JP2016129935A - Screen printing device and paste kneading method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a screen printing device and a paste kneading method capable of suppressing the occurrence of a printing failure caused by mixture of air in paste.SOLUTION: A paste kneading operation is performed in such a manner that only one of a pair of squeegees 42 is made to contact an interior of a kneading area, the one squeegee is used to scrape up paste Pst within the kneading area, and the one squeegee 42 is then raised; and only the other squeegee 42 out of the pair of squeegees 42 is made to contact the interior of the kneading area, the other squeegee 42 is used to scrape up the paste Pst within the kneading area, and the other squeegee 42 is then raised.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen printing apparatus for filling a pattern opening of a mask plate by sliding a squeegee on a mask plate in contact with a substrate and scraping the paste, and a paste kneading method using the screen printing apparatus. Is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a screen printing apparatus has a configuration in which a pattern formed by opening in a mask plate is transferred to a substrate by sliding the squeegee on the mask plate in contact with the substrate (moving horizontally by contact). ing. Two squeegees are provided in the horizontal direction (sliding direction) above the mask plate, and only one side is selectively brought into contact with the mask plate and slid.

  The paste used in such a screen printing apparatus has a low viscosity while being scraped and rolled on the mask plate and has a high filling property into the pattern opening of the mask plate, but when the rolling is stopped. The viscosity becomes high and the filling property into the pattern opening is lowered, and the printing accuracy is lowered. For this reason, in a screen printing apparatus, if the screen printing operation has been suspended for a long time (for example, 30 minutes), a predetermined area on the mask plate (usually the mask plate in contact with the clamper for clamping the substrate) There is one that performs a paste kneading operation in which a pair of squeegees are alternately slid in the upper region) to roll the paste (for example, Patent Document 1 below).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-193343

  However, in the conventional screen printing apparatus, when the paste is kneaded, the two squeegees are reciprocated while being in contact with the mask plate at the same time, so that each squeegee scrapes the paste in the kneading area, The paste will move while being stretched in the direction opposite to the scraping direction so far, and there is a possibility that printing defects may occur due to air entering the paste in the subsequent screen printing operation or subsequent paste kneading operation. There was a problem that there was.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a screen printing apparatus and a paste kneading method capable of suppressing the occurrence of printing defects due to air mixed in the paste.

  The screen printing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a pair of clampers that clamp a substrate from the side, a mask plate that contacts the substrate clamped by the pair of clampers, and a horizontal alignment above the mask plate. Screen printing comprising: a pair of squeegees; and a squeegee controller that slides the squeegee on the mask plate by selectively moving one side of the pair of squeegees against the mask plate and moving horizontally In the apparatus, when the squeegee control unit kneads paste in the kneading area as a predetermined area on the mask plate, only one of the pair of squeegees is placed in the kneading area. The paste is scraped together in the kneading area with one squeegee. The one squeegee is raised, and then only the other squeegee of the pair of squeegees is brought into contact with the kneading area, and the paste is scraped in the kneading area by the other squeegee. The paste kneading operation for raising the other squeegee is performed.

  The paste kneading method of the present invention includes a pair of clampers that clamp a substrate from the side, a mask plate that contacts the substrate clamped by the pair of clampers, and an upper portion of the mask plate arranged in a horizontal direction. A screen printing apparatus comprising: a pair of squeegees, wherein the squeegee slides on the mask plate by selectively abutting one side of the pair of squeegees against the mask plate and horizontally moving the squeegee; A paste kneading method for kneading paste in a kneading area using a predetermined area on a mask plate as a kneading area, wherein only one of the pair of squeegees is brought into contact with the kneading area. And after the first step, the one squeegee scrapes the paste into the kneading area. After the second step, after the second step, the third step of raising the one squeegee, and after the third step, only the other squeegee of the pair of squeegees is applied to the kneading area. A fourth step of contacting, a fifth step of scraping the paste in the kneading area by the other squeegee after the fourth step, and a sixth step of raising the other squeegee after the fifth step. Process.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects due to air mixed into the paste.

The perspective view of the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention The side view of the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention The fragmentary perspective view of the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention The partial top view of the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the control system of the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of screen printing operation which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of screen printing operation which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of screen printing operation which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of screen printing operation which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of paste kneading operation | movement which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of paste kneading operation | movement which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of paste kneading operation | movement which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs (A) (b) Explanatory drawing of paste kneading operation | movement which the screen printing apparatus in one embodiment of this invention performs

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a screen printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The screen printing apparatus 1 receives the substrate 2 input from the upstream process side, screen-prints the paste Pst on each electrode 2d of the substrate 2, and transfers it to the downstream process side apparatus (for example, a component mounting apparatus not shown). Repeat the operation. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the left-right direction viewed from the operator OP is the X-axis direction, the left side is the upstream process side, and the right side is the downstream process side. Further, the front-rear direction viewed from the operator OP is the Y-axis direction, and the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction.

  1 and 2, the screen printing apparatus 1 includes a substrate holding / moving mechanism 12 on a base 11, and a mask plate 13 is provided above the substrate holding / moving mechanism 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the left side of the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12, there is a carry-in conveyor 14 that receives the substrate 2 input from the upstream process side of the screen printing apparatus 1 and conveys it to the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12. Is provided. Further, on the right side of the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12, a carry-out conveyor 15 that receives the substrate 2 from the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12 and conveys it to the downstream process side is provided. A camera 16 is movably provided in a lower area of the mask plate 13, and a print head 17 is movably provided in an upper area of the mask plate 13.

  2 and 3, the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12 includes a substrate holding portion 21 and a moving table portion 22. The substrate holding part 21 includes a positioning conveyor 31 (see also FIG. 4), a lower receiving part 32, and a pair of front and rear clampers 33 (see also FIG. 4). The positioning conveyor 31 positions the substrate 2 received from the carry-in conveyor 14 at a predetermined clamp position. The lower receiving portion 32 supports the substrate 2 positioned by the positioning conveyor 31 at the clamp position from below, and the clamper 33 clamps and holds the substrate 2 from the side (Y-axis direction). Of the two clampers 33 provided in the substrate holding unit 21, the one located on the worker OP side is referred to as a front clamper 33F, and the one located on the opposite side of the worker OP is referred to as a rear clamper 33R. The moving table unit 22 is composed of an XYθ table mechanism in which a plurality of table mechanisms are stacked in multiple stages, and moves the substrate holding unit 21 in the horizontal plane direction and in the vertical direction.

  1 and 2, the mask plate 13 is made of a rectangular flat plate-shaped metal member extending in the XY plane. In FIG. 4, a rectangular area at the center of the mask plate 13 is a substrate contact area R whose lower surface is in contact with the substrate 2. A pattern opening 13 h is provided in the substrate contact region R corresponding to the arrangement of the electrodes 2 d of the substrate 2. The outer periphery of the mask plate 13 is supported by a frame member 13W.

  In FIG. 2, the camera 16 includes an upper imaging unit 16a whose imaging field is directed upward and a lower imaging unit 16b whose imaging field is directed downward. The camera 16 is driven by a camera moving mechanism 16K (also see FIG. 1) using a ball screw mechanism as an actuator to move in the XY plane.

  1 and 2, the print head 17 includes a moving base 41, two squeegees 42, and two squeegee lifting cylinders 43. The moving base 41 is a member extending in the X-axis direction, and is moved by the print head moving mechanism 17K having a ball screw mechanism as an actuator to move in the Y-axis direction. The two squeegees 42 are disposed opposite to the moving base 41 in the front-rear direction, and the two squeegees 42 reciprocate in the Y-axis direction together as the moving base 41 moves in the Y-axis direction. Of the two front and rear squeegees 42, the one located in the front (right side in FIG. 2) is referred to as a front squeegee 42F, and the one located in the rear (left side in FIG. 2) is referred to as a rear squeegee 42R. The two squeegees 42 are each composed of a “spar” -like member extending in the X-axis direction, and extend obliquely downward in such a manner as to spread downward. For the front squeegee 42F, the rear surface is a paste scraping surface, and for the rear squeegee 42R, the front surface is a paste scraping surface.

  The two squeegee lifting cylinders 43 are provided side by side in the front-rear direction on the moving base 41 corresponding to the two squeegees 42. The two squeegee lifting cylinders 43 are individually operated to lift and lower the two squeegees 42 independently of the moving base 41. Each squeegee elevating cylinder 43 has a corresponding squeegee 42, a standby height position where the lower end of the squeegee 42 is separated from the upper surface of the mask plate 13 by a predetermined distance (see the squeegee 42 on the right side in FIG. 2), and the lower end is It can be moved up and down between the contact height position contacting the mask plate 13.

  The control device 60 provided in the screen printing apparatus 1 controls each of the transport operation of the substrate 2 by the carry-in conveyor 14, the holding and moving operation of the substrate 2 by the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12, and the transport operation of the substrate 2 by the carry-out conveyor 15. ) Do. The control device 60 also controls the movement operation of the camera 16 and the imaging operation of the camera 16 by the camera movement mechanism 16K, the movement operation of the print head 17 by the print head movement mechanism 17K, and the lifting operation of each squeegee 42 by the squeegee lifting cylinder 43. Do. Image data obtained by imaging by the camera 16 is sent to the control device 60, and image recognition is performed in the image processing unit 60a (FIG. 5) of the control device 60.

  Next, the operation of the screen printing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. When the substrate 2 is loaded from the upstream process side, the carry-in conveyor 14 receives the substrate 2 and delivers it to the substrate holding unit 21. The substrate holding unit 21 positions the substrate 2 received from the carry-in conveyor 14 at a predetermined clamping position by the positioning conveyor 31, supports the substrate 2 from below by the lower receiving unit 32, and clamps it by the clamper 33 (FIG. 6A). Arrow A) shown in the figure. When the substrate holding unit 21 holds the substrate 2, the moving table unit 22 moves the substrate holding unit 21, and positions the substrate 2 below the substrate contact region R of the mask plate 13 (FIG. 6B). Arrow B shown).

  When the substrate 2 is positioned below the substrate contact region R, the camera 16 moves, and the upper imaging unit 16a images the mask side mark 13m (FIG. 4) provided in the substrate contact region R from below, and the lower imaging unit 16b. The substrate side mark 2m (FIG. 3) of the substrate 2 held by the substrate holding unit 21 is imaged from above (FIG. 7A). When the imaging by the camera 16 is completed, the substrate holding / moving mechanism 12 moves the substrate 2 so that the mask side mark 13m and the substrate side mark 2m coincide with each other in plan view, and lifts the substrate 2 to the substrate contact region R. (FIG. 7B. Arrow C shown in the figure). As a result, each electrode 2d is exposed to the upper surface side of the mask plate 13 in alignment with the corresponding pattern opening 13h.

  When the substrate 2 comes into contact with the substrate contact region R as described above, the front clamper 33F contacts the lower surface of the mask plate 13 in the front region of the substrate contact region R, and the rear clamper 33R is in the rear region of the substrate contact region R. 13 is in contact with the lower surface. In the present embodiment, the upper surface area of the portion where the front clamper 33F contacts the mask plate 13 is referred to as a front standby area TF, and the upper surface area of the portion where the rear clamper 33R contacts the mask plate 13 is referred to as a rear standby area TR ( FIG. 4). The front standby area TF and the rear standby area TR are areas where the paste Pst is made to wait before starting the printing operation. In the present embodiment, the paste Pst is first supplied to the front standby area TF (FIG. 4).

  Next, the procedure of the screen printing operation by the screen printing apparatus 1 will be described. Here, the squeegee lifting cylinder 43, the print head moving mechanism 17K, and the control device 60 are referred to as a squeegee controller 70 (FIG. 5).

  When the squeegee control unit 70 scrapes the paste Pst on the mask plate 13 with the front squeegee 42F to fill the pattern opening 13h of the mask plate 13 with the paste Pst, first, the squeegee control unit 70 first sets the two squeegees at the standby height position. 42, only the front squeegee 42F is lowered to the contact height position, and the lower end of the front squeegee 42F is brought into contact with the front standby area TF. At this time, the squeegee control unit 70 moves the moving base 41 in the Y-axis direction so that the paste scraping surface of the front squeegee 42F contacts the front end of the paste Pst (FIG. 8A). Then, by moving the moving base 41 rearward and sliding the front squeegee 42F on the mask plate 13, the paste Pst is scraped back (arrow D1 shown in FIG. 8B). Thus, when the paste Pst passes through the pattern opening 13h and moves to the rear standby region TR (FIG. 8B), the front squeegee 42F is raised and returned to the standby height position.

  On the other hand, when the squeegee control unit 70 scrapes the paste Pst on the mask plate 13 with the rear squeegee 42R to fill the pattern opening 13h of the mask plate 13 with the paste Pst, the squeegee control unit 70 is first positioned at the standby height position 2. Of the two squeegees 42, only the rear squeegee 42R is lowered to the contact height position, and the lower end of the rear squeegee 42R is brought into contact with the rear standby region TR. At this time, the squeegee control unit 70 moves the moving base 41 in the Y-axis direction so that the paste scraping surface of the rear squeegee 42R contacts the rear end of the paste Pst (FIG. 9A). Then, by moving the moving base 41 forward and sliding the rear squeegee 42R on the mask plate 13, the paste Pst is scraped forward (arrow D2 shown in FIG. 9B). As a result, when the paste Pst passes through the pattern opening 13h and moves to the front standby area TF (FIG. 9B), the rear squeegee 42R is raised and returned to the standby height position.

  The paste Pst scraped by the paste scraping surface of the squeegee 42 rolls on the mask plate 13 and fills the pattern opening 13h when passing through the pattern opening 13h. When the filling of the paste Pst to the pattern opening 13h by the front squeegee 42F or the filling of the paste Pst to the pattern opening 13h by the rear squeegee 42R is completed, the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12 lowers the substrate holding portion 21 to release the plate. Thereby, a layer of the paste Pst having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the mask plate 13 is formed on each electrode 2d of the substrate 2, and the screen printing is finished.

  As described above, the paste Pst is printed on each electrode 2d on the substrate 2, and when the screen printing for each substrate 2 is completed, the substrate holding and moving mechanism 12 opens the clamper 33 to release the holding of the substrate 2. . Then, the positioning conveyor 31 is operated and delivered to the carry-out conveyor 15, and the carry-out conveyor 15 carries the received substrate 2 to the downstream process side.

  The screen printing apparatus 1 repeatedly executes the screen printing operation of the paste Pst on the substrate 2 every time the substrate 2 is loaded as described above. Under predetermined conditions (described later), the squeegee control unit 70 In order to prevent the Pst from solidifying, a paste kneading operation for kneading the paste Pst is executed. In this paste kneading operation, a predetermined area on the mask plate 13 is used as a kneading area, and the paste Pst is alternately rolled in the kneading area by a pair of squeegees 42 and kneaded. The kneading area is usually an area where the mask plate 13 in contact with the substrate 2 is in contact with one of the pair of front and rear clampers 33. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the kneading area is set to the front standby area TF.

  In the screen printing apparatus 1, when performing the paste kneading operation using the front standby area TF as the kneading area, the squeegee control unit 70 first sets only the front squeegee 42F (one of the pair of squeegees 42) to the standby height. The position is lowered from the position to the contact height position and brought into contact with the kneading area (front waiting area TF) (arrow E1 shown in FIG. 10A, first step). Then, the front squeegee 42F is slid on the mask plate 13 to scrape the paste Pst within the kneading area (arrow F1 shown in FIG. 10B, second step). When the paste Pst is rolled by a predetermined distance (the minimum rolling distance S necessary for kneading the paste Pst, here the Y-axis direction dimension of the contact area of the paste Pst with the mask plate 13) (FIG. 10 ( b)), the front squeegee 42F is raised (arrow E2 shown in FIG. 11 (a), third step).

  The reason why the front squeegee 42F is raised in the third step is that when the front squeegee 42F is separated from the paste Pst, the paste Pst is not stretched in a direction (forward) opposite to the scraping direction by the front squeegee 42F. It is to make it. This makes it difficult for air to enter the paste Pst in the subsequent screen printing operation or subsequent paste kneading operation. The pulling-up direction of the front squeegee 42F may be directly above, but may be raised in a direction that is nearly parallel to the paste scraping surface of the front squeegee 42F (upwardly obliquely upward).

  After the third step, only the rear squeegee 42R (the other of the pair of squeegees 42) is lowered from the standby height position to the contact height position to contact the kneading area (front standby area TF). (Arrow E1 shown in FIG. 11B. Fourth step). At this time, the contact point P1 (FIG. 11 (b)) when the rear squeegee 42R is brought into contact with the kneading area is the point when the scraping of the paste Pst in the kneading area by the front squeegee 42F is completed. It is set at a position closer to the front squeegee 42F side (front) than the point P2 (FIG. 11B) immediately below the lower end of the rear squeegee 42R. Therefore, the squeegee control unit 70 moves the moving base 41 forward as the rear squeegee 42R is lowered (arrow F2 shown in FIG. 11B). Alternatively, after the moving base 41 is moved forward, the rear squeegee 42R may be lowered from the standby height position to the contact height position.

  When the rear squeegee 42R is brought into contact with the kneading area in the fourth step, the paste Pst is scraped in the kneading area by sliding the rear squeegee 42R on the mask plate 13 (in FIG. 12A). Arrow F2 shown in Fig. 5. Fifth step). When the paste Pst rolls for the rolling distance S (FIG. 12 (a)), the rear squeegee 42R is raised (arrow E2 shown in FIG. 12 (b), sixth step).

  The reason for raising the rear squeegee 42R in the sixth step is that when the rear squeegee 42R is separated from the paste Pst, the paste Pst is not stretched in the direction opposite to the scraping direction by the rear squeegee 42R (backward). It is to make it. This makes it difficult for air to enter the paste Pst in the subsequent screen printing operation or subsequent paste kneading operation. The pulling direction of the rear squeegee 42R may be directly above, but may be raised in a direction that is nearly parallel to the paste scraping surface of the rear squeegee 42R (upwardly obliquely upward).

  By the paste kneading operation described above, the paste Pst is rolled back and forth once in the kneading area, and is kneaded to lower the viscosity. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of printing defects due to screen printing performed in a state where the paste Pst is solidified.

  In the paste kneading operation described above, the squeegee 42 on the side not related to the scraping of the paste Pst is not slid on the mask plate 13, and the squeegee 42 on the side of scraping the paste Pst is moved on the mask plate 13. The sliding distance at is minimized. As a result, the dimension in the width direction necessary for the kneading area of the paste Pst (the scraping direction of the paste Pst, that is, the dimension in the Y-axis direction) is a certain amount at the minimum rolling distance S necessary for kneading the paste Pst. (Pm, see FIGS. 10 to 12) can be set to about twice the distance (FIG. 11 (a)).

  In the paste kneading operation described above, the squeegee 42 on the side where the paste Pst is scraped in the kneading area is raised. As a result, the squeegee 42 that has finished scraping the paste Pst in the kneading area does not stretch the paste Pst in the direction opposite to that during the scraping, and in subsequent screen printing operations or subsequent paste kneading operations. It is possible to make it difficult for air to enter the paste Pst.

  If the kneading operation of the above procedure is repeated a plurality of times (FIG. 13 (a) → FIG. 13 (b)), the accumulated distance of the rolling distance of the paste Pst in the kneading area increases. It is preferable in terms of viscosity reduction of the paste Pst. In this case, the first step is executed after the sixth step. At this time, the contact point P3 of the front squeegee 42F (one squeegee 42) into the kneading area (FIG. 13A). Is the rear squeegee 42R rather than the point P4 (FIG. 13 (a)) immediately below the lower end of the front squeegee 42F when the scraping of the paste Pst in the kneading area by the rear squeegee 42R (the other squeegee 42) is completed. It is set at a position close to the side. Therefore, the squeegee control unit 70 moves the moving base 41 rearward (arrow F1 shown in FIG. 13A) in accordance with lowering the front squeegee 42F (arrow E1 shown in FIG. 13A). ). Alternatively, after the movement base 41 is moved rearward, the front squeegee 42F may be lowered from the standby height position to the contact height position.

  In the screen printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, by making necessary inputs from the input device 80 (FIG. 5) connected to the control device 60, the contact points of the pair of front and rear squeegees 42 in the kneading area (described above). It is preferable that the contact points P1 and P2) can be arbitrarily set. In this way, the sliding range of the squeegee 42 during the paste kneading operation can be minimized according to the dimension in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the paste Pst to be kneaded. .

  Further, in the screen printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the paste kneading operation is continuously executed a plurality of times by performing necessary input from the input device 80, the number of times the paste kneading operation is repeated or the paste kneading operation is performed. It is preferable that the repetition time of the alignment operation can be set. In this way, the paste Pst can be kneaded as necessary and sufficiently.

  Further, in the screen printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, by performing necessary input from the input device 80, the sliding speed of the squeegee 42 on the mask plate 13 and the mask plate 13 of the squeegee 42 with respect to the mask plate 13 in the paste kneading operation. It is preferable that the printing pressure can be arbitrarily set. In this way, appropriate kneading according to the material of the paste Pst and the like can be performed.

  In the screen printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the timing for executing the paste kneading operation can be set by performing necessary input from the input device 80. For example, the timing may be selected from the following four modes. (1) The paste kneading operation is always automatically executed before the screen printing operation for one substrate 2 is executed. (2) After performing the screen printing operation, before performing the next screen printing operation, the paste kneading operation is automatically executed when a preset reference time has elapsed. (3) When the operation is interrupted for some reason (for example, when an operation trouble occurs in other devices arranged before and after the screen printing apparatus 1), when the screen printing operation for the remaining substrate 2 is resumed, Alternatively, the paste kneading operation is automatically executed at the beginning of the work of the day. (4) Combined use of (1) and (2) above.

  In the mode (1), the paste Pst is kneaded every time one substrate 2 is carried in, and the substantial screen printing time required for each substrate 2 becomes longer, but the paste Pst is increased. Has the advantage that it is always kept at a low viscosity. In the modes (2) to (4), the paste Pst is kneaded when the interval time between the screen printing operation and the next screen printing operation becomes longer. It has the advantage that it can prevent that the viscosity of a paste falls extremely without being required.

  As described above, in the screen printing apparatus 1 and the paste kneading method using the screen printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the paste Pst is scraped and kneaded alternately from the two squeegees 42 to the kneading area. The squeegee 42 on one side after the scraping of the paste Pst is lifted. For this reason, the squeegee 42 that has finished scraping the paste Pst in the kneading area does not stretch the paste Pst in the direction opposite to that during the scraping, and in the subsequent screen printing operation or subsequent paste kneading operation, It is possible to make it difficult for air to enter the paste Pst. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the printing defect by air mixing in the paste Pst can be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the procedure of the paste kneading operation has been described on the assumption that the kneading area is set to the front standby area TF. However, the paste kneading operation is performed with the kneading area set to the rear waiting area TR. You can also. In the above description, since the kneading area is the front standby area TF, “one squeegee 42” is the front squeegee 42F and “the other squeegee 42” is the rear squeegee 42R. Assuming TR, “one squeegee 42” becomes the rear squeegee 42R, and “the other squeegee 42” becomes the front squeegee 42F. Furthermore, the paste kneading region is not limited to a region where the mask plate 13 in contact with the substrate 2 is in contact with one of the pair of clampers 33, but a region other than the region in contact with the clamper 33 on the mask plate 13. The paste Pst may be kneaded using the kneading area.

  Provided are a screen printing apparatus and a paste kneading method capable of suppressing the occurrence of printing defects due to air being mixed into a paste.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Screen printer 2 Board | substrate 13 Mask plate 33 Clamper 42 Squeegee 70 Squeegee control part TF Front waiting area (kneading area)
P1, P3 contact point Pst paste

Claims (16)

A pair of clampers that clamp the substrate from the side, a mask plate that contacts the substrate clamped by the pair of clampers, a pair of squeegees that are arranged in a horizontal direction above the mask plate, and the pair A squeegee control unit that selectively slides one side of the squeegee into contact with the mask plate and horizontally moves the squeegee on the mask plate,
The squeegee control unit may contact only one of the pair of squeegees within the kneading area when the paste is kneaded in the kneading area using the predetermined area on the mask plate as the kneading area. One squeegee rakes the paste in the kneading area, raises the one squeegee, and then makes only the other squeegee contact the other in the kneading area. A screen printing apparatus characterized in that a paste kneading operation is performed in which the other squeegee is raised after the paste is raked in the kneading area with the squeegee.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a contact point of each of the pair of squeegees into the kneading area can be arbitrarily set.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the squeegee controller executes the paste kneading operation a plurality of times continuously.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of repetitions of the paste kneading operation can be set.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a repetition time of the paste kneading operation can be set.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sliding speed of the squeegee on the mask plate in the paste kneading operation can be set.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a printing pressure of the squeegee with respect to the mask plate in the paste kneading operation can be set.   The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timing for executing the paste kneading operation can be set. A pair of clampers that clamp the substrate from the side, a mask plate that is in contact with the substrate clamped by the pair of clampers, and a pair of squeegees that are arranged in the horizontal direction above the mask plate, In a screen printing apparatus in which the squeegee is slid on the mask plate by selectively moving one side of the pair of squeegees in contact with the mask plate and kneading a predetermined region on the mask plate A paste kneading method in which paste is kneaded in the kneading area as an area,
A first step of bringing only one of the pair of squeegees into contact with the kneading area;
After the first step, a second step of scraping the paste in the kneading area with the one squeegee;
A third step of raising the one squeegee after the second step;
After the third step, a fourth step of bringing only the other squeegee of the pair of squeegees into contact with the kneading area;
After the fourth step, a fifth step of scraping the paste in the kneading area with the other squeegee;
After the fifth step, a paste kneading method comprising a sixth step of raising the other squeegee.   The paste kneading method according to claim 9, wherein a contact point of each of the pair of squeegees into the kneading area can be arbitrarily set.   The paste kneading method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the paste kneading operation including the first to fourth steps is continuously performed a plurality of times.   The paste kneading method according to claim 11, wherein the number of repetitions of the paste kneading operation can be set.   The paste kneading method according to claim 11, wherein a repetition time of the paste kneading operation can be set.   The paste kneading method according to claim 9, wherein a sliding speed of the squeegee on the mask plate in the paste kneading operation can be set.   The paste kneading method according to claim 9, wherein a printing pressure of the squeegee with respect to the mask plate in the paste kneading operation can be set.   The paste kneading method according to claim 9, wherein a timing for executing the paste kneading operation can be set.

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