JP2002052457A - Wire saw - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve working efficiency by reducing useless arrangement spaces for main rollers to make a device compact in a vertical direction and allow a plurality of works to be cut at a time. SOLUTION: A main roller group disposed at a cutting position 2 of the work W is constituted by a pair of main rollers 3 between which an intermediate roller 4 is provided for supporting a thrusting load on a wire train 1a in such a manner that the pair of main rollers 3 and the intermediate roller 4 are arranged in parallel and in line. Cutting areas 5 are provided between each of the pair of main rollers 3 and the intermediate roller 4 where the plurality of works W are cut.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire saw configured to cut a workpiece using a wire,
In particular, the present invention relates to a peripheral structure of a main roller disposed at a cutting position of a workpiece.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in manufacturing a semiconductor wafer by cutting an ingot of a semiconductor material such as silicon,
A wire saw configured to perform a predetermined cutting process using a wire running over a number of roller groups is used.

[0003] As a specific example of this type of wire saw, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-62655, a single wire fed from a feed reel is covered by a tension adjusting roller or the like on the upstream side. The workpiece is wound around three main rollers (rotating rolls in the same publication) arranged in a cutting position in a multi-row manner, and further wound by a take-up reel via a tension adjusting roller or the like on the downstream side. An arrangement is disclosed.

In this case, the three main rollers are arranged in a triangular shape, and the workpiece is pressed against a wire row horizontally stretched over two of the main rollers to form abrasive grains. The cutting process is performed under the supply of the liquid.

[0005]

Incidentally, in a conventional wire saw, as a group of rollers arranged at a cutting position of a workpiece, three main rollers are generally arranged in a triangular shape as exemplified above. For this reason, a relatively large arrangement space is required not only in the left-right direction but also in the up-down direction, which results in an increase in the size of the device, particularly in the up-down direction of the device portion used for cutting.

[0006] In this type of wire saw, a workpiece is merely pressed against a wire row stretched between two main rollers of the three main rollers.
In other words, the wire row wound around the three main rollers in a triangular shape has a single cut area for the workpiece, despite the fact that there are a total of three linear stretched areas. Stay in the territory. For this reason, there is a problem in that the arrangement space of the wire rows is wasted, and the work time required for the cutting process is prolonged, thereby deteriorating the work efficiency.

Moreover, since each main roller is worn by contact with the wire row, it is necessary to replace these main rollers periodically or according to the life.
Conventionally, the replacement work has been troublesome and complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has the advantage of minimizing the size of the apparatus by reducing the waste of the arrangement space of the main rollers as much as possible. A first technical problem is to improve work efficiency, and a second technical problem is to facilitate replacement of a main roller.

[0009]

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention forms a wire row by winding a wire around a plurality of main rollers at a predetermined pitch, and allows the wires to run and to form a wire row. In a wire saw for performing a cutting process on a workpiece by pressing the workpiece on the cutting area, the main rollers are arranged as a pair and spaced apart from each other in parallel with each other. It is characterized by the arrangement of an intermediate roller that supports a load applied to the wire row by pressing.

Therefore, at the cutting position of the workpiece,
A wire is wound around the pair of main rollers at a predetermined pitch to form a wire row. The intermediate roller supports a load applied to the wire array from the workpiece and serves to prevent the wire array from bending. The number of the intermediate rollers may be one, or may be two or more.

[0011] Between the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller, a cutting region of the wire row is provided. Therefore, the cutting region of the wire row exists at a plurality of locations between the pair of main rollers, and the workpiece can be simultaneously cut by the plurality of cutting regions.

In this case, it is preferable to arrange the intermediate roller so as to be at an intermediate height with respect to the pair of main rollers, so as to give an inclination to the wire row on the cutting area side. According to such a configuration, the extending direction of the wire row having the cutting region is inclined with respect to the pressure contact direction of the workpiece, so that the wire row is compared with the case where both directions are orthogonal to each other. And the cutting ability and cutting ability with respect to the workpiece are improved.

[0013] Further, one of the pair of main rollers is connected to the rotary drive means, and the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller are connected via power transmission means.
Further, it is preferable that a torque limiter is interposed in the power transmission means. According to such a configuration, the operation of the rotation drive unit and the power transmission unit applies a rotational torque to each of the main roller and the intermediate roller, so that the wire runs smoothly. In this case, when an overload acts on the power transmission means from the wire row via the main roller and the intermediate roller, torque transmission to each roller is interrupted by the operation of the torque limiter, so that adverse effects such as wire breakage and the like are caused. Is avoided.

Further, one shaft end on the side where the rotary drive system of the pair of main roller and the intermediate roller is disposed is supported on a base via a bearing unit, respectively, and the side on which the rotary drive system is disposed is mounted on the base. If the other shaft end on the opposite side is mutually connected by an arm via a bearing unit and the other shaft end of the intermediate roller is supported on a base via a bearing unit, each roller Is properly supported.

That is, one end of each of the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller is supported on the base via each bearing unit, whereas the other end of each of the pair of main rollers is , Are supported on a base via a bearing unit and an arm on the other side of the intermediate roller. Therefore, each roller is efficiently supported on both sides, and sufficient supporting rigidity can be obtained.

Further, the other shaft ends of the pair of main rollers are detachably mounted on the bearing units, respectively.
If the arm is configured to be swingably and axially movable with respect to the other bearing unit of the intermediate roller, the replacement operation of the main roller can be easily performed.

That is, since the rotary drive system is provided on one side of the pair of main rollers, if the main roller is to be removed from one side, it is necessary to remove not only the bearing unit but also the rotary drive system. This makes the operation cumbersome and complicated. However, according to the above-described configuration, each main roller is separated from the pair of main rollers by moving the arm in the axial direction with respect to the bearing unit on the other side of the intermediate roller and swinging the arm. The arm and the bearing unit connected thereto are retracted from the other space, and the main rollers can be easily removed and attached from the other space. Therefore, when the main roller is moved in the removing direction, it is preferable that the arm can be swung to a position where the main roller does not interfere with the arm and the bearing unit.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a main part of a wire saw according to an embodiment of the present invention. A cutting position 2 of the workpiece W as shown in the figure is provided in the middle of the traveling path of the wire 1 from the unwinding reel to the take-up reel. At the cutting position 2, a pair of main rollers 3 around which the wires 1 are wound in multiple rows at a predetermined pitch are arranged.

The workpiece W is located between the pair of main rollers 3, that is, substantially at the center of the wire row 1 a in the extending direction.
Roller 4 that supports the load applied to wire row 1a from
Is provided. The intermediate roller 4 has a smaller diameter than, for example, the pair of main rollers 3. The pair of main rollers 3 and the intermediate rollers 4 are arranged in parallel with each other and in a line. In this embodiment, a cutting area 5 for cutting a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) workpieces W is provided between one main roller 3 and the intermediate roller 4, and the other main roller 3 is connected to the other main roller 3. Similarly, between the intermediate roller 4 and the intermediate roller 4, a cutting area 5 for cutting a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) workpieces W is provided.

Examples of the workpiece W include an ingot of a semiconductor material such as silicon, and an ingot of glass or ceramics. In this embodiment, the wires 1 are wound around a pair of main rollers 3 in about 500 rows at a pitch of 0.3 to 0.35 mm. Also, the workpiece W
Is a silicon block 15 cm square and 30 cm long.

As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate roller 4 is disposed so as to have a middle height with respect to the pair of main rollers 3. More specifically, the intermediate roller 4 is disposed such that a substantially central portion in the extending direction of the wire row 1a against which the workpiece W is pressed is extended upward by a predetermined dimension. The inclination angle α at which the wire row 1a is inclined downward from the intermediate roller 4 to the main roller 3 is 0.3
Degree. In addition, on the outer peripheral surface of each of the main roller 3 and the intermediate roller 4, there are formed multi-row circumferential grooves 3a and 4a for positioning the wire row 1a at a predetermined pitch interval in the roller axial direction.

In this embodiment, since the workpiece W descends from above and is pressed against the wire row 1a, the cutting area 5 is applied to the wire row 1a extending upward.
Is formed, but when the workpiece W is configured to rise from below, the wire row 1 extending over the lower side
b, a cutting area is formed, and the intermediate roller 4 is disposed so as to be in a state in which the wire row 1b is pushed down (middle high state).

FIG. 3 shows the main roller 3 and the intermediate roller 4.
Of the supporting structure and the driving structure of FIG. At one end of the pair of main roller 3 and intermediate roller 4 in the axial direction, a rotation drive system 6 for applying a rotational torque to each of rollers 3 and 4 is provided. In the following description, each roller 3,
The side on which the rotary drive system 6 is disposed in the axial direction of 4 is referred to as a proximal side, and the opposite side is referred to as a distal side.

The base shaft end and the shaft end of the distal end of the pair of main rollers 3 are rotatably supported by a base bearing unit 7 and a distal bearing unit 8, respectively.
In addition, the shaft end on the base end side and the shaft end on the front end side of the intermediate roller 4 are also provided with the base end bearing unit 9 and the front end bearing unit
It is supported rotatably.

The respective base end bearing units 7, 9 of the rollers 3, 4 are supported on a base 12a via a column 11 as an attachment member, and the respective end bearing units of the respective rollers 3, 4 are also supported. The units 8 and 10 are connected to each other by a single arm 13 extending in the horizontal direction, and the bearing unit 10 on the distal end side of the intermediate roller 4 is supported by a base 12b. In this case, the rollers 3 and 4 are arranged such that the axial direction is perpendicular to the column 11. In addition, each base end side bearing unit 7, 9 is provided between the rotary drive system 6 and each roller 3, 4.

As shown in FIG. 4 in an enlarged manner, the front end bearing unit 8 of each main roller 3 has an outer cylinder 8a fitted and fixed to an end boss 13a of the arm 13, and an inner cylinder 8a of the outer cylinder 8a. An inner cylinder 8c rotatably supported via a plurality of bearings 8b is provided on the circumferential side. The inner cylinder 8c and the main roller 3 are fastened and fixed by a fastening member (collet) 15 so as to be integrally rotatable. The fastening member 15 is an annular body having a tapered inner peripheral surface, and is fitted to a protruding portion 3 b having a tapered outer peripheral surface formed integrally with the tip of the main roller 3.

A pressing member 17 which moves in the axial direction according to the screwing amount of a bolt 16 screwed to the main roller 3 is disposed on the tip end side of the fastening member 15.
When the screw 6 is screwed in, the pressing body 17 moves the fastening member 15 to the proximal end side, and the diameter of the fastening member 15 is increased accordingly, and the inner cylinder 8c and the main roller 3 are fastened and fixed by the wedge action. It has become so. The inner hole of the inner cylinder 8 c is a space for inserting a tool into the bolt 16,
A cover 18 is fixed to the distal end of the outer cylinder 8a projecting more distally than the inner cylinder 8c with screws or the like. An outer fitting body 3x made of, for example, resin is detachably mounted on the outer circumference of each main roller 3, and the above-described circumferential groove 3a is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the outer fitting body 3x. Although not shown, the base end of each main roller 3 can be separated from each base side bearing unit 7.

The bearing unit 10 at the tip end of the intermediate roller 4
A support bracket 14 fixed to the base 12b, an outer cylinder 10a fitted with the intermediate boss 13b of the arm 13 and fixed to the support bracket 14, and a plurality of bearings on the inner peripheral side of the outer cylinder 10a. And an inner shaft 10c rotatably supported via the inner shaft 10c.
Are fixed so as to be integrally rotatable by bolts 19.
An inner hole of the outer cylinder 10a is a space for inserting a tool into the bolt 19, and a lid 20 is fixed to a tip portion of the outer cylinder 10a by a screw or the like.

The arm 13 is supported by the bearing unit 10 (outer cylinder 10a) on the tip end side of the intermediate roller 4 so as to be axially movable and swingable. In this case, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 5, the arm 13 is configured to swing to an angle at which the arm 13 is retracted from the space on the tip end side of each main roller 3. That is, when the arm 13 reaches the swing end, the swing range is set so that the main roller 3 does not interfere with the arm 13 even if the main roller 3 is moved toward the tip end. Is set.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A winding transmission means 6x as a power transmission means for transmitting power to the pair of main roller 3 and the intermediate roller 4,
A drive motor 6y as a rotary drive unit for driving the winding transmission unit 6x is provided. The wrapping transmission means 6x includes a main drive wheel 21 that can rotate integrally with one main roller 3, an intermediate driven wheel 22 that can rotate integrally with the intermediate roller 4, and a main driven wheel that can rotate integrally with the other main roller 3. 23, and each of these wheels 21 and
An endless power transmission member 24 is wound around 2 and 23. Note that two tension wheels 25 for adjusting the tension of the endless transmission member 24 are disposed between the intermediate driven wheel 22 and the main driven wheel 23.

A drive input wheel 26 that can rotate integrally with the main drive wheel 21 is coaxially disposed on the base end side of one of the main rollers 3. Is transmitted. In this case, each of the intermediate driven wheel 22 and the main driven wheel 23 is provided with a torque limiter 27 for interrupting power transmission to each of the rollers 3 and 4 at a predetermined rotational torque or more. The wheels 21, 22, 23, 2
As 5, a timing pulley, a V pulley, a sprocket, and the like are used. As the endless transmission member 24,
Timing belts, V-belts, chains and the like are used.

According to the above arrangement, the main roller 3 and the intermediate roller 4 are rotated by the operation of the rotary drive system 6, and
While the wire array 1a is wound and driven, four workpieces W gripped by a vertically movable mechanism (not shown) that can move up and down.
Is lowered from above, and is pressed against the wire row 1a under supply of, for example, slurry to perform cutting. In this case, since the intermediate roller 4 is arranged so as to protrude upward substantially at the center in the extending direction of the wire row 1a, the workpiece W moves vertically downward toward the inclined wire row 1a. The wire row 1a
The cutting ability or the cutting property is improved as compared with the case where is not inclined. Then, in one cutting step, a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of the workpieces W are cut at the same time.
Work efficiency is greatly improved.

While such a cutting process is being performed,
When an overload is applied to the intermediate driven wheel 22 or the main driven wheel 23 of the wrapping transmission means 6x, the operation of the torque limiter 27 shuts off the transmission of power to the rollers 3 and 4, and the wheels 22, 23 Becomes idle. Thereby, disconnection of the wire 1 does not occur, and excellent stability can be secured.

Further, since the pair of main rollers 3 and intermediate rollers 4 are arranged in a line in the horizontal direction, the arrangement space of these rollers 3 and 4 can be reduced in the vertical direction, and It is possible to achieve downsizing in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, when the main roller 3 is to be replaced, first, the cover 18 sealing the distal end of the distal end side bearing unit 8 shown in FIG. 4 is removed, and the tool is inserted into the tool insertion space of the inner cylinder 8c. And loosen the bolt 16. As a result, the pressing body 17 moves to the distal end side, the wedge action by the fastening member 15 is released, and the main roller 3 is separated from the inner cylinder 8c of the distal end side bearing unit 8. After such an operation is performed for the two main rollers 3, the arm 13 is moved to the distal end side in the axial direction together with the distal end bearing unit 8 as shown by a dashed line in FIG. The arm 13 is swung. Thereafter, the outer fitting body 3x is detached from the outer periphery of each main roller 3 and pulled out toward the front end side, a new outer fitting body 3x is fitted and fixed at the same position, and the arm 13 is returned to the initial state. Let it. Then, by screwing the bolt 16 into the main roller 3, the main roller 3 is fastened and fixed to the inner cylinder 8 c of the distal end side bearing unit 8 by the wedge action of the fastening member 15, and the main roller 3 is further fixed by fixing the lid 18. The replacement work of 3 is completed.

As described above, the outer fitting body 3x of the main roller 3 can be replaced by the attachment / detachment work between the main roller 3 and the front end bearing unit 8, and the axial movement and swing operation of the arm 13. The replacement work is greatly facilitated.

In the above embodiment, one intermediate roller 4 is disposed between a pair of main rollers 3. However, two or more intermediate rollers are disposed to The rollers and the pair of main rollers may be arranged in a line.

Further, in the above embodiment, the main roller 3 in which the outer fitting body 3x is fitted and fixed as a separate body is used.
The main roller 3 in which the external fitting 3x is integrated may be used.

[0039]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the main roller group provided at the cutting position of the workpiece is constituted by a pair of main rollers, and the pair of main rollers and the intermediate rollers are arranged in a line, so that the space for arranging the rollers is wasted. Does not occur, and the size of the device can be efficiently reduced.

Further, since a plurality of wire row cutting areas are provided between the pair of main rollers, the workpiece can be cut simultaneously in the plurality of cutting areas in one cutting step, which reduces the working time required for cutting. Shortening and improvement of work efficiency are achieved.

Further, since the intermediate roller is arranged at a middle height with respect to the pair of main rollers to give inclination to the rows and the rows, the extending direction of the wire row is inclined with respect to the pressing direction of the workpiece. As a result, the cutting property of the workpiece is improved and a smooth cutting process can be performed.

In addition, since each of the main roller and the intermediate roller is driven to rotate by the power transmission means provided with the torque limiter, an overload on the wire array is prevented and the stability of the apparatus is secured. It is possible to do.

On the other hand, the shaft ends on the base end side of the pair of main roller and the intermediate roller are respectively supported on a base via a bearing unit, and the shaft end portions on the front end side are armed via the bearing unit. The rollers are connected to each other, and the shaft end on the tip side of the intermediate roller is supported on the base via the bearing unit, so that each roller is efficiently supported on both sides and has sufficient support rigidity. Can be secured.

Further, the shaft ends on the tip side of the pair of main rollers are detachably mounted on the bearing unit, and the arm is mounted on the bearing unit on the tip side of the intermediate roller so as to swing and freely move in the axial direction. The roller can be easily replaced from the front end side, and the workability at the time of replacement is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a wire saw according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view showing a main part of the wire saw according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view showing a main part of the wire saw according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional plan view showing a main part of the wire saw according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of the wire saw according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a wire transmission device for winding a wire saw according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wire 1a Wire row 2 Cutting position of workpiece 3 Main roller 4 Intermediate roller 5 Cutting area 6 Rotation drive system 6x Winding transmission means (power transmission means) 6y Drive motor (rotation drive means) 7 Base end side of main roller Bearing unit 8 Main roller front end bearing unit 9 Intermediate roller base end bearing unit 10 Intermediate roller front end bearing unit 12a Base 12b Base 13 Arm 14 Support bracket (mounting member) 15 Fastening member 27 Torque limiter

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takafumi Mihara 5 Asahioka, Kannabe-cho, Shenzhen-gun, Hiroshima Ishii Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3C058 AA05 AA11 AA14 AA16 CA05 CB03 CB05 DA03 3C069 AA01 BA06 BB01 BB03 BB04 BC02 CA04 DA01 EA01 EA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] A wire is wound around a plurality of main rollers at a predetermined pitch to form a wire row, the wire is run, and a cutting region of the wire row is pressed against a workpiece to form the workpiece. In the wire saw for performing the cutting process, the main rollers are arranged as a pair in parallel and spaced apart from each other, and between the pair of main rollers, an intermediate supporting a load applied to the wire row by press contact with the workpiece. A wire saw characterized by disposing rollers. 2. The wire saw according to claim 1, wherein a cutting region of the wire row is provided between each of the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller. 3. The wire row on the cutting area side is inclined by arranging the intermediate roller at a middle height with respect to the pair of main rollers. The described wire saw. 4. One of the pair of main rollers is connected to a rotary drive unit, and the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller are connected via a power transmission unit, and are connected to the power transmission unit. The wire saw according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a torque limiter is interposed. 5. A side on which one of the shaft ends of the pair of main rollers and the intermediate roller on which the rotation drive system is disposed is supported on a base via a bearing unit, and the rotation drive system is disposed. The other end of the shaft opposite to the shaft is interconnected by an arm via a bearing unit, and the other end of the intermediate roller is supported on a base via a bearing unit. Item 5. The wire saw according to any one of Items 1 to 4. 6. The other shaft end of the pair of main rollers is detachably mounted on a bearing unit, respectively.
The wire saw according to claim 5, wherein the arm is swingably and axially movable with respect to the other bearing unit of the intermediate roller.