JP2006316322A - Plating method of sheet-like product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plating method which does not cause the problem that flaws or breakages is caused by bending or the like even by the flow of a liquid, the transportation or the like in a plating bath, while maintaining the functional capability to form a plated film having a uniform thickness even on a flexible article such as flexible printed board. <P>SOLUTION: In the electroplating method comprising arranging anodes in the both sides of a passage through which articles 1 to be plated pass in a long plating bath 8 and performing electroplating by dipping the articles in the plating bath while continuously transporting them on a cathode bar 9 in such a state that the articles are suspended and held by a hanger 2 used also as a power feeder, the electroplating is performed in a state in which a shielding plate 20 made of an insulating material for uniformizing the current density is attached to the lower part of each article. Further, magnets 40 are buried at the front and rear ends in the transport direction of the shielding plate. Thereby, the interval between sheet-like products is stabilized because the magnets of adjacent shielding plates act to stick mutually. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for plating a sheet-like product such as a printed circuit board, and in particular, in a state where the upper part of the sheet-like product is suspended by a power hanger, the sheet-like product is long in series in a horizontal direction. The present invention relates to a plating method for a sheet-like product that is electrolytically plated while being continuously conveyed in a tank.

  As a plating method for sheet-like products such as printed circuit boards, the upper part of the sheet-like product is suspended and held by a hanger that also serves as a power supply, and the sheet-like product is electroplated while being continuously conveyed in a long plating tank in a horizontal direction. There is known a plating apparatus that performs (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). Further, an electroplating processing system is known that makes the current density uniform with respect to both end portions and lower end portions of the sheet where the current density becomes excessively high (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  Hereinafter, Patent Document 3 will be described. 6 is a schematic front view of the plating system shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 3, and FIG. 7 is a vertical side view of the plating system shown in FIG. The sheet-like product 1 is sandwiched between the clips 3 of the hanger 2 that also serves as a power supply, and is conveyed from the pretreatment tank 5 while being suspended from the lifting bar 4. This conveyance is performed so that the feeding claw 6 is pushed out by being hooked on the engaging piece 7 protruding from the upper part of the hanger 2 serving also as a power feeding.

  The sheet-like product 1 pulled up from the pretreatment tank 5 by the elevating bar 8 is pushed out to the entrance end of the long plating tank 8 in the conveying direction, where the elevating bar 4 is lowered to the position of the cathode bar 9, and the feed claw 6 are sequentially sent to the cathode bar 9.

  An anode 10 is installed on both sides of the long plating tank 8 in the longitudinal direction, and a shaking prevention guide plate 11 is installed on both sides so that the sheet-like product 1 is conveyed at the center position. Further, a shielding plate 12 for adjusting the current density at the lower end of the sheet is disposed below the shielding plate 12 and indirectly connected to the shaking prevention guide plate 11. And the shielding board 12 is connected with the raising / lowering apparatus which is not shown in figure by the raising / lowering rod 13 so that height can be adjusted with the workpiece | work size of the sheet-like product 1. FIG. The sheet-like product 1 is sequentially conveyed along the cathode bar 9 at a predetermined narrow interval width so that the current density does not become excessively high at the side end of the sheet-like product 1.

  Also, a workpiece holding member comprising a base made of a rectangular frame for holding the workpiece, a hooking portion attached above the base, and a sliding member attached below the base. There is known an anti-swaying mechanism for holding the object to be processed by the object holding member and transferring the inside of the plating layer while being engaged with the upper slide rail and the lower slide guide member. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).

Moreover, while providing an ejection device that ejects the plating solution in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece, the longitudinal direction of the plate is parallel to the conveyance direction between the ejection device and the workpiece, and A flat plate is provided in which the widthwise direction of the plate is inclined so that the edge of the plate on the workpiece side faces up, and the plating solution ejected from the ejection device is rectified by the guide plate to the workpiece. A plating method for contact is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 5).
JP 59-153899 Shokai 60-102258 JP-A-11-61495 Japanese Utility Model Publication 59-21668 JP 2000-178784 A

  In the inventions described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the uniform plating thickness is incomplete.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 3, the sheet-like product is conveyed and positioned by a roller chain, and since the sheet-like product is continuously conveyed in the plating tank in series in a horizontal direction with a narrow interval, a pseudo-long This has the same effect as plating the sheet, and the current density in the middle layer of the sheet-like product becomes uniform. Further, since the position of the upper end of the sheet is determined, the current density at the upper end of the sheet can be made uniform by adjusting the position of the anode. Furthermore, since a shielding plate for adjusting the current density is installed at the lower end of the sheet, the entire current density can be made uniform, and this plating system is a means of plating the sheet-like product with the most uniform thickness. It has become one.

  However, if the sheet-like product does not cause deformation, it is a useful means. For example, if the sheet-like product has flexibility such as a flexible printed circuit board, the sheet-like product is bent due to liquid flow or conveyance in the plating tank. In other words, there is a problem that it comes into contact with the shaking prevention guide or the shielding plate, resulting in scratches or breakage.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 4, since the object to be processed is fixed to a holding member made of a frame or the like and transferred in the plating tank, it is possible to prevent the object to be processed from being bent. However, a predetermined narrow interval width for preventing the current density from becoming excessively high at the side end of the object to be processed cannot be maintained due to the presence of the frame, which is not preferable.

  The invention described in Patent Document 5 shows that the jetting of the plating solution is rectified in parallel with the sheet-like product as a method for suppressing the bending, but does not contact the shaking prevention guide or the shielding plate. It is difficult.

  Accordingly, the present invention performs electrolytic plating while continuously conveying the sheet-like product in a horizontal direction in a long plating tank in a state where the upper part of the sheet-like product such as a printed circuit board is suspended and held by a power hanger. In the method, for example, even a flexible printed circuit board such as a flexible printed circuit board, while maintaining the function of plating with a uniform thickness, it may be bent or damaged due to liquid flow or conveyance in the plating tank. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plating method that does not cause a problem of bending.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to achieve the above object, and the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that anodes are arranged on both sides of a passage through which an object to be processed passes in a long plating tank. In the method of electrolytic plating by immersing in the plating tank while continuously transporting the object on the cathode bar with the object suspended and held by a power hanger, a shielding plate made of an insulating material for equalizing the current density, There is provided a plating method for a sheet-like product, characterized in that electroplating is performed in a state of being attached to a lower part of the object to be processed.

  According to this configuration, the object to be processed is continuously conveyed laterally in the plating tank with a narrow interval, so that the current density of the middle layer portion of the object to be processed becomes uniform. On the other hand, the shielding plate attached to the lower part of the object to be processed prevents the current density from becoming excessively high with respect to the lower end part of the object to be processed. Therefore, the entire object to be processed has a uniform current density. Further, even if the object to be processed has flexibility such as a flexible printed circuit board, the deflection can be corrected by the weight of the shielding plate.

  The invention described in claim 2 is such that the long plating tank is provided with a conveyance guide on both sides of a passage through which the workpiece passes, and the conveyance guide is in contact with only the shielding plate. The sheet-like product plating method according to claim 1.

  According to this configuration, when the object to be processed passes between the conveyance guides, only the shielding plate attached to the lower part of the object to be processed is contacted to guide the object to be processed from both sides. Therefore, since the conveyance guide does not directly contact the object to be processed, the object to be processed is not damaged or broken.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that magnets are embedded before and after the shielding plate in the conveying direction so that the neighboring shielding plates stick together when passing through the long plating tank. A sheet-like product plating method according to claim 1 or 2 is provided.

  According to this configuration, the magnets embedded before and after the shielding plate in the transport direction act so as to stick to the magnets of the neighboring shielding plates, so that the positional relationship between the shielding plates is fixed and the adjacent workpieces are processed. The interval is stable. Accordingly, the object to be processed can be smoothly conveyed and the distance between the conveyance guides can be reduced.

  In the present invention, as described above, while the upper part of a sheet-like product such as a printed circuit board is suspended and clamped by a hanger that also serves as a power supply, the sheet-like product is continuously conveyed in a long plating tank in a horizontal direction in series. In the method of electroplating, even if it has flexibility such as a flexible printed circuit board, it may be bent due to liquid flow or conveyance in the plating tank while maintaining the function of plating uniformly. Thus, a plating method that does not cause the problem of scratches or breakage could be established.

  Hereinafter, the sheet-like product plating method according to the present invention will be described with reference to preferred examples. For example, even in the case of flexible sheet-like products such as flexible printed circuit boards, the sheet is prevented from being bent due to liquid flow or conveyance in the plating tank while maintaining the function of plating uniformly. In order to prevent damage and breakage of the sheet-like product, anodes are arranged on both sides of the passage through which the sheet-like product passes in the long plating tank passage, and the sheet-like product is suspended by the power hanger In the method of electrolytic plating by immersing in the plating tank while continuously transporting on the cathode bar in a state of being attached, a shield plate made of an insulating material for equalizing the current density is attached to the lower part of the sheet-like product This was realized by performing electroplating with

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol shall be used for the same component as the prior art demonstrated in FIG. 6 and FIG.

  First, an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the shielding plate 20 is attached to the lower part of the sheet-like product 1 in a state where the sheet-like product 1 which is an object to be processed is suspended and held by a hanger 2 which also serves as a power supply, and FIG. FIG. 2 (2) is a plan view of FIG. 2 (1), and FIG. 3 is a view showing a modification of the shielding plate.

  The shielding plate 20 is made of an insulating material having an opening cross-sectional shape combining a V shape and a square shape, and is attached to a portions on both lower surfaces of the sheet-like product 1. A guide hole is formed in this position of the sheet-like product 1 in advance, and a guide pin (not shown) is inserted to fix the shielding plate 20.

  Thus, by fixing the shielding plate 20 to the lower part of the sheet-like product 1 with the guide pins, it is not necessary to adjust the height of the shielding plate by the lifting rod according to the work size of the sheet-like product 1 in the past. Thus, the positional relationship between the sheet-like product 1 and the shielding plate 20 can always be kept constant. Further, due to the weight of the shielding plate 20, even if the object to be processed has flexibility such as a flexible printed circuit board, the bending can be corrected. In addition, it is preferable that the lower side of the shielding plate 20 has a shape with a large opening in order to prevent the pretreatment liquid from remaining.

  As a modification of the shielding plate, as shown in FIG. 3, a shielding plate 21 having a shape in which plate-like members are opposed to both lower surfaces of the sheet-like product 1 may be used. Further, as described above, the shielding plate is fixed to the sheet-like product 1 using the guide pins. However, when the thickness of the sheet-like product 1 is thick to some extent, a leaf spring made of an insulating material instead of the guide pins. A method of fixing with, for example, may be used.

  Next, an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the shielding plate 20 is attached to the lower part of the sheet-like product 1 and is conveyed through the long plating tank 8, and FIG. 5 shows the passage of the sheet-like product 1 to which the shielding plate 20 is attached. It is an enlarged plan view which shows the conveyance guide installed in the both sides of a direction.

  Conventionally, an anti-swaying guide plate has been installed so that the sheet-like product 1 is transported through the central position of the long plating tank 8, but in the present invention, a plurality of transports are used instead of the anti-swaying guide plate. Guides 30 are erected on the bottom surface of the long plating tank 8 at regular intervals. The conveyance guide 30 has an arc shape when viewed from above, and is installed on both sides in the passing direction of the sheet-like product 1 to which the shielding plate 20 is attached, and comes into contact with both sides of the shielding plate 20 to convey the sheet-like product 1. It guides the direction.

  Thus, unlike the conventional type, in the present invention, since the conveyance guide 30 does not contact the sheet-like product 1, the conveyance direction can be safely and smoothly guided without causing the sheet-like product 1 to be damaged or broken. Can do.

  Next, an embodiment of the invention described in claim 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, magnets 40 are embedded in the vicinity of the front and rear ends of the shielding plate 20 or 21 in the transport direction. Thus, by embedding the magnets 40 at the front and rear end portions in the transport direction, as shown in the portion indicated by the arrow b in FIG. 4, while the sheet-like product 1 is being transported in the long plating tank 8, Since the magnet 40 embedded in one shielding plate 20 acts to attract the magnet 40 embedded in the other adjacent shielding plate 20, the positional relationship of the shielding plate 20 is fixed and adjacent to each other. The product interval of the sheet-like product 1 is stabilized.

  Further, since the shielding plate 20 has a pseudo long bar shape, the interval between the conveyance guides 30 can be thinned out, and the sheet-like product 1 can be conveyed more smoothly. It should be noted that the magnetic force of the magnet 40 needs to be adjusted so that the adjacent shielding plates 20 are attracted and can be easily separated when coming out of the long plating tank 8. The magnetic flux density on the surface of the shielding plate 20 is preferably 400 to 1000G.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention naturally extends to the modified ones.

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 to 7 show the prior art.
The front view which shows the state which attached the shielding board to the sheet-like product suspended and pinched. An example which attached the shielding board to the sheet-like product is shown, (1) Side view (2) Plan view. The side view which shows another example which attached the shielding board to the sheet-like product. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which suspends and clamps the sheet-like product which attached the shielding board, and conveys in a long plating tank. Explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the sheet-like product which attached the shielding board, and a conveyance guide. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which suspends and clamps the conventional sheet-like product and conveys in a long plating tank. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which suspends and clamps the conventional sheet-like product and conveys in a long plating tank.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet-like product 2 Hanger combined with power supply 3 Clip 4 Lifting bar 5 Pretreatment tank 6 Feeding claw 7 Engagement piece 8 Long plating tank 9 Cathode bar 10 Anode 11 Shaking prevention guide plate 12 Shielding plate 13 Lifting rod 20 Shielding plate 21 Shield plate 30 Transport guide 40 Magnet

Claims (3)

Place anodes on both sides of the passage of the object to be processed in a long plating tank and immerse the object in the plating tank while continuously transporting the object on the cathode bar with the power hanger hanging In the method of electrolytic plating,
A method for plating a sheet-like product, comprising performing electrolytic plating in a state where a shielding plate made of an insulating material for equalizing current density is attached to a lower portion of the object to be processed.   2. The long plating tank is provided with conveyance guides on both sides of a passage through which the workpiece passes, and only the shielding plate is in contact with the conveyance guides. Plating method for sheet products.   The magnet is embedded before and behind the conveyance direction of the said shielding board so that the shielding board of adjacent may attract | suck when passing in the said elongate plating tank. Plating method for sheet products.

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