chamber, wherein the deflection surface is narrowest by the electrode to deflect the force of a discharge of the electro-hydraulic forming tool.

11. The electrode assembly of claim 10 , wherein the deflection surface is formed on a metal cap that is assembled over the electrode rod and axially between the inner end of the electrode sleeve and the chamber end of the electrode rod.