JP2007050455A - High-pressure liquid jet type cutting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-pressure liquid jet type cutting device capable of continuously being used without maintaining an abrasive material collecting means, and easily collecting abrasive material having a uniform grain size. <P>SOLUTION: In the high-pressure liquid jet type cutting device 1, an abrasive material collecting means 60 is equipped with an abrasive material classifying tank 70 in which an abrasive material mixed liquid transferred from a catch tank 50 is made to flow in approximately horizontal direction, the abrasive material in the abrasive material mixed liquid is classified according to the grain size by utilizing the difference of sedimentation rate of the abrasive material according to the grain size, and the abrasive material in a predetermined reusable range is collected. Since the abrasive material in the predetermined reusable range can be classified and collected without using an abrasive material collecting filter, the high-pressure liquid jet type cutting device can be continuously used without maintaining the abrasive material collecting means 60, and the abrasive material having the uniform grain size can be easily collected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a high-pressure liquid jet cutting apparatus that cuts a workpiece by jetting a high-pressure liquid containing an abrasive.

  A water jet is a jet of high-pressure water formed by applying energy to water by an ultra-high pressure pump or the like, and has a flow velocity of 1 to 3 times the speed of sound, for example. In recent years, methods and apparatuses for cutting various workpieces (workpieces) using this water jet have been developed. In particular, in order to improve cutting efficiency, attention has been focused on abrasive jets in which high-pressure water is mixed with a solid abrasive. This abrasive material is made of a material with high hardness such as garnet, alumina oxide, silicon carbide, etc., and is a granular material having a particle size of, for example, several tens to several hundreds μm. These abrasive materials are processed together with high-pressure water. Collides with an object at high speed, destroys a part of the workpiece and cuts it.

  Such water jet cutting has the advantage that it can be cut without affecting the workpiece, and the occurrence of burrs on the cut surface can be reduced by the abrasive. Furthermore, in addition to being able to cut without problems even if the cutting line is a curve, there is an advantage that it is suitable for cutting composite materials and difficult-to-work materials. For this reason, in recent years, in order to dice a semiconductor substrate, particularly a packaged substrate, a cutting process using a water jet instead of a conventional cutting blade has been studied.

  In a water jet cutting apparatus using an abrasive jet, an abrasive used for cutting is generally collected and reused. This is because not all abrasive material sprayed with high-pressure water from the spray nozzle contributes to processing and is consumed in a single cut of the workpiece. This is because a large amount of abrasive is discarded, and the production efficiency is extremely lowered.

  Therefore, the inventors of the present application have been able to automatically circulate and reuse the abrasive material in the apparatus by using the abrasive material recovery device 160 provided with the abrasive material recovery filter 167 as shown in FIG. Have studied a water jet cutting device. In this water jet cutting device, as shown in FIG. 4, the high-pressure water supplied from the high-pressure pump 115 is used to send the high-pressure abrasive mixture in the abrasive-mixture storage tank 122a or 122b at a high pressure. A material mixed liquid (abrasive jet) J is ejected from the ejection nozzle 130 onto the workpiece 105 to perform cutting. Further, after the abrasive mixture J injected from the injection nozzle 130 is received by the catch tank 150, the abrasive particle recovery device 160 can reuse the abrasive mixture liquid from the abrasive mixture so that it can be reused (for example, 25 to 100 μm). This abrasive material is collected and replenished to one of the two abrasive material mixture supply tanks 122a and 122b that is not used for cutting.

In this abrasive recovery device 160, an abrasive recovery filter 167 that can pass a particle size of a predetermined size or less (for example, 100 μm or less) is used, and the abrasive recovery filter 167 is moved over the abrasive recovery filter 167 while vibrating the abrasive recovery filter 167. The abrasive mixture is allowed to flow at a constant flow rate (for example, 8 liters / min with a positive pressure pump), and the abrasive having a predetermined particle size (for example, 25 to 100 μm) that has passed through the abrasive collection filter 167 is selected. And recovered. This is because an abrasive having an excessively small particle size cannot contribute to polishing even if it is reused, while an abrasive having an excessively large particle size causes the injection nozzle 130 to be clogged.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-66895 JP 2001-79443 A

  However, since the abrasive recovery device 160 shown in FIG. 4 uses the abrasive recovery filter 167, the abrasive may clog the mesh of the abrasive recovery filter 167. For this reason, means for periodically cleaning the abrasive recovery filter 167 and removing the abrasive from the mesh to eliminate clogging has been taken. However, since the abrasive is worn by the abrasive, the abrasive recovery is unavoidable. It becomes necessary to replace the filter 167 with a new one.

However, the abrasive recovery device 160 has a problem that it is very difficult for an operator to replace the abrasive recovery filter 167 because the abrasive recovery filter 167 is disposed in a tightly sealed casing. there were.

Further, in the abrasive material recovery device 160, the abrasive material having an excessively small particle size is light in weight, and thus is pushed into the water flow without passing through the abrasive material recovery filter 167, and the abrasive material having an excessively large particle size is polished. Since it cannot pass through the material recovery filter 167, it is also pushed away by the water flow and discharged. However, as a result of verification by the inventors of the present application, it is found that abrasives to be recovered by the abrasive recovery device 160 (for example, 25 to 100 μm) are mixed in the discharged abrasives. I understand. This is considered to be partly because it is very unstable because the lower limit of the particle size is controlled by the flow velocity of the water flow. The amount of abrasive material that can be reused in this way is estimated to be about 8% of the total amount of abrasive material that can be reused, which can significantly reduce productivity. There was also a problem.

Furthermore, since the cutting force of the abrasive jet is determined by the particle size of the abrasive, it is desirable to make the abrasive as uniform as possible in order to achieve stable quality. However, in order to achieve this with the abrasive recovery device 160, the flow rate of the abrasive mixture flowing on the abrasive recovery filter 167 must be increased and the mesh of the abrasive recovery filter must be reduced. Since the rate at which reusable abrasives cannot be collected further increases, there is also a problem that it is very difficult to make the abrasive particles uniform in size.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can be continuously used without maintenance of the abrasive recovery means, and an abrasive having a uniform particle diameter can be easily recovered. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved high-pressure liquid jet cutting device.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an abrasive mixed liquid storage tank that stores an abrasive mixed liquid in which an abrasive and a liquid are mixed; and an abrasive mixed liquid storage tank; High-pressure liquid supply means for supplying the high-pressure liquid to supply a high-pressure liquid to the abrasive-mixture stored in the abrasive-mixture storage tank; and a high-pressure abrasive-mixture sent from the abrasive-mixture storage tank An injection nozzle that injects the liquid onto the workpiece; a catch tank that receives the high-pressure abrasive mixture liquid injected from the injection nozzle; and a predetermined range that can be reused from the abrasive mixture liquid transferred from the catch tank And a polishing material recovery means for recovering a polishing material having a particle size of about 10 μm and transferring a polishing material mixture containing the recovered polishing material to a polishing material mixture storage tank, and a high-pressure polishing material sprayed from an injection nozzle Depending on the mixture High-pressure liquid jet cutting device for cutting a workpiece is provided. In this high-pressure liquid injection type cutting device, the abrasive material recovery means causes the abrasive liquid mixture transferred from the catch tank to flow in a substantially horizontal direction, and detects the difference in settling velocity caused by the size of the abrasive particle size. A polishing material selection tank is provided that selects the polishing material according to the particle size of the polishing material and collects the polishing material having a predetermined range of particle size that can be reused. This abrasive sorting tank has an inlet provided on one upper side of the abrasive sorting tank; an outlet provided on the other upper side of the abrasive sorting tank; and an inlet side at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank. A first sorting member that is a partitioning member that divides the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank; and a partitioning member that is disposed on the outlet side of the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank and divides the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank A first sorting port disposed between the first sorting member and the second sorting member at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank. The abrasive material selection tank is a predetermined reusable material contained in the abrasive liquid mixture when the abrasive liquid mixture transferred from the catch tank flows in a substantially horizontal direction from the inlet to the outlet. An abrasive having a particle size larger than the upper limit of the range is allowed to settle to the inlet side with respect to the first sorting member, and an abrasive having a particle size within a predetermined range that can be reused is a first sorting member and a second sorting member. An abrasive having a particle size smaller than the lower limit of the predetermined range that can be reused is allowed to settle to the outlet side of the second sorting member, and is reused from the first outlet to a predetermined range that can be reused. The abrasive with the particle size is discharged and collected.

  With this abrasive sorting tank, it is possible to sort and collect abrasives having a predetermined range of particle sizes that can be reused without using an abrasive collection filter. For this reason, it can be used continuously for a long time without maintenance of the abrasive recovery means. In addition, the abrasive sorting tank can easily sort the abrasive accurately and obtain a uniform abrasive as compared with the case where the abrasive recovery filter is used, so that the cutting quality of the workpiece can be improved.

  The heights of the first sorting member and the second sorting member may be changeable. Thereby, by changing the height of the first sorting member, the upper limit particle size of the abrasive recovered for reuse can be changed, and by changing the height of the second sorting member, The lower limit particle size of the abrasive recovered for reuse can be changed.

  The abrasive material selection tank includes a second discharge port disposed closer to the inlet than the first selection member at the bottom of the abrasive material selection tank; and a second selection member at the bottom of the abrasive material selection tank. A third discharge port disposed on the outlet side from the second discharge port, and discharging abrasive material having a particle size larger than an upper limit of a predetermined range that can be reused from the second discharge port. You may make it discharge | emit the abrasives whose particle size is smaller than the minimum of the predetermined range which can be reused from an exit. As a result, it is possible to select and collect abrasives having a large particle size that clog the drainage grooves and use them for disposal or other purposes.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the abrasive recovery filter is not used, it can be used continuously for a long time without maintenance of the abrasive recovery means. In addition, since a uniform abrasive can be easily recovered compared to when an abrasive recovery filter is used, the cutting quality of the workpiece can be improved.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
The high pressure liquid injection cutting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The high-pressure liquid jet cutting device according to the present embodiment is, for example, a water jet cutting device that cuts a workpiece with a jet of high-pressure water (abrasive jet) mixed with an abrasive as described below. Although configured, the present invention is not limited to such an example.

  First, based on FIG. 1, the whole structure of the water jet cutting device 1 concerning this embodiment is demonstrated. In addition, FIG. 1 is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the water jet cutting device 1 concerning this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the water jet cutting device 1 according to the present embodiment jets high pressure water containing an abrasive to the workpiece 5, thereby cutting the workpiece 5 into a relatively free cutting line. The cutting device is capable of cutting with high accuracy (that is, water jet processing). The workpiece 5 to be cut by the water jet cutting apparatus 1 is, for example, various semiconductor substrates such as a silicon wafer and a packaged semiconductor substrate (for example, a CSP substrate), but is not limited thereto.

  The water jet cutting apparatus 1 includes, for example, a high pressure liquid supply means 10 including a high pressure pump 15, an abrasive mixing means 20 including abrasive mixed liquid storage tanks 22a and 22b, and an injection nozzle 30 for injecting a water jet J. A holding table 40 that holds the workpiece 5, a table moving means (not shown) that moves the holding table, a catch tank 50 that receives the water jet J, a sorting tank 70, and a recovered abrasive storage tank 80. And an abrasive recovery means 60 having the following. Below, each part which comprises this water jet cutting device 1 is explained in full detail.

The high-pressure pump 15 constituting the high-pressure liquid supply means 10 pressurizes water supplied from the outside to generate and supply high-pressure water of, for example, 600 to 700 bar (1 bar = about 1.02 kgf / cm ² ). . The water supplied from the outside is, for example, tap water, but is not limited to this example, and may be pure water or the like. The high-pressure water generated by the high-pressure pump 15 is supplied to the abrasive mixture storage tanks 22a and 22b of the abrasive mixture means 20 through the high-pressure liquid supply pipe 12.

  The abrasive mixing means 20 includes, for example, two abrasive mixed liquid storage tanks 22a and 22b (hereinafter referred to as “abrasive mixed liquid storage tank 22” which store abrasive mixed water in which abrasive (abrasive grains) and water are mixed. ”, And a merging portion 23, and a plurality of pipes and valves for connecting them. The abrasive is made of a material with high hardness such as garnet, alumina oxide, silicon carbide, diamond, etc., and is a granular material having a particle size of, for example, several tens to several hundreds μm, and has a function of increasing the cutting efficiency of high-pressure water. Have. In this embodiment, for example, alumina oxide having a particle size of 40 to 100 μm is used as the abrasive.

  The abrasive mixing means 20 pushes the abrasive mixture water stored in one of the abrasive mixture storage tanks 22a at a high pressure by the pressure of the high-pressure water supplied from the high-pressure pump 15, and this high-pressure polishing. The material mixed water is sent to the injection nozzle 30 through the pipe 21. At this time, in the other abrasive mixed liquid storage tank 22b, the abrasive recovered by the abrasive recovery means 60 is replenished via the pipe 61 to store the abrasive, and unnecessary water is supplied to the pipe 63. To the abrasive material collecting means 60.

  When the abrasive material storage amount in one abrasive material mixture storage tank 22a used for the cutting process decreases below a predetermined level, the abrasive material mixture storage tank 22a and the abrasive material mixture storage tank 22b are used. In the same manner as described above, the supply of the abrasive mixed water to the spray nozzle 30 and the replenishment of the abrasive from the abrasive recovery means 60 are performed simultaneously. Thereby, the high-pressure abrasive mixed water can be stably and continuously supplied to the spray nozzle 30. Note that three or more abrasive mixture liquid storage tanks 22 may be provided and used by switching them.

  The injection nozzle 30 injects the high-pressure abrasive mixed water supplied from the abrasive mixing means 20 as a water jet J from above to the workpiece 5 held on the holding table 40 at a high speed. Thereby, the workpiece 5 can be cut by the energy of the high-pressure water. At this time, since the abrasive material collides with the workpiece 5 together with the high-pressure water and destroys and cuts a part of the workpiece 5, the cutting efficiency can be improved. Thus, the water jet J according to the present embodiment is configured as an abrasive jet.

  A table moving means (not shown) moves the holding table 40 which is a workpiece holding means in the horizontal direction (X-axis and Y-axis directions) and the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). Thus, while the water jet J is ejected from the ejection nozzle 30, the holding table 40 is moved relative to the ejection nozzle 30 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions along the planned cutting line of the workpiece 5. The workpiece 5 can be cut continuously by applying the water jet J containing abrasive.

  The catch tank 50 is, for example, a vertically long water tank whose upper surface is open, and functions as a water tank for the water jet J. That is, the catch tank 50 can receive the weakened power of the water jet J penetrating through the workpiece 5 as described above using the stored water as a buffer material. At the bottom of the catch tank 50, the abrasive contained in the water jet J received as described above settles and accumulates. The abrasive mixed water containing the abrasive deposited on the bottom of the catch tank 50 is transferred to the abrasive collecting means 60 by the first positive pressure pump 59 through the pipe 51.

  Unlike the conventional abrasive recovery filter type abrasive recovery device 160, the abrasive recovery means 60 is a precipitation type abrasive recovery device. The abrasive recovery means 60 includes an abrasive sorting tank 70 and a recovered abrasive storage tank 80.

  The abrasive sorting tank 70 has a predetermined range of particle diameters that can be reused from the abrasive mixture liquid transferred from the catch tank 50, that is, a predetermined upper limit particle size (for example, 25 μm) or more. For example, 100 μm or less of the abrasive is selected and recovered, and the abrasive mixed water containing the recovered abrasive is transferred to the recovered abrasive storage tank 80 via the pipe 66. In addition, the abrasive sorting tank 70 sorts and collects abrasives larger than the above upper limit particle size, and sends them to the abrasive collection filter 101 via the pipe 64. In addition, the abrasive sorting tank 70 sorts and collects an abrasive having a particle size smaller than the above lower limit particle diameter, and sends it to the abrasive collecting filter 102 via the pipe 65. The abrasive mixed water containing the abrasive not recovered by the abrasive sorting tank 70 is discharged to the outside through the pipe 62 by the third positive pressure pump 79. The abrasive material selection tank 70 has a characteristic configuration according to the present embodiment, and details thereof will be described later.

  The recovered abrasive storage tank 80 stores the abrasive liquid mixture containing the reusable abrasive recovered by the abrasive sorting tank 70. The abrasive mixed water containing the abrasive deposited on the bottom of the abrasive storage container 66 is cut out of the two abrasive mixed liquid storage tanks 22a and 22b via the pipe 61 by the second positive pressure pump 69. It is transferred to the abrasive mixture storage tank that is not used for processing.

  The water jet cutting device 1 configured as described above sends the abrasive mixture water in the abrasive mixture storage tank 22a or 22b at a high pressure by the high pressure water supplied from the high pressure pump 15, and this high pressure abrasive is used. The mixed water (abrasive jet) is sprayed from the spray nozzle 30 onto the workpiece 5 to perform cutting. Further, after the abrasive mixed water sprayed from the spray nozzle 30 is received by the catch tank 50, the abrasive recovery means 60 removes the abrasive mixed water from the abrasive mixed water and uses a reusable particle size (for example, 25 to 100 μm) is collected and returned to the one of the two abrasive mixture storage tanks 22a and 22b that is not used for cutting. With such a configuration, the abrasive can be automatically circulated in the water jet cutting device 1 to be efficiently reused.

  Next, based on FIGS. 2 and 3, the abrasive material selection tank 70 which is a feature according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. 2A is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the abrasive sorting tank 70 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the abrasive sorting tank 70 according to the present embodiment. These are the longitudinal cross-sectional views which show the internal structure of the abrasive sorting tank 70 concerning this embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the abrasive material selection tank 70 causes the abrasive material mixed water transferred from the catch tank 50 to flow in a substantially horizontal direction in the vicinity of the liquid surface W, and thus the abrasive material according to the particle size. It has a function of selecting abrasives in the abrasive mixture water by utilizing the difference in sedimentation speed of the abrasive and recovering abrasives having a predetermined range of particle sizes that can be reused.

  The abrasive material selection tank 70 includes, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 71 that stores abrasive mixture water, and a buffer that is disposed on one side upper portion of the casing 71 and to which a pipe 51 from the catch tank 50 is connected. The tank 72, the inlet 91 provided at the lower outlet of the buffer tank 72, the outlet 92 provided at the upper part of the other side of the casing 71, and the inlet 91 at the bottom of the casing 71 are provided. The first sorting member 73, the second sorting member 74 disposed on the outlet 92 side at the bottom of the casing 71, and the level W of the abrasive mixed water stored in the casing 71 are high. A liquid level measurement sensor 75 for measuring the thickness, a connecting member 76 for connecting the bottom of the casing 71 and the pipe 66, and between the first selecting member 73 and the second selecting member 74 at the bottom of the casing 71. At the bottom of the housing 71 and the first outlet 94 disposed in the A second discharge port 93 disposed closer to the inlet 91 than the first sorting member 73, and a third outlet disposed closer to the outlet 92 than the second sorting member at the bottom of the casing 71. The discharge port 95 is provided.

  As shown in the figure, the abrasive material selection tank 70 is a water tank capable of storing abrasive material mixed water in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 71. In the upper part of the casing 71, an inlet 91 and an outlet 92 for the abrasive mixed water are provided at locations where the abrasive mixed water transferred from the catch tank 50 flows in the horizontal direction in the casing 71. Are arranged. The inflow port 91 and the outflow port 92 are disposed at substantially the same height in the casing 71 and are positioned at least below the stored liquid level W.

  Further, a buffer tank 72 for temporarily storing the abrasive mixed water transferred from the catch tank 50 is provided on the upper portion of the casing 71 on the side where the inflow port 91 is located. Since a fixed amount of abrasive mixed water is not always transferred from the catch tank 50 to the abrasive sorting tank 70, the buffer tank 72 stores the abrasive mixed water temporarily by the buffer tank 72. A constant amount of abrasive mixture water is always allowed to flow into the casing 71 from the inlet 91 located at the lower part of the casing.

  Further, a regulating member 721 made of, for example, a plate-shaped member having an L-shaped cross section is disposed at the lower outlet of the buffer tank 72. The inlet 91 is formed on one side of the regulating member 721 so as to open sideways. The restricting member 721 restricts the abrasive mixed water discharged from the bottom of the buffer tank 72 from flowing out vertically downward, and guides it so as to flow out from the inlet 91 in the horizontal direction. . Thereby, the horizontal flow of the abrasive mixed water in the upper part in the casing 71 can be suitably generated.

  In addition, a liquid level measurement sensor 75 that measures the height of the level W of the abrasive mixed water stored in the abrasive sorting tank 70 is provided at the upper portion of the casing 71. The liquid level measuring sensor 75 is constituted by, for example, a small capacitance type liquid level sensor, and measures the height of the liquid level W based on a change in a capacitor (capacitance) between the electrode and the inner wall of the container. The height of the liquid level W is adjusted by controlling the flow rate of the abrasive mixed water flowing into and out of the abrasive sorting tank 70 based on the measurement result by the liquid level measuring sensor 75. Specifically, the height of the liquid level W is adjusted so that the liquid level W is higher than the positions of the inlet 91 and the outlet 92 and the liquid level W does not reach the ceiling of the casing 71. .

  With the above-described configuration, the abrasive mixture water transferred from the catch tank 50 to the abrasive sorting tank 70 via the pipe 51 is temporarily stored in the buffer tank 72, and then the inlet 72 to the casing 72. It flows into the inside, allows the upper part in the housing 71 to flow in the horizontal direction, and further discharges it from the outlet 93 through the pipe 62 to the outside.

  Next, a configuration for selecting the abrasive contained in the horizontally flowing abrasive mixed water in the abrasive sorting tank 70 according to the particle diameter will be described.

  At the bottom of the casing 71, a first sorting member 73 is disposed on the side close to the inflow port 91, and a second sorting member 74 is disposed on the side close to the outflow port 92. The first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74 are composed of, for example, a triangular prism unit, and are arranged so as to divide the bottom portion of the casing 71 in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal flow direction.

  The first sorting member 73 is formed of, for example, a relatively large triangular prism unit, and is arranged with the inclined surface 73a on the outlet 92 side and the vertical surface 73b on the inlet 91 side. The first sorting member 73 functions as a partitioning member that sorts the upper limit particle size (for example, 100 μm) of the reusable abrasive. By changing the height h1 of the first sorting member 73, the size of the upper limit particle diameter of the abrasive recovered for reuse can be changed. In this case, a plurality of types of triangular prism units having different heights h1 may be prepared as the first selection member 73, and the triangular prism units may be selectively arranged according to the set upper limit particle diameter. Or you may comprise so that the height h1 of 1st selection member 73 itself can be changed according to the set upper limit particle size.

  The second sorting member 74 is formed of a triangular prism unit smaller than the first sorting member 73. The inclined surface 74a is on the inlet 91 side, and the vertical surface 74b is on the outlet 92 side. Arranged. The second sorting member 74 functions as a partitioning member that sorts the size of the lower limit particle size (for example, 25 μm) of the reusable abrasive. By changing the height h <b> 2 of the second sorting member 74, the size of the lower limit particle diameter of the abrasive recovered for reuse can be changed, as with the first sorting member 73.

  By arranging the first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74 as described above, the bottom of the casing 71 is divided into three bottom regions along the horizontal flow direction. Of these three bottom regions, the bottom region (the left region in FIG. 3) closer to the inlet 91 than the first sorting member 73 is larger than the upper limit particle size of the reusable abrasive (for example, larger than 100 μm). ) A region where the abrasive settles and accumulates. Further, the bottom region (the central region in FIG. 3) between the first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74 is a polishing material having a predetermined reusable particle size (for example, 25 μm to 100 μm). This is the area where sediments settle. Further, in the bottom region (the region on the right side in FIG. 3) on the outlet 92 side of the second sorting member 74, an abrasive having a particle size smaller than the lower limit particle size (for example, less than 25 μm) of the reusable abrasive is settled. It is an area to be deposited.

  With the configuration as described above, it is possible to select and reuse the abrasive contained in the abrasive mixture water that flows horizontally in the casing 71 using the difference in the settling velocity of the abrasive according to the particle size. Abrasives with a particle size in a predetermined range can be collected.

  Specifically, the abrasive mixed water flowing in from the inflow port 91 flows horizontally in the upper part of the casing 71 and is discharged to the outside from the outflow port 92. At this time, the abrasive having a fine particle diameter (for example, 10 μm or less) is discharged from the outlet 92 along the horizontal flow without being settled in the abrasive sorting tank 70 (the arrow in FIG. 3). A). Such a fine-grained abrasive does not clog the drainage groove even if discharged as it is.

  Moreover, since the settling velocity of the abrasive larger than the upper limit particle size of the reusable abrasive contained in the horizontally flowing abrasive mixture is larger on the inlet 91 side than the first sorting member 73. It settles in the bottom region (see arrow B in FIG. 3). Further, since the abrasive having a particle diameter in a predetermined range that can be reused has a medium sedimentation rate, it settles in the bottom region between the first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74 (FIG. 3). Arrow C). Further, since the settling rate of the abrasive smaller than the lower limit particle size of the reusable abrasive is low, it settles in the bottom region on the outlet 92 side than the second sorting member 74 (see arrow D in FIG. 3). .

  In this way, the abrasive sorting tank 70 sorts the abrasive using the difference in the settling speed of the abrasive according to the particle size, and sorts it by the first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74. Can be deposited on each of the three bottom regions. Thereby, for example, when the lower limit particle size of the reusable abrasive is set to 25 μm and the upper limit particle size is set to 100 μm, the first sorting member 73 causes the abrasive larger than 100 μm to be collected. Excluded, the second sorting member 74 can exclude abrasives smaller than 25 μm from the collection target.

  That is, in the bottom region between the first sorting member 73 and the second sorting member 74, an abrasive having a predetermined range of reusable particle size (for example, 25 μm to 100 μm) settles and accumulates. The abrasive having such reusable particle diameter is sent from the first discharge port 94 provided in the bottom region to the recovered abrasive storage tank 80 via the pipe 66 and stored (see FIG. 1). . The abrasive material stored in the recovered abrasive material storage tank 80 is transferred to the abrasive material mixture supply tank 22 and reused in a timely manner.

  In addition, when the workpiece 5 is cut in the bottom region closer to the inlet 93 than the first sorting member 73, not only the abrasive larger than the upper limit particle size (for example, 100 μm) of the reusable abrasive is cut. A lot of cutting waste generated in the sedimentation and accumulation. Since these cutting scraps are often larger than the particle size of the reusable abrasive, they are sorted by the first sorting member 73 and accumulated in the bottom region. The abrasive and cutting waste larger than the upper limit particle diameter are discharged from the second discharge port 93 provided on the side surface of the casing 71 located in the bottom region, and the abrasive recovery filter 101 ( 1). Since the abrasive and cutting waste larger than the upper limit particle size cause clogging of drainage grooves and the like, they cannot be drained as they are, so they are recovered by the abrasive recovery filter 101 and discarded.

  Further, the bottom region on the outlet 92 side of the second sorting member 74 is an abrasive smaller than the lower limit particle size of the reusable abrasive (for example, smaller than 25 μm), and is drained when drained as it is. An abrasive having a particle size (for example, larger than 10 μm and smaller than 25 μm) that clogs the grooves settles and accumulates. This abrasive is discharged from the third discharge port 95 provided on the side surface of the casing 71 located in the bottom region, and is transferred to the abrasive recovery filter 102 (see FIG. 1) via the pipe 65. The abrasive having a particle diameter of 10 μm to 25 μm causes clogging of drainage grooves and the like, and therefore cannot be drained as it is. Therefore, the abrasive is recovered by the abrasive recovery filter 102 and discarded. However, the abrasive discharged from the second discharge port 93 is not likely to be reused, but the abrasive discharged from the third discharge port 95 may be usable for other purposes. Therefore, it is desirable to collect it separately from the abrasive discharged from the second discharge port 93.

  The water jet cutting device 1 according to the present embodiment 1, particularly the abrasive material selection tank 70 of the abrasive material recovery means 60 has been described in detail. In the abrasive recovery means 60 according to the present embodiment, the abrasive mixed water is flowed horizontally without using the abrasive recovery filter 167 (see FIG. 4) like the conventional abrasive recovery means 160, and the particle size is adjusted. Using the difference in the settling speed of the corresponding abrasive, reusable abrasive is selected and collected. Therefore, basically, the abrasive material collecting means 60 can be used continuously for a long time without maintenance, and the convenience for the operator can be improved.

  In addition, in such a sorting / collecting method using the difference in the settling rate of the abrasive, the abrasive is more accurately sorted for each particle diameter than the case where the abrasive collecting filter 167 is used, and the uniform is collected. Easy to obtain abrasive. Therefore, the cutting quality of the workpiece 5 can be improved by circulating the uniform abrasive in the water jet cutting device 1.

  The preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  For example, the workpiece 5 may be a semiconductor substrate such as various semiconductor wafers, a CSP substrate, a GPS substrate, a package substrate such as a BGA substrate, or the like. Further, the workpiece may be a sapphire substrate, a glass material, a ceramic material, a metal material, a synthetic resin material such as plastic, or an electronic material substrate for forming a magnetic head, a laser diode head, or the like. . Further, the shape of the workpiece 5 may be an arbitrary shape such as a substantially rectangular plate shape or a substantially disk shape.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which employ | adopted the water jet cutting device 1 as a high pressure liquid injection type cutting device, this invention is not limited to this example. The high-pressure liquid injection type cutting device can be variously modified as long as it has high-pressure liquid injection means for injecting high-pressure liquid and can cut and process a workpiece by high-pressure liquid injection. For example, the liquid to be jetted and stored is not limited to the above water example, and may be any liquid such as alcohol or oil, or a liquid in which various chemical substances are dissolved in various solvents. There may be.

  The present invention is applicable to a high-pressure liquid injection type cutting device that cuts a workpiece by injection of a high-pressure liquid mixed with an abrasive.

It is a mimetic diagram showing the whole water jet cutting device composition concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the abrasive sorting tank concerning this embodiment concerning the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the abrasive sorting tank concerning the embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the internal structure of the abrasive sorting tank concerning the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the conventional water jet cutting device which the present inventors examined.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Water jet cutting device 5: Workpiece 10: High pressure liquid supply means 15: High pressure pump 20: Abrasive material mixing means 22: Abrasive material mixed liquid storage tank 30: Injection nozzle 40: Holding table 50: Catch tank 60: Polishing Material recovery means 70: Abrasive material sorting tank 71: Housing 72: Buffer tank 73: First sorting member 74: Second sorting member 75: Liquid level measuring sensor 91: Inlet 92: Outlet 93: Second Discharge port 94: First discharge port 95: Third discharge port 80: Recovered abrasive storage tank J: Water jet

Claims (3)

An abrasive mixed liquid storage tank for storing an abrasive mixed liquid in which an abrasive and a liquid are mixed;
High-pressure liquid supply means for feeding the abrasive mixture liquid stored in the abrasive mixture storage tank at high pressure by supplying high-pressure liquid to the abrasive mixture storage tank;
An injection nozzle that injects a high-pressure abrasive mixture sent from the abrasive mixture storage tank to the workpiece;
A catch tank for receiving a high-pressure abrasive mixed liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle;
Abrasive material having a predetermined range of particle size that can be reused is recovered from the abrasive mixture liquid transferred from the catch tank, and the abrasive mixture liquid containing the recovered abrasive material is stored in the abrasive mixture storage tank. Abrasive material recovery means to be transferred;
With
In a high-pressure liquid jet cutting apparatus that cuts the workpiece with a high-pressure abrasive mixed liquid jetted from the jet nozzle:
The abrasive recovery means includes
The abrasive mixed liquid transferred from the catch tank is allowed to flow in a substantially horizontal direction, and the difference in settling speed caused by the size of the abrasive particle size is used to change the abrasive material according to the abrasive particle size. Comprising an abrasive sorting tank for sorting and collecting abrasive particles having a predetermined range of reusable particle size;
The abrasive sorting tank is
An inlet provided at an upper part of one side of the abrasive sorting tank;
An outlet provided on the other upper side of the abrasive sorting tank;
A first sorting member which is disposed on the inlet side at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank and is a partition member that divides the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank;
A second sorting member disposed on the outlet side at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank and being a partition member that divides the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank;
A first outlet disposed between the first sorting member and the second sorting member at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank;
Have
When the abrasive liquid mixture transferred from the catch tank flows in a substantially horizontal direction from the inlet to the outlet,
An abrasive having a particle size larger than the upper limit of the reusable predetermined range contained in the abrasive mixture is allowed to settle to the inlet side of the first sorting member, and the reusable predetermined range of particles. An abrasive having a diameter is allowed to settle between the first sorting member and the second sorting member, and an abrasive having a particle size smaller than the lower limit of the reusable predetermined range is smaller than that of the second sorting member. Settling on the outlet side,
A high-pressure liquid-jet cutting device characterized in that the abrasive having a particle size in a predetermined range that can be reused is discharged and collected from the first discharge port.   2. The high-pressure liquid jet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein heights of the first selection member and the second selection member can be changed. The abrasive sorting tank is
A second discharge port disposed on the inlet side of the first sorting member at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank;
A third outlet disposed on the outlet side of the second sorting member at the bottom of the abrasive sorting tank;
Further comprising
An abrasive having a particle size larger than the upper limit of the reusable predetermined range is discharged from the second discharge port, and an abrasive having a smaller particle size than the lower limit of the reusable predetermined range is discharged from the third discharge port. The high-pressure liquid-jet cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

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