JP2010001534A - Barrel plating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a barrel plating apparatus capable of improving plating efficiency by enhancing the distribution of a plating solution to a barrel container. <P>SOLUTION: In the barrel plating apparatus having the barrel container 50 which is provided with a cylindrical part and a sidewall disk part 52 for closing both end parts of the cylindrical part in the axial direction and houses a material to be plated, the barrel container 50 is immersed in a bath filled with the plating solution, is horizontally supported free rotatable and is rotated to plate the material to be plated. A slit 60 penetrated to pass the plating solution from the outside of the barrel container 50 to the inside and formed in parallel to the rotary axis line is provided in the cylindrical part. The shape of the slit 60 in the cross-section vertical to the rotary axis line direction of the cylindrical part is formed into an inclined shape so that the outer side of the barrel container 50 is positioned in the front side to the rotating direction of the barrel container 50 and the inner side of the barrel container 50 is positioned in the rear side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a barrel plating apparatus.

Conventionally, plating methods using electrolytic plating and electroless plating are known in the plating process. Electroplating is a method of forming a film of another metal on a ground metal using electric energy. In contrast, electroless plating uses a chemical change to form a coating of another metal on the ground metal. Here, when performing electrolytic plating, in general, the anode is disposed in a plating bath filled with a plating solution, and the object to be plated is hung on the jig and fixed on the cathode side, and immersed, A technique for plating an object to be plated by energization is employed. However, in the case where the object to be plated is small and cannot be fixed to the hooking jig, a method using a barrel plating apparatus is generally taken.
For example, a barrel plating apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in FIG. 5, the barrel container of a conventional barrel plating apparatus for electrolytic plating is provided with a cylindrical portion 158 and a side wall disk portion 152 that closes both axial ends of the cylindrical portion 158. It has a barrel container 150 that can accommodate an object to be plated. The barrel container 150 is immersed in a plating bath (not shown) filled with a plating solution, and is rotatably supported horizontally. A configuration in which an anode (not shown) is installed on the outer side of the barrel container 150, a cathode (not shown) is installed inside the barrel container and energized, and the barrel container 150 is rotated to plate the object to be plated. It has become. The inside of the barrel container 150 can be uniformly plated, and even when there are a large amount of fine items, the same processing can be performed. Further, a hole 168 that penetrates the cylindrical portion 158 is formed on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 158 so that the plating solution enters and exits from the hole 168 when immersed in the plating bath. It has become.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-317198

However, the hole 168 is formed perpendicular to the rotational axis on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion 158 of the barrel container 150. Therefore, since it is orthogonal to the rotation direction of the barrel container 150, there is a problem that it is difficult for the plating solution to flow when the barrel container 150 rotates. Further, the hole 168 needs to be formed in a size that prevents the object to be plated from flowing out of the barrel container. However, with the recent miniaturization of products, miniaturization of each component has progressed, and the hole 168 tends to become smaller in response to the miniaturization of the object to be plated. Therefore, it is difficult for the plating solution to flow into the barrel container 150 from the hole 168 during the rotation of the barrel container 150 for the plating process. Therefore, the circulation of the plating solution inside and outside the barrel container 150 is poor, and the plating efficiency is reduced. Was a problem. In addition, small components were fitted into the hole 168 and blocked the hole 168, causing clogging, and the circulation of the plating solution tended to be further deteriorated.
Therefore, as a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has paid attention to the shape of the hole formed in the cylindrical portion of the barrel container in order to improve the flowability of the plating solution in the barrel container.

  Thus, the present invention was devised in view of the above points, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the plating solution flowability into the barrel container and to improve the plating efficiency. An object of the present invention is to provide a barrel plating apparatus for improvement.

In order to achieve the above-described problem, the barrel plating apparatus according to the present invention takes the following means.
1st invention of this invention has a barrel container which can accommodate the to-be-plated object provided with the side wall disc part which plugs the cylindrical part and the axial direction both ends of this cylindrical part, and this barrel container is In addition, it is immersed in a plating bath filled with a plating solution and rotatably supported horizontally and is disposed, and an anode is installed on the outer side of the barrel container, and a cathode is installed inside the barrel container to energize it. In the barrel plating apparatus for rotating the barrel container and plating the object to be plated, the cylindrical portion penetrates the plating solution so as to be able to flow inwardly from the outside of the barrel container, and the rotation axis A slit formed in parallel to the line is provided, and the slit shape in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical portion is such that the barrel container outer side is the front side with respect to the barrel container rotation direction. Located on the inner side of the barrel container Characterized in that it is formed at a position the inclined shape.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical portion of the barrel container is provided with a slit formed so as to allow the plating solution to flow from the outside to the inside of the barrel container and to be parallel to the rotation axis. ing. And the slit shape in the cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical portion is such that the barrel container outer side is located on the front side and the barrel container inner side is located on the rear side with respect to the rotation direction of the barrel container. It is formed in an inclined shape. For this reason, the slit is formed to be inclined in the rotational direction, compared to the case where the hole of the conventional barrel container is formed perpendicular to the rotation axis on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the barrel container. Yes. This further improves the inflow of the plating solution into the barrel container. Moreover, it is possible to prevent clogging due to the small parts fitted into the slits by the stirring action of the plating solution flowing into the barrel container. Further, the flowability of the plating solution into the barrel container can be improved as compared with the conventional barrel container without adding a new component or the like forcibly flowing the plating solution.

  The second invention of the present invention is characterized in that a liquid passage hole through which the plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel vessel is formed in the side wall disk portion of the barrel vessel.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the side wall disc portion is formed with a liquid passage hole through which the plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel container. Since the plating solution outside the barrel vessel flows in from the slit and the plating solution inside the barrel vessel flows out from the through hole of the side wall disk part, the plating solution inside and outside the barrel vessel is efficiently circulated. The flowability of the plating solution into the inside can be further improved.

The present invention can obtain the following effects by taking the measures of the above inventions.
First, according to the barrel plating apparatus of the first aspect, the inflow of the plating solution into the barrel container is further improved. Moreover, it is possible to prevent clogging due to the small parts fitted into the slits by the stirring action of the plating solution flowing into the barrel container. Further, the flowability of the plating solution into the barrel container can be improved as compared with the conventional barrel container without adding a new component or the like forcibly flowing the plating solution.
Next, according to the barrel plating apparatus of the second aspect of the invention, the plating solution outside the barrel vessel flows in from the slit, and the plating solution in the barrel vessel flows out from the liquid passage hole in the side wall disk portion. Since circulation of the plating solution inside and outside the container is efficiently performed, the flowability of the plating solution into the barrel container can be further improved.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the components may be exaggerated for easy understanding.
The barrel plating apparatus of this embodiment is for electrolytic plating.
FIG. 1 is a front view in which a part of the barrel plating apparatus 10 is cut away. FIG. 2 is a side view of the barrel plating apparatus 10 with a part cut away.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the barrel plating apparatus 10 is roughly configured by a plating bath 12, a support base 20, a motor 40, gears 44 and 46, and a barrel container 50.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a support base 20 is disposed in a plating bath 12 filled with a plating solution, and a motor 40, gears 44 and 46, a barrel container are provided on the support base 20. Fifty components are attached.
This support base 20 is generally composed of a barrel container support plate 22, a connecting frame 24, a motor support plate 26, an anode rod support plate 28, a bearing 32, and a tube 30.
As shown in FIG. 1, the barrel container support plate 22 is for horizontally supporting the barrel container 50 so as to be rotatable by immersing the barrel container 50 in the plating bath 12. The barrel container support plate 22 has a pair of plate-like members standing in parallel in the plating bath 12 and connected by a connecting frame 24 at the upper end.
In addition, a motor support plate 26 is provided for fixedly supporting the motor 40 and the speed reducer 42 which are rotational drive sources for enabling the barrel container 50 to rotate. The motor support plate 26 is formed of a plate member. And it is arrange | positioned horizontally in parallel with a plating solution level in the position above a plating solution level so that it may be spanned between the barrel container support plates 22, and may not be immersed in a plating solution.
As shown in FIG. 2, the anode rod support plate 28 is for fixing and supporting the anode rod 34 in a state where it is suspended in the plating bath 12. The anode rod support plate 28 is formed of a plate-like member, and is connected to the barrel container support plate 22 in a state of being bridged across the plating bath 12 at the upper end edge of the plating bath 12. .
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the bearing 32 is for rotatably supporting the barrel container 50 between the barrel container support plates 22. The bearing 32 is connected to a tube 30 to be described later to guide the conductive wire 38 and the cathode terminal 36 into the barrel container 50. The bearing 32 is disposed at a position where the barrel container 50 is immersed in the plating bath 12 filled with the plating solution.
The tube 30 is for guiding the conductive wire 38 and the cathode terminal 36 into the barrel container 50. The tube 30 is fixedly supported in a state of being suspended by the anode rod support plate 28, and the lower end portion is connected to the bearing 32.

As shown in FIG. 1, the barrel container 50 is interposed between the barrel container support plates 22 and at a position where the barrel container 50 is immersed in the plating bath 12 filled with the plating solution via the bearing 32. It is horizontally supported so as to be rotatable.
The motor 40 is disposed on the motor support plate 26 in a state where it is connected to the speed reducer 42. The rotational driving force of the motor 40 is transmitted to a gear portion 56 (see FIG. 3) formed on the side wall disk portion 52 of the barrel container 50 via gears 44 and 46 disposed on the barrel container support plate 22. It becomes the composition which is done.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the anode bar 34 is fixedly supported in a state of being hung by the anode bar support plate 28 inside the plating bath 12 and outside the barrel container 50.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a conductive wire 38 to which the cathode terminal 36 is attached is formed in the side wall disc portion 52 (see FIG. 3) of the barrel container 50 through the tube 30 and the bearing 32. The rotation center hole 54 is guided into the barrel container 50.

Next, the barrel container 50 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the barrel container 50 is immersed in a plating bath 12 filled with a plating solution in a state where the barrel container 50 is horizontally supported rotatably by a support base 20. Then, the anode rod 34 (see FIG. 2) is installed on the outer side of the barrel container 50, the cathode terminal 36 is installed inside the barrel container 50 and energized, and the barrel container 50 is rotated to plate the workpiece W. To do.
FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the barrel container 50 of the barrel plating apparatus 10. In FIG. 3, the barrel container support plate 22 is not shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the barrel container 50 is formed of an insulator such as acrylic resin and has a hollow portion 63 surrounded by a cylindrical portion 58, a side wall disc portion 52, and an opening / closing lid 62. This is a cylindrical member.

The cylindrical portion 58 is normally formed in a cylindrical shape, a polygonal cylindrical shape such as a hexagonal cylindrical shape or an octagonal cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 3, the barrel container of the present embodiment is formed in a hexagonal cylindrical shape.
The barrel container 50 has a cylindrical portion 58 having a substantially hexagonal cross section. And the side wall disc part 52 which plugs up the axial direction both ends of this cylindrical part 58 is formed. The object to be plated W (see FIG. 1) can be accommodated in the hollow portion 63 closed by the cylindrical portion 58 and the side wall disc portion 52.
Of the six surfaces of the cylindrical portion 58 of the barrel container 50, an opening 61 is formed in which one entire surface is opened. The object to be plated W (see FIG. 1) can be accommodated in the hollow portion 63 in the barrel container 50 through the opening 61. The opening 61 is closed by a removable opening / closing lid 62.
The opening / closing lid 62 is provided with a stopper 64 that can rotate around a shaft portion 64 a at a position on the outer side of the cylindrical portion 58. Then, the stopper 64 is rotated around the shaft portion 64 a and engaged with an engagement hole 67 formed at the end of the opening 61, and the stopper fixing member disposed on the shaft portion 64 a. The opening 61 is closed by fixing with screws 66.
The side wall disc portion 52 is formed in a disc shape having an outer diameter larger than that of the cylindrical portion 58. A rotation center hole 54 for connecting to the bearing 32 is formed at the center of the side wall disc portion 52. Further, a gear portion 56 that can mesh with the gears 44 and 46 that transmit the rotational driving force of the motor 40 is formed over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral portion of the side wall disc portion 52. Further, the side wall disc portion 52 is formed with a liquid passage hole 68 through which the plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel container 50. The size of the liquid passage hole 68 is set to various sizes depending on the size of the parts of the workpiece W.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the direction of the axis of rotation of the barrel container 50 of the barrel plating apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the cylindrical portion 58 is provided with a slit 60 formed so as to allow the plating solution to flow from the outside to the inside of the barrel container 50 and to be parallel to the rotation axis. ing.
As shown in FIG. 4, the slit shape is such that the outer side of the barrel container 50 is located on the front side with respect to the barrel container rotation direction A in the cross section perpendicular to the rotational axis direction of the cylindrical portion 58. The barrel container 50 is formed in an inclined shape with the inner side located on the rear side. In other words, the slit 60 is formed to be inclined toward the barrel container rotation direction A.
Thus, when the barrel container 50 is rotated in the barrel container rotation direction A by the rotational driving force of the motor 40 (see FIG. 1), the plating solution in the vicinity of the cylindrical portion 58 of the barrel container 50 is on the outer side of the barrel container 50. The flow direction can be changed to the inner side of the barrel container 50 by hitting the inclined wall surface of the opening portion of the slit 60. And since the termination | terminus part of the slit 60 inside barrel container 50 is located in the back stream side rather than the opening part of slit 60, the plating solution in which the flow direction was changed flows into barrel container 50 in the slit. It is easy to do.
On the other hand, the hole portion of the conventional barrel container was formed perpendicular to the rotation axis on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the barrel container, so that the fluid resistance near the cylindrical portion of the barrel container is large, Compared to the case where the plating solution did not easily flow into the barrel vessel 50, the barrel vessel 50 having the slit 60 further improves the inflow of the plating solution.
As shown in FIG. 4, a state in which the plating solution flows into the barrel container 50 is shown as a plating solution inflow path B. The plating solution flows into the barrel vessel 50 through the plating solution inflow path B, thereby further improving the inflow of the plating solution. Further, the side wall disc portion 52 is formed with a liquid passage hole 68 through which the plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel container 50.
As a result, the plating solution outside the barrel container 50 flows in from the slit 60 and the plating solution in the barrel container 50 flows out from the liquid passage hole 68 of the side wall disc portion 52, thereby circulating the plating solution in the barrel container 50. Is configured to be performed efficiently. The width of the slit 60 is set to various sizes depending on the size of the parts of the workpiece W.

The operation when the barrel plating apparatus 10 is operated will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing lid 62 of the barrel container 50 is removed, and the object to be plated W (see FIG. 1) is accommodated from the opening 61.
Then, the stopper 64 of the opening / closing lid 62 is engaged with the engagement hole 67 formed at the end of the opening 61 and fixed by the stopper fixing member 66 to close the opening 61.
As shown in FIG. 1, the barrel container 50 in which the workpiece W is accommodated is engaged with the gear 46 disposed on the support base 20 and the gear portion 56 of the side wall disc portion 52. It is supported horizontally through a bearing 32 so as to be rotatable. And it immerses in the plating bath 12 with which the plating solution was satisfy | filled in the state in which the barrel container 50 was supported horizontally.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the anode rod 34 is fixedly supported in a state suspended from the anode rod support plate 28 inside the plating bath 12 and outside the barrel vessel 50. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the conductive wire 38 to which the cathode terminal 36 is attached is moved from the rotation center hole 54 formed in the side wall disc portion 52 of the barrel container 50 through the bearing 30 to the barrel container. It is led and placed in 50 and energized.
In this energized state, the motor 40 is rotationally driven, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the gears 44 and 46 at a predetermined rotational speed by the speed reducer 42.
As shown in FIG. 2, this rotational driving force is transmitted to the gear portion 56 of the side wall disc portion 52 of the barrel container 50, whereby the barrel container 50 rotates in the barrel container rotation direction A. Then, the workpiece W (see FIG. 1) is lifted from the bottom along the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 58 of the barrel container 50 by the rotation of the barrel container 50, and falls when it is lifted to a certain angle. By repeating this, the plating process is performed while the workpiece W is agitated.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, since the slit 60 provided in the barrel container 50 is formed to be inclined toward the barrel container rotation direction A, the plating solution flows into the plating solution inflow path B. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, since the liquid passage hole 68 is provided in the side wall disc portion 52, the plating solution that has flowed into the barrel container 50 flows out of the barrel container 50 from the liquid passage hole 68 and flows into the barrel container 50. Is efficiently circulated. Thereby, the plating efficiency is further improved.

According to this configuration, the cylindrical portion 58 of the barrel container 50 is provided with a slit 60 that penetrates the plating solution so that the plating solution can flow from the outside to the inside of the barrel container 50 and is formed in parallel to the rotation axis. It has been. The shape of the slit 60 in the cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical portion 58 is such that the outer side of the barrel container 50 is located on the front side with respect to the rotation direction of the barrel container 50, The side is formed in the inclination shape located in the back side. Therefore, the slit 60 is inclined in the rotational direction as compared with the case where the hole portion of the conventional barrel container 50 is formed perpendicular to the rotation axis on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 58 of the barrel container 50. Is formed. Thereby, the inflow of the plating solution into the barrel container 50 is further improved. Further, it is possible to prevent clogging due to a small component fitting into the slit 60 due to the stirring action of the plating solution flowing into the barrel container 50. Further, the flowability of the plating solution in the barrel container 50 can be improved as compared with the conventional barrel container 50 without adding new components or the like forcibly flowing the plating solution.
Further, the side wall disc portion 52 is formed with a liquid passage hole 68 through which the plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel container 50. The plating solution outside the barrel vessel 50 flows in from the slit 60 and the plating solution in the barrel vessel 50 flows out from the liquid passage hole 68 of the side wall disc portion 52, thereby efficiently circulating the plating solution in the barrel vessel 50. Since it is performed, the distribution of the plating solution in the barrel container 50 can be further improved.

The barrel plating apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications, additions and deletions can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the barrel container 50 of the present embodiment, the hexagonal cylindrical configuration has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cylindrical portion 58 may be a cylindrical shape, a polygonal cylindrical shape such as a hexagonal cylindrical shape or an octagonal cylindrical shape.
Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the liquid passage hole 68 is provided in the side wall disc portion 52 as the outflow path of the plating solution flowing in from the slit 60 of the cylindrical portion 58 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the outflow path of the plating solution flowing in from the slit 60 of the cylindrical portion 58 may be configured to flow out from the rotation center hole 54. For example, in a configuration without the tube 30, the conducting wire 38 to which the cathode terminal 36 is attached is directly guided into the barrel container 50 through the bearing 32 from the rotation center hole 54 formed in the side wall disk portion 52 of the barrel container 50. The rotation center hole 54 can be used as a flow path for the plating solution.
In the present embodiment, the configuration of the motor 40, the speed reducer 42, and the gears 44 and 46 has been described as the rotational driving force. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rotational driving force may be manual. In addition to the gears, various transmission means such as a belt and a chain can be applied to the transmission of the rotational driving force.
In addition, the width of the slit 60 and the size of the liquid passage hole 68 are set to various sizes depending on the size of the parts of the workpiece W.

It is the front view which notched some in the barrel plating apparatus which concerns on a present Example. . It is the side view which notched some in the barrel plating apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is the whole barrel container perspective view of the barrel plating apparatus concerning a present Example. It is sectional drawing perpendicular | vertical to the rotating shaft center line direction of the barrel container of the barrel plating apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a whole perspective view of the barrel container of the conventional barrel plating apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Barrel plating apparatus 12 Plating bath 20 Support stand 22 Barrel container support plate 24 Connection frame 26 Motor support plate 28 Anode rod support plate 30 Tube 32 Bearing 34 Anode rod 36 Cathode terminal 38 Conductor wire 40 Motor 42 Reduction gear 44 Gear 46 Gear 50 Barrel container 52 Side wall disk part 54 Rotation center hole 56 Gear part 58 Cylindrical part 60 Slit 62 Opening / closing lid 64 Stopper 64a Shaft 66 Stopper fixing member 68 Through hole A Barrel container rotation direction B Plating solution inflow path W Covered Plating

Claims (2)

It has a barrel container that can accommodate an object to be plated provided with a cylindrical part and a side wall disk part that closes both axial ends of the cylindrical part,
The barrel container is immersed in a plating bath filled with a plating solution and is horizontally supported rotatably and disposed.
In the barrel plating apparatus for plating the object to be plated, the anode is installed on the outer side of the barrel container, the cathode is installed inside the barrel container and energized, and the barrel container is rotated.
The cylindrical portion is provided with a slit formed so that the plating solution can flow inwardly from the outside of the barrel container in parallel to the rotation axis.
The slit shape in the cross section perpendicular to the rotational axis direction of the cylindrical portion is such that the barrel container outer side is located on the front side and the barrel container inner side is located on the rear side with respect to the rotation direction of the barrel container. A barrel plating apparatus having an inclined shape. The barrel plating apparatus according to claim 1,
A barrel plating apparatus in which a side hole disc portion of the barrel container is formed with a liquid passage hole through which a plating solution can flow out from the inside of the barrel container.

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