JP2007056350A - Plating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a plating device capable of improving treatment efficiency without causing the increase of equipment cost, and further capable of realizing the reduction in the consumption of a treatment liquid, the reduction in the amount of a waste liquid or the like. <P>SOLUTION: Hangers 29 running to the arrangement direction of a plurality of treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c by a carrier 25 are equipped at the intervals of 1/2 of the arrangement intervals of the treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c. Further, the space between the adjoining treatment tanks is provided with each treatment liquid recovery plate 35 of returning a liquid dropt from each workpiece 31 hung from each hanger 29 located between the treatment tanks to the treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c on this side in order of treatment, respectively, and a liquid breaking stage is performed at the upper part of the treatment liquid recovery plates 35, thus the liquid breaking stage and a dipping stage can be simultaneously progressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention repeats the step of immersing the object to be treated in the treatment liquid in the treatment tank and the step of draining, for a plurality of treatment tanks arranged at regular intervals in the order of a series of plating treatment steps, With regard to a plating apparatus that performs a series of plating processes, in particular, it is possible to remarkably improve the processing efficiency without incurring an increase in equipment costs, and to achieve a reduction in processing liquid consumption, waste liquid volume, etc. Regarding improvement.

  For example, in the plating process to apply electroless nickel plating to a metal material, 1) a degreasing process for removing oil adhering to the metal material, 2) a water washing process for washing away chemicals used in the degreasing process, and 3) remaining in the metal material 4) Acid dipping process to remove plating rust and make it easy to attach plating 4) Water washing process to wash away chemicals used in acid dipping process 5) Acid activation process to activate metal surface and make plating easy to attach 6) The water washing process for washing off the chemical used in the acid activation process, 7) the electroless nickel process for plating the metal material with nickel, 8) the water washing process for washing off the chemical used in the electroless nickel process, etc. In each of the steps, the step of immersing the metal material to be processed in the treatment liquid in the treatment tank and the step of draining are repeated.

As a plating apparatus for sequentially performing such a number of processes, a structure shown in FIG. 5 is known.
The plating apparatus 1 shown here is along the arrangement direction of a plurality of treatment tanks 3a, 3b, 3c,... And treatment tanks 3a, 3b, 3c,. And a hanger 9 that can be moved up and down on the carrier 5 via a lifting device 7 as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (d). The hanger 9 in which 11 is suspended is lowered to the treatment tank side and the treatment object 11 is immersed in the treatment liquids 13a, 13b, 13c... In the treatment tanks 3a, 3b, 3c. ), A liquid draining step in which the hanger 9 is raised to pull up the processing object 11 from the processing tank and the processing liquids 13a, 13b, 13c... Adhering to the processing object 11 are dropped. As shown in FIG. 5C, the object 11 to be processed is finished. A step of sending by the travel of A 5 to the next processing tank, is repeated for each processing tank, performs a series of plating process to the object to be treated 11.

  In the case of the conventional plating apparatus 1, the hanger 9 that can be moved up and down by the lifting apparatus 7 is equipped with the same interval P as the processing tanks 3a, 3b, 3c..., And the liquid draining process is performed immediately above the used processing tank. By carrying out with the workpiece 11 being pulled up, the dripping treatment liquid is recovered in the original treatment tank.

However, in the configuration of the plating apparatus 1, since the dipping process and the liquid draining process are alternately performed, there is a problem that if the liquid draining process is lengthened, the processing time increases and the processing efficiency decreases.
However, if the time required for the liquid draining process is inadvertently shortened, the drainage will be incomplete, and the chemical liquid in the next processing tank will be mixed with the chemical liquid in the previous processing tank, reducing the life of the processing liquid and increasing the amount of waste liquid. Or the recovery rate of returning the chemical solution dropped in the liquid removal step to the original processing tank is reduced, resulting in an increase in the consumption of the processing solution.

  Therefore, it has been studied to facilitate the dripping of the chemical solution from the processing object 11 pulled up from the processing tank to shorten the time required for the liquid draining process, and a mechanism for tilting the pulled processing object 11 is added (for example, Patent Document 1), or a mechanism for adding vibration to the pulled object to be processed 11 (see, for example, Patent Document 2), or air is blown onto the object to be processed 11 to positively drop the chemical. A device with a mechanism added (for example, see Patent Document 3) has been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-280197 JP-A-8-181264 JP-A-8-134699

However, as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, those equipped with a dedicated mechanism so that the dripping of the liquid proceeds smoothly in the liquid draining process, the equipment becomes complicated due to the mechanism, and the equipment is expensive. There was a problem of inviting.
Further, although the time required for the liquid draining process can be shortened, it is difficult to greatly improve the processing efficiency because the immersion process cannot be performed during the liquid draining process.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can remarkably improve the processing efficiency without causing an increase in equipment cost. In addition, the consumption of processing liquid, the reduction of the amount of waste liquid, and the like are realized. An object of the present invention is to provide a plating apparatus that can perform such a process.

The above object is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A plurality of processing tanks arranged at regular intervals in the order of a series of plating processes, a carrier that travels above each processing tank along the arrangement direction of the processing tanks, and the carrier can be moved up and down. A hanger for suspending the object to be processed, a dipping process for lowering the hanger to immerse the object to be processed in a processing liquid in the processing tank, and a processing liquid by raising the hanger and lifting the object to be processed from the processing tank. A plating apparatus that performs a series of plating treatment steps on the object to be treated, by repeating the liquid draining step for dripping each treatment tank,
The hangers supported by the carrier are equipped with an interval of 1/2 of the arrangement interval of the treatment tanks and are provided so that they can be raised and lowered independently. Between adjacent treatment tanks, a liquid dropped from above is placed. Provide a processing liquid recovery plate to return to the previous processing tank in the processing order,
The plating apparatus, wherein the liquid draining step is performed above the processing liquid recovery plate.
(2) In the plating apparatus according to (1), the plurality of processing tanks are arranged such that adjacent processing tanks are arranged close to each other.

In the plating apparatus of the present invention, among the objects to be processed suspended from the hangers at intervals of 1/2 of the arrangement interval between the processing tanks, the processing objects positioned immediately above the respective processing tanks are positioned below them. When the dipping process is performed by lowering to the tank, the object to be processed located immediately above the processing liquid recovery plate arranged between the adjacent processing tanks is maintained as it is pulled up. Thus, the liquid draining process proceeds.
In other words, the dipping process and the liquid draining process can proceed simultaneously, eliminating the need for processing time dedicated to the liquid draining process, greatly reducing the time required for plating and significantly improving the processing efficiency. Can do.
Moreover, the part added for the liquid draining process in order to utilize the space between adjacent processing tanks as a liquid draining zone may be, for example, a simple inclined plate or the like, and a complicated mechanism having a movable part is not necessary. There is no increase in equipment costs.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a plating apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front sectional view of an embodiment of a plating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the treatment liquid recovery plate shown in FIG. 3, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view, and FIG.

The plating apparatus 21 according to this embodiment can be used for various types of metal plating such as zinc plating, nickel plating, gold plating, tin plating, etc., and a plurality of processing tanks arranged at a constant interval P in the order of a series of plating processing steps. 23a, 23b, 23c... And a carrier 25 that runs above each of the treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c... Along the direction of arrangement of the plurality of treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c. And a hanger 29 that can be moved up and down via a lifting device 27. The lifting device 27 enables each hanger 29 to be lifted and lowered independently.
With the above-described configuration, the plating apparatus 21 lowers the hanger 29 that suspends the workpiece 31 to the treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c... A dipping process for immersing in each of the processing liquids 33a, 33b, 33c... And the hanger 29 is raised to pull up the processing object 31 from the processing tanks 23a, 23b, 23c. Each of a liquid draining step of dropping the treatment liquids 33a, 33b, 33c... And a process of sending the workpiece 31 that has been drained to the next treatment tank 23b, 23c, 23d. It repeats for every processing tank 23a, 23b, 23c ..., and fulfill | performs a series of plating processes to the to-be-processed object 31. FIG.

In the case of the present embodiment, the hangers 29 supported by the carrier 25 are equipped with an interval of 1/2 of the arrangement interval P of the treatment tanks 23a, 23b, 23c.
Further, a processing liquid recovery plate 35 is provided between the adjacent processing tanks to return the liquid dropped from above to the previous processing tank in the processing order.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the treatment liquid recovery plate 35 of the present embodiment is a liquid having an area sufficiently larger than the projection area 37 directly below the workpiece 31 positioned between adjacent treatment tanks. The receiving plate 41 and the connecting cylinder portions 43 provided at both ends of the liquid receiving plate 41 are integrally formed of a resin material having resistance to various processing liquids.
The processing liquid recovery plate 35 is fixed between the processing tanks by fitting the above-described connecting cylinder portion 43 to a support column provided between adjacent processing tanks.

The vertical and horizontal dimensions x and y of the liquid receiving plate 41 are set larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the projection area 37 of the workpiece 31. Moreover, the length x of the side along the arrangement direction of the processing tanks of the liquid receiving plate 41 is set to be larger than the dimension of the gap between the adjacent processing tanks, and both side edges 41a and 41b extending in the length y direction are respectively provided. It attaches to the support | pillar between process tanks so that it may protrude on a process tank.
As shown in FIG. 4B, the liquid receiving plate 41 is formed with a bent portion 41 c that collects the dropped liquid at the center at the center between both ends where the connecting cylinder portion 43 is provided. Moreover, as shown in FIG.4 (c), after the dripped process liquid gathers in the bending part 41c, the side edge 41a by the side of the front-stage process tank is the side edge of the other side so that it may flow to the original process tank side. An inclination θ lower than 41b is given.

  The carrier 25 intermittently travels by P / 2 on each processing tank so that the workpiece 31 stops on each processing tank and immediately above the processing liquid recovery plate 35. As a result, the liquid draining process is performed above the processing liquid recovery plate 35.

In the plating apparatus 21 described above, the processing tanks 23a, 23b, 23c... Among the processing objects 31 suspended from the hanger 29 at intervals of 1/2 of the mutual arrangement interval. When the workpiece 31 positioned just above 23c... Is lowered to the processing baths 23a, 23b, 23c... Positioned below it and the dipping process is performed, in parallel, adjacent processing baths 23a, 23b , 23c..., 23c..., 23c..., 23c.
In other words, the dipping process and the liquid draining process can proceed simultaneously, eliminating the need for processing time dedicated to the liquid draining process, greatly reducing the time required for plating and significantly improving the processing efficiency. Can do.

  Moreover, the processing liquid recovery plate 35, which is a part added to utilize the space between the adjacent processing tanks 23a, 23b, 23c... As a liquid draining zone, does not require a complicated mechanism having a movable part. There is no cost increase.

  Further, since the chemical liquid dropped from the workpiece 31 in the liquid draining process is collected in the original processing tank through the processing liquid recovery plate 35, the chemical liquid dropped in the liquid draining process is recovered from the original processing tanks 23a, 23b, The liquid recovery rate returned to 23c... Increases. As a result, the processing liquids 33a, 33b, 33c,... Are not wasted, and the consumption of the processing liquids 33a, 33b, 33c,.

  Furthermore, since the same time as the dipping process is spent in the liquid draining process, it is possible to thoroughly drain the liquid over a sufficient time. Therefore, it can suppress that the chemical | medical solution of the process tank of a front | former stage is carried in to the following process tank, and can extend the lifetime of the process liquid 33a, 33b, 33c ... in each process tank 23a, 23b, 23c .... As a result, the amount of waste liquid can be reduced, and the waste liquid treatment cost can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the plurality of processing tanks 23a, 23b, 23c,... Are arranged at a constant interval P, and the space between adjacent processing tanks is used as a liquid draining zone. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the liquid draining zone is substantially omitted except for the processing liquid recovery plate 35. Thereby, the installation space as a plating apparatus can be further reduced.

It is front sectional drawing of one Embodiment of the plating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is A arrow directional view of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 4A and 4B are explanatory views of the treatment liquid recovery plate shown in FIG. 3, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the processing process by the conventional plating apparatus, (a) is a side view which shows the state in the immersion process which immersed the to-be-processed object in the processing tank, (b) is the liquid which pulled up the to-be-processed object from the processing tank. The side view which shows the state in the cutting process, (c) is explanatory drawing of the process of moving a to-be-processed object to the next processing tank, (d) is description of the immersion process to which the to-be-processed object was immersed in the following processing tank. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Plating apparatus 23a, 23b, 23c ... Processing tank 25 Carrier 27 Lifting device 29 Hanger 31 Processed object 33a, 33b, 33c ... Processing liquid 35 Processing liquid collection | recovery plate 41 Liquid receiving plate 43 Connection cylinder part

Claims (2)

A plurality of processing tanks arranged at regular intervals in the order of a series of plating processes, a carrier that travels above each processing tank along the arrangement direction of the processing tanks, and an object to be processed that can be moved up and down on the carrier A hanger for lowering the hanger, dipping the hanger to immerse the object to be treated in the treatment liquid in the treatment tank, and raising the hanger to lift the object to be treated from the treatment tank and dropping the treatment liquid. A plating apparatus that performs a series of plating processes on the workpiece by repeating the liquid draining process for each processing tank,
The hangers supported by the carrier are equipped with an interval of 1/2 of the arrangement interval of the treatment tanks and are provided so that they can be raised and lowered independently. Between adjacent treatment tanks, a liquid dropped from above is placed. Provide a processing liquid recovery plate to return to the previous processing tank in the processing order,
The plating apparatus, wherein the liquid draining step is performed above the processing liquid recovery plate.   The plating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of treatment tanks is disposed adjacent to each other.

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