JP2935532B2 - Printed wiring board production line controller - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to setup control of a production line for continuously assembling printed wiring boards, and more particularly to manufacturing of printed wiring boards in which a variety of printed wiring boards are to be controlled. The present invention relates to a control device suitable for a line.

[Conventional technology]

The printed wiring board manufacturing line is equipped with a dispenser, chip mounter, etc., between a facility called a loader that mounts the substrate to be processed and a facility called an unloader that takes out the processed substrate, through a facility called a connecting conveyor.
Various processing equipment for substrate assembly such as SOP mounter, adhesive curing furnace, solder bath, etc. are arranged and configured.
When a production model is changed, most of the equipment included in the line will include changes in the position of the board guides, changes in the mounting program, or changes in the mounting components, etc., in order to match the functions to the new model. Setup must be performed.

In the past, as a method of performing this setup, all had been done manually before, but in recent years, computers have been used.
The so-called automatic setup has been widely used.

By the way, as an automatic setup system using this computer, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a loader 10, a dispenser 11, a chip mounter 12, a SOP mounter 13, an adhesive curing furnace 14, a solder bath 15, an unloader 1
6. In addition, a centralized management computer 30 for managing the assembly line is provided for all the facilities such as the link conveyors 17 to 22, and the computer 30 is used to centrally control and set up each maintenance. As shown in the figure, a method has been used in which computers 32 to 43 interconnected by a LAN 50 are provided independently for each facility, and setup is performed by distributed control.

Related technologies of this type include, for example, the disclosures of JP-A-61-218200 and JP-A-1-2977897.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Among the above-mentioned prior arts, in the case of the centralized management system shown in FIG. 5, the centralized management computer 30 must manage all the equipment that requires setup, and therefore requires a computer capable of high-speed processing. There was a problem in that consideration was not given and the cost was increased.

In addition, in this method, the timing at which the setup instruction is given from the computer 30 to each equipment includes both a case where instructions are given to all the equipment at once and a case where instructions are given in the order of processes from the first equipment in the line. However, in the former case, no consideration is given to the fact that it is necessary to wait until all the boards are once taken out of the assembly line. On the other hand, the latter method, in which instructions are given in the order of the processes, does not take into account the need to take timing with the transfer of the substrate within the line, and requires sophisticated programming and high-precision substrate transfer technology. There was a problem that required.

Next, in the prior art according to the distributed management method shown in FIG. 6, unlike the prior art shown in FIG. 5, a method of giving an instruction to each facility at a time is rarely used. , So each computer 31-43 does not need very advanced capabilities, but tracking of model data is required between each computer 31-43 in accordance with the transfer of the board in the line. However, there has been a problem that higher-level programming is required than in the above-described centralized management system.

In addition, the method of FIG. 6 requires that the software for tracking be changed every time equipment in the line is replaced or equipment is added or deleted, and that the same number of computers as equipment is required. There was a problem that consideration was not given and the cost was greatly increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printed wiring board manufacturing line control apparatus which is low cost, requires no waiting time for setup, and hardly causes a decrease in production efficiency due to a board model.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a facility such as a loader at the head of an assembly line with a means for outputting substrate data indicating the type of a substrate to be processed supplied thereto to a facility at a subsequent stage. A means for taking in the substrate data from the preceding equipment and outputting the data to the subsequent equipment is provided in the connecting conveyor equipment and each processing equipment following the above, and each setup for each equipment is sequentially performed based on the substrate data. It is like that.

[Action]

As a result of the provision of the above means, each facility in the board assembly line is brought into a state in which board data representing the model of the board to be supplied next, such as board width data, can always be taken in from the preceding facility. .

On the other hand, since each facility always grasps the state of the board in the own facility, it is first checked whether there is a space for loading a new board in the own facility, and the If so, board data of a board that will be carried in next from the preceding equipment is taken in. If the board data is the same as the board data currently set in the own equipment, the next board is loaded.

Therefore, when the captured board data was different from the previous board data, it was determined that setup was to be performed, and first, it was confirmed that all the boards in the own equipment were carried out to the next equipment. After that, automatic setup of own equipment is performed according to the captured substrate data, for example, a change of a substrate guide is performed. Then, the next type of substrate different from the conventional type is carried in, and processing of a new type of substrate is started.

Therefore, when a new model of board is supplied to the assembly line, the setup is automatically advanced sequentially from the preceding facility by the simple control device in each facility, and the model can be changed as it is. can do.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a printed wiring board manufacturing line control device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
10, dispenser 11, chip mounter 12, SOP mounter 1
3. The adhesive curing furnace 14, the solder bath 15, the unloader 16, and the connecting conveyors 17 to 22 are the same as those in the above-described conventional example.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view in which the dispenser 11, the chip mounter 12, and the connecting conveyors 17, 18 which are a part of the assembly line are substantially drawn, and each connecting conveyor 17, 18 has a board guide 17a, 18a, respectively. Board guide width adjustment mechanisms 17b, 18b,
It clearly shows that the pulse motors 17c and 18c are provided.

In this embodiment, the production management computer 1 creates a schedule based on the large schedule given from the host computer 2 by taking into account the material receiving status and the priority of the work, etc. Perform inventory management, etc.

The CAD computer 3 is used to automatically create an NC program for an automatic mounting apparatus based on design data given from the CAD 4.

The setup information management computer 5 creates component set data for each board based on the design data given from the CAD 4 and the component set information obtained from the automatic mounting apparatus, and sets the component setup data.

At this time, the operating conditions of the apparatus, such as the temperature of the solder bath 15 and the transfer speed of the board, are registered in the setup information management database 5a for each board, and are used as machine setup data.

The cell controllers 7a to 7e composed of computers input barcode data (data representing the model of the board flowing in the assembly line) from the sequencers 8a to 8e, and the model of the board currently stored in the cell controller. By comparing with the data, it is determined whether or not a setup instruction is given to each facility such as the dispenser 11.

Then, when the model data is changed, the setup is performed. The NC program created by the CAD computer 3 and the part setup data and the machine setup data created by the setup information management computer 5 are transferred to each equipment, and the automatic setup is performed. It does.

By the way, the above-mentioned automatic setup operation is the same as that of the prior art, however, in this embodiment, the cell controller is not connected to each of the connecting conveyors 17 to 22 among the facilities in the assembly line.

Instead of this, in this embodiment, first, the loader 10 at the head of the assembly line always stores data D representing the substrate width of the various substrate data representing the model of the substrate to be processed supplied thereto. In addition to providing a control device for output,
The board width data D output from the loader 10, which is the leading equipment, is sequentially transferred from the equipment of the preceding process (previous stage) to the equipment of the subsequent process (later stage) via the equipment following the loader 10 in the assembly line. It is configured to output each, and based on this, each equipment following the loader 10, namely, the dispenser 11, the chip mounter 12, the SOP mounter 13, the adhesive curing furnace 14, the solder bath 15, the unloader 16, and the The processing shown in FIG. 3 is executed by a control device in each facility such as the link conveyors 17 to 22.

First, each equipment waits for a space for loading a substrate to be newly processed to be generated in its own equipment by the process of S (step) 1, and when a loading space occurs, it is output from the preceding process equipment. Examine the board width data and determine whether it is the same as the board width data up to now (S
2).

Then, as long as the determination result is Y (Yes), that is, no change is indicated in the board width data, the process immediately proceeds from S8 to S9,
Simply carry in a new substrate, and then execute a predetermined processing in the equipment.

On the other hand, when the result of the determination in step S2 is N (No), that is, when it is determined that the substrate width data D output from the preceding process equipment has changed, first, in step S3, the substrate still remains in the own equipment. In the subsequent processing of S4, after waiting for the appearance of a substrate request from the post-processing equipment, the substrate is unloaded in the processing of S5, and then returns to S3 again.
Repeat until the result of the determination in S3 becomes N. Then, when the result in S3 is N, that is, when the board width data from the pre-process facility changes and all the boards are unloaded from the own facility,
At this point, the process proceeds to S6. First, the board width data previously output from the own facility to the post-process facility is changed to the board width data (new board data) newly received from the preceding process facility. Then, the processing necessary for changing the substrate width of the own equipment in S7 is executed. This process is performed, for example, by driving the board guide width adjusting mechanisms 17b and 18b by driving the pulse motors 17c and 18c in FIG.
This is executed by moving 17a and 18a in the substrate guide width automatic adjustment direction.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, of the setup control required for each facility in the assembly line in accordance with the change of the board type, the setup of the link conveyors 17 to 22 is automatically performed by each of these conveyors. Will be executed sequentially,
It is possible to obtain a printed wiring board production line control device that requires little waiting time for setup and hardly causes a decrease in production efficiency due to a change in board type at low cost.

Further, according to this embodiment, there is no possibility that the model data is transmitted to the subsequent facility without matching the model data D transmitted between the facilities and the printed circuit board. This is because, as is apparent from FIG. 3, if the model data does not match the model of the board, the board is not transported. That is, according to this embodiment, the interlock function is automatically performed between the equipments. , And high reliability can be easily obtained.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the data directly transmitted between the respective facilities in the assembly line is used as the board width data, and the facilities controlled by this are controlled by the loader and the link conveyor.
In addition, it is limited to the case where the data required for setup control is relatively small, such as unloader, but the data transmitted between each equipment is not limited to the board width, and other data is required depending on the board model. Various data may be used, and the target of the setup control may be extended to other facilities according to the data.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention as described above, whereby the number of programming steps can be reduced, and the cost of the automatic setup control device can be further reduced.

That is, in this embodiment, without performing the highly complicated processing of tracking the model data in accordance with the transfer of the printed circuit board, which is applied to the conventional technology and the equipment other than the connecting conveyor in the embodiment of FIG. In addition, instead of the above-described board width data D, various types of board model data T required for control in each facility are transmitted, and in parallel with the board being conveyed, the model data of the board is directly taken in, thereby automatically setting up the board. It does.

Therefore, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the tracking of the model data is not required, and the processing by the cell controller computers 60 to 64 is reduced accordingly.
In addition, troubles due to unmatching can be reduced, reliability can be expected to be improved, and there is an advantage that there is no need to replace, add or delete programs in the assembly line, and to change programs.

By the way, various methods can be applied as a method of transferring the board width data D between the equipments in the above embodiment, but a BCD data method using an input / output terminal such as the sequencer 8a in FIG. And a serial communication method are effective.

At this time, a transmission system is naturally required, but it is also effective to use an optical transmission system using infrared rays in order to eliminate a cable.

Also, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a system is used in which a bar code is used for discriminating the model of the printed circuit board carried into the equipment. However, an ID plate may be used instead. Alternatively, a non-contact IC card may be used.

Further, in the case of a method in which the printed circuit board is put in a predetermined frame for conveyance and the whole frame is conveyed, model data may be registered in the frame, or when the model is changed, the change is notified. For supplying a dedicated substrate to the line.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the number of computers required for setup control can be reduced, so that cost can be easily reduced.

According to the present invention, the processing required for data transfer is also
Since only the output processing of the board model data supplied from the pre-process equipment to the post-process equipment is performed, the content is simply to output the set data at that time to the post-process equipment,
Since the number of man-hours for software development can be reduced, there is also an effect that the cost can be easily reduced also in this regard.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the operation of an embodiment of a printed wiring board manufacturing line control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view in which a part of an assembly line in the same embodiment of the present invention is substantially drawn. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are block diagrams of conventional examples. 1 Production management computer 2 Host computer 3 CAD computer 4 CAD 5 Setup information management computer 7a to 7e Cell controller 8a
~ 8e Sequencer, 10 Loader, 11 Dispenser, 12 Chip mounter, 13 SOP mounter, 14
… Adhesive curing furnace, 15… Solder bath, 16… Unloader,
17-22: Conveyor, D: Board width data.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Kobayashi 7-1-1, Higashi-Narashino, Narashino-shi, Chiba In the Narashino Plant of Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masayuki Matsubara 7-1-1, Higashi-Narashino, Narashino-shi, Chiba Hitachi Keiyo Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Norio Tsuruta 7-1-1 Higashi Narashino Plant, Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Hitachi, Ltd. Narashino Plant (72) Inventor Yoshinori Narge 7-1-1 Higashi Narashino City, Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture Shares (56) References JP-A-60-260200 (JP, A) JP-A-60-202987 (JP, A) Full-service 1983-168168 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H05K 13/00-13/04 G05B 15/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printed wiring board manufacturing line in which a connecting conveyor facility and a board processing facility are alternately arranged between a facility for mounting a substrate to be processed and a facility for removing a processed substrate. Board data is transmitted to the subsequent equipment in sequence and used for setup at each equipment.At each equipment, when the work at that equipment is completed, the setup based on the board data sent from the preceding equipment is started. A printed wiring board manufacturing line control device characterized by having such a configuration. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the above-mentioned facilities has board data set in its own facility.
A printed wiring board manufacturing line control device, wherein the setup is started when the board data supplied from the previous stage is different, and the setup is not performed when the board data is the same. 3. A printed wiring board manufacturing line in which connecting conveyor equipment and substrate processing equipment are alternately arranged between equipment for mounting a processing substrate and equipment for removing a processed substrate, In the equipment for mounting the equipment, a means for outputting the board data indicating the width of the substrate to be processed supplied thereto to the equipment at the subsequent stage is provided, and the connection conveyor equipment and the substrate processing equipment are supplied from the equipment at each preceding stage. Means for outputting the obtained substrate data to the subsequent equipment, wherein a setup relating to a change in the board guide width for each equipment is executed based on the substrate data. Board production line control device.