JP2017200687A - Agitator and agitation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an agitator for agitating a small amount of fine components; and to provide an agitation method.SOLUTION: In a representative constitution, an agitator (plating device 100) for agitating fine components includes a container 104 for storing a plurality of components, an ultrasonic vibration part 126 for applying ultrasonic vibration to the container, a plurality of vibration motors 152a-152d installed on an outer wall of the container, and a control part 154 for actuating the vibration motors successively by shifting each phase of the plurality of vibration motors.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a stirring device and a stirring method for stirring minute parts.

  Conventionally, a barrel plating apparatus has been used when plating a minute part to be plated (for example, Patent Document 1). The barrel is in the shape of a polygonal column (mainly hexagonal), the wall surface is a mesh, and the plating solution flows through the wall surface. When performing the plating process, the part to be plated is accommodated in the barrel, and the barrel is rotated in a state where the barrel is immersed in the plating solution.

  Since the barrel is polygonal, the piles of the parts to be plated continue to collapse when the barrel is rotated. An electrode is supported in the barrel so as not to rotate, and is energized in contact with a pile of parts to be plated that has accumulated at the bottom of the barrel. That is, by rotating the barrel, the parts to be plated are energized while being stirred, and electrolytic plating is performed without agglomeration.

  In the barrel having the above-described configuration, in order to energize the component to be plated, it is necessary that the peak of the component to be plated and the electrode are in contact with each other. However, if the amount of parts to be plated is small, electrolytic plating is not performed smoothly because the peaks of the parts to be plated do not reach the electrodes or the power supply between the electrodes is cut off. For this reason, when the amount of parts to be plated is small, dummy parts are added to increase the amount.

JP 05-263298 A

  However, when plating is performed with a dummy part mixed in, the dummy part is naturally also plated, resulting in wasted material (gold plating or the like). Although it is possible to melt and reuse the plating of the dummy parts, there is a problem in that power, time, labor, and solvent are significantly wasted. Along with this, there is a problem that the unit price increases even with a small amount of plating. In addition, by mixing dummy parts, after plating, it must be sorted out from the parts to be plated, so the cost of sorting is often more than the plating process, which is also a major problem It is.

  On the other hand, ultrasonic is a general method for improving the cleaning power of an object to be cleaned, and it is also known that micro parts contained in a container such as a basket or glass in a cleaning tank are vibrated by ultrasonic waves. However, the parts cannot flow greatly due to the vibration. In addition, since the vibration is greatly affected by the size and shape of the part, the shape of the container in which the part is placed, and the material, the movement of the part is not stable and the directionality is not fixed. It is not used as a method for the purpose of movement or flow.

  In view of such a problem, the present invention provides an agitation device and an agitation method for agitating a small amount of minute parts in order to perform a plating process on a small amount of minute parts without using a dummy. It is aimed. In addition to electroplating, the stirrer can be used for electroless plating, cleaning, chemical polishing, and electrolytic polishing for a small amount of minute parts.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a typical configuration of the present invention is a stirring device that stirs minute parts, a container that houses a plurality of parts, an ultrasonic vibration unit that applies ultrasonic vibrations to the container, A plurality of vibration motors installed on the outer wall of the container, and a control unit that sequentially operates the vibration motors by shifting the phases of the plurality of vibration motors. The stirring device according to the present invention is not limited to electroplating or electroless plating, and can be applied to cleaning, chemical polishing, electrolytic polishing, and the like.

  According to the said structure, a to-be-plated component can be made to flow in a container by applying an ultrasonic vibration to a container. For this reason, even if it is a small amount of parts to be plated, it can be stirred while being in contact with the electrodes. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily plate a small amount of minute parts to be plated without using a dummy. In addition, when plating is performed in this manner, it is not necessary to open many holes in the container in order to allow the plating solution to flow into the barrel like a rotating barrel, in order to prevent the object to be plated from spilling out of the container. Since it is not necessary to cover the container, any small microparts, powders and fine particles can be plated.

  Said container is good to be installed so that a bottom face may be a curved surface and an outer wall may become diagonal. A hemispherical shape is suitable as an example of the curved surface of the bottom surface. The component to be plated advances in one direction due to the ultrasonic vibration applied to the container, but the outer part of the container having a hemispherical bottom surface is slanted, so that the component to be plated climbed upward along the outer wall. Collapse. As a result, the parts to be plated are agitated and do not aggregate with each other.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of the stirring method according to the present invention is a stirring method for stirring minute parts, in which a plurality of parts are accommodated in a container, and ultrasonic vibration is applied to the container. A component is caused to flow in the container by applying a vibration by shifting the phases of a plurality of vibration motors installed on the outer wall of the container.

  The component corresponding to the technical idea in the plating apparatus mentioned above and its description are applicable also to the said method.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the stirring apparatus and stirring method which stir a small amount of micro components can be provided.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the plating apparatus using the stirring apparatus in this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the container and cap of the plating apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the vibration application part of the plating apparatus of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plating apparatus using a stirring device in the present embodiment. The plating apparatus 100 is an apparatus that forms a plating film on the surface of a minute component 102 by performing plating. The plating apparatus 100 includes a container 104 that houses a plurality of components 102 to be plated. The container 104 has a hemispherical bottom surface 108. The container 104 accommodates a plurality of parts 102 to be plated immersed in a plating solution 110 as shown in the figure. Note that the amount of the part 102 to be plated is small enough to deposit near the bottom surface 108 of the container 104.

  The plating apparatus 100 further includes a cap 114 that closes the opening 112 of the container 104, a cathode 116 and an anode 118, a power source 120 that applies a voltage between both electrodes, a vibration applying unit 122, a thermostat 124, and an ultrasonic vibration unit. 126. The cathode 116 and the anode 118 are inserted into the container 104 through the cap 114. The cathode 116 is disposed in contact with the component to be plated 102 in order to energize the component to be plated 102 accommodated in the container 104. The anode 118 is immersed in the plating solution 110 and is energized with the cathode 116 in contact with the part to be plated 102.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the container 104 and the cap 114 of the plating apparatus 100 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vibration applying unit 122 of the plating apparatus 100 of FIG. In FIG. 3, the container 104 closed by the cap 114 and the vibration applying unit 122 are shown as viewed from above.

  The cap 114 has an electrode insertion port 128 into which the cathode 116 and the anode 118 are inserted, an inlet 130 into which the plating solution 110 flows, and a discharge port 132 through which the plating solution 110 discharges, as shown in FIG. In addition, the opening 112 of the container 104 is closed. As shown in FIG. 1, the inflow port 130 and the discharge port 132 of the cap 114 are connected to the plating solution tank 138 via flow paths 134 and 136, respectively.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a pump 140 is disposed in the middle of the flow path 134. The plating solution 110 circulates between the container 104 and the plating solution tank 138 through the flow paths 134 and 136 by driving the pump 140. The inflow port 130 and the discharge port 132 are connected to the flow paths 134 and 136 through connection portions 142 and 144, respectively. A supply port 146 for supplying the plating solution 110 into the container 104 is also connected to the inlet 130.

  The vibration application unit 122 includes a holding unit 148 that holds the container 104, a plurality of vibration motors 152a to 152d installed on the outer wall 150 of the container 104, and a control unit 154 (see FIG. 1). The holding part 148 holds the outer wall 150 of the container 104 as shown in FIG. 1 and installs the container 104 so that the outer wall 150 is inclined. Since the container 104 is installed obliquely, the plurality of vibration motors 152a to 152d are arranged on an oblique plane.

  The control unit 154 operates the vibration motors 152a to 152d at a predetermined frequency so that the vibration motors 152a to 152d can apply vibration to the container 104. Further, the control unit 154 shifts the phases of the plurality of vibration motors 152a to 152d and sequentially operates the vibration motors 152a to 152d. In the figure, the four vibration motors 152a to 152d are installed so as to face each other with the container 104 interposed therebetween, but the installation position and number are not particularly limited.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the constant temperature bath 124 immerses the container 104 in constant temperature water 156 to keep the container 104 warm. The plating bath 138 is immersed and kept warm in the constant temperature water 160 by another constant temperature bath 158. In this way, the plating solution 110 is maintained at a predetermined temperature. The ultrasonic vibration unit 126 applies ultrasonic vibration to the container 104 indirectly by applying ultrasonic vibration to the constant temperature water 156 in the constant temperature bath 124.

  Hereinafter, a plating method using the plating apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described. First, a plurality of parts to be plated 102 are immersed in the plating solution 110 and accommodated in the container 104, and the opening 112 is closed with the cap 114. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the container 104 is installed by the holding portion 148 so that the outer wall 150 of the container 104 is inclined, and the container 104 is immersed in the constant temperature water 156 of the constant temperature bath 124. Further, the part to be plated 102 is brought into contact with the cathode 116 disposed in the container 104.

  Next, a voltage is applied by the power source 120 between the cathode 116 and the anode 118 to energize the component 102 to be plated, and the plating process is started. The pump 140 is appropriately driven so that the plating solution 110 circulates between the container 104 and the plating solution tank 138. When the plating process is started, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the constant temperature water 156 by the ultrasonic vibration unit 126 to vibrate the component 102 to be plated in the container 104. Then, the vibration motors 152 a to 152 d of the vibration applying unit 122 are operated to apply vibration to the container 104. As a result, the part 102 to be plated is caused to flow in the container 104.

  Specifically, the part to be plated 102 becomes fluid by the ultrasonic vibration from the ultrasonic vibration unit 126 and advances in one direction by the vibration from the vibration motors 152a to 152d. This direction is a circumferential direction of the outer wall 150 continuous with the hemispherical bottom surface 108, and is a rotational motion in a plane parallel to the plane on which the plurality of vibration motors 152a to 152d are arranged. On the other hand, since the container 104 is installed so that the outer wall 150 is inclined, the part 102 to be plated that has climbed up along the wall surface of the outer wall 150 collapses. By repeating such behavior, the parts to be plated 102 are agitated and do not aggregate with each other.

  In particular, the control unit 154 can control the flow direction and flow speed of the component 102 to be plated in the container 104 by sequentially operating the plurality of vibration motors 152a to 152d while shifting the phases thereof. Thereby, the flow of parts to be plated can be stabilized.

  As described above, according to the plating apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, even if the component to be plated 102 is a small amount by applying ultrasonic vibration to the container 104 and causing the component to be plated 102 to flow in the container 104. , Stirring can be performed while contacting the cathode 116. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily perform plating on a small amount of the component to be plated 102 without using a dummy. In addition, since the component does not vibrate on the spot but flows as a whole, the thickness of the plating film can be made uniform between the components.

  In the above-described embodiment, a plating apparatus that performs electroplating is described as an example of the stirring apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied as an agitator for electroless plating, cleaning, chemical polishing, and electrolytic polishing.

  In the above embodiment, the container 104 has a hemispherical bottom surface 108. However, the shape is not limited to this, and the shape of the bottom surface 108 may be a curved surface. In this way, since various containers 104 can be used, convenience can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the cap 114 is used. However, the cap may not be used as long as the amount of the plating solution in the container 104 can be secured.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this example. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  The present invention can be used as a stirring device and a stirring method for stirring a small amount of minute parts.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Plating apparatus, 102 ... Component to be plated, 104 ... Container, 108 ... Bottom surface, 110 ... Plating solution, 112 ... Opening, 114 ... Cap, 116 ... Cathode, 118 ... Anode, 120 ... Power source, 122 ... Vibration application part, 124, 158 ... constant temperature bath, 126 ... ultrasonic vibration part, 128 ... electrode insertion port, 130 ... inflow port, 132 ... discharge port, 134, 136 ... flow path, 138 ... plating bath, 140 ... pump, 142, 144 ... Connection part, 146 ... Supply port, 148 ... Holding part, 150 ... Outer wall, 152a, 152b, 152c, 152d ... Vibration motor, 154 ... Control part, 156,160 ... Constant water

Claims (3)

In a stirrer that stirs minute parts,
A container containing a plurality of the parts;
An ultrasonic vibration unit for applying ultrasonic vibration to the container;
A plurality of vibration motors installed on the outer wall of the container;
And a control unit that sequentially operates the vibration motors while shifting the phases of the plurality of vibration motors.   The stirring device according to claim 1, wherein the container is installed so that a bottom surface is a curved surface and the outer wall is inclined. In the stirring method of stirring minute parts,
Housing a plurality of said parts in a container;
Applying ultrasonic vibrations to the container;
A stirring method, wherein the components are caused to flow in the container by applying vibrations by shifting phases of a plurality of vibration motors installed on the outer wall of the container.

Images