JP3544822B2 - Electroless nickel plating method and apparatus for rod-shaped work - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for performing electroless nickel plating on a rod-shaped work having a concave portion formed on an end surface. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus capable of reliably performing electroless nickel plating on the inner peripheral surfaces of the concave portions at both ends of such a rod-shaped work.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Examples of the workpiece to be subjected to the electroless nickel plating include a rod-shaped workpiece having conical concave portions for bearings formed at both ends, such as a shaft of a printer or the like. When such a rod-shaped workpiece is subjected to a plating treatment, when it is immersed in a plating tank in an upright state, air remains trapped in the concave portion on the lower end surface side, and the plating solution is deposited on the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion. Therefore, the plating may not be applied to the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion. Further, even if the plating solution spreads sufficiently to the concave portion on the lower side of the rod-shaped work, gas generated during the plating process may accumulate in the concave portion, and the deposition of plating on the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion may be insufficient. is there.
[0003]
In order to avoid such adverse effects, conventionally, a work mounting car on which a bar-shaped work is mounted is rocked in a plating tank, or a plating solution in the plating tank is stirred.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, in order to avoid such adverse effects, it is conceivable to hold the rod-shaped work horizontally and immerse it in a plating tank in this state to perform plating. That is, it is conceivable to immerse a cylindrical workpiece-carrying basket in which a number of rod-shaped workpieces are horizontally placed in a plating tank. However, this causes the following adverse effects.
[0005]
First, the work of mounting a bar-shaped work horizontally on a work-loading car has lower workability than the work of mounting a bar-shaped work vertically on a work-loading car from above, and the rod-shaped work may be damaged. Is high.
[0006]
Second, in a large number of rod-shaped works horizontally stacked in a work-carrying basket, water or the like easily accumulates between them by capillary action. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the water for cleaning the work in the pre-process of the plating treatment is immersed in the plating bath while remaining in the gap between the bar-shaped works, and the plating solution in the plating bath is diluted. Therefore, it is necessary to replenish the plating solution to maintain the concentration at an appropriate level. Further, since the plating solution remains in the gap between the bar-shaped works pulled up from the plating bath, the plating solution is pumped out of the plating bath, and it is necessary to supply the plating solution. As described above, in the method of performing the plating treatment by transporting the bar-shaped workpieces in a state of being stacked horizontally, a problem of dilution and reduction of the plating solution is caused.
[0007]
Third, when the bar-shaped workpieces are stacked horizontally, the flow of air between the bar-shaped workpieces is poor, so that the bar-shaped workpieces can be efficiently dried even when hot air is blown during drying after the plating process. Can not.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to propose a method and an apparatus capable of reliably performing a plating process on an inner peripheral surface of a concave portion formed on an end surface of a rod-shaped work without such a conventional adverse effect.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method and an apparatus for electroless nickel plating a rod-shaped work having a concave portion formed on an end face, wherein the rod-shaped work is inclined at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to a perpendicular. The rod-shaped workpiece having the inclined posture is plated.
[0010]
If the bar-shaped work is inclined in this manner, air, generated gas, and the like trapped in the recess formed on the lower end surface thereof are easily discharged from the recess. Therefore, the plating solution sufficiently spreads over the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion, and the plating process on the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion can be reliably performed.
[0011]
In order to reliably discharge air, gas, and the like accumulated in the concave portion, an upper oblique line defining a cross-sectional shape of the concave portion when cut along a vertical plane including an axis of the rod-shaped work is horizontal or What is necessary is just to set the inclination angle of the said bar-shaped work so that the opening side of a recessed part may become the oblique line facing upward.
[0012]
Next, in a batch-type processing line for automatically performing an electroless nickel plating process, generally, a large number of rod-shaped workpieces are transported at predetermined intervals by a workpiece transport means via each processing station, and the Is subjected to electroless nickel plating. In this case, when loading the rod-shaped work into the work transfer means, or when unloading the rod-shaped work from the work transfer means, the rod-shaped work is so arranged that the work can be easily performed. It is desirable to switch to the state of standing vertically.
[0013]
Further, the rod-shaped workpiece after the electroless nickel plating treatment is conveyed through the respective steps of washing and drying as subsequent processing steps. Also in this drying step, it is desirable that the bar-shaped work is held in an inclined posture and hot air is blown from the horizontal direction to the bar-shaped work in the inclined posture. By doing so, the wind between the bar-shaped works is good, and the water remaining between the bar-shaped works is effectively eliminated by the wind (the drainage is good).
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an electroless nickel plating apparatus for a rod-shaped work to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
The apparatus described below is for performing plating on a rod-shaped work W as shown in FIG. 1, and the rod-shaped work W has an elongated cylindrical shape, and both ends a, b Are formed with concave portions c and d, and the inner peripheral surfaces of these concave portions c and d are conical inner peripheral surfaces e and f. For example, when the bar-shaped work W is cut along a vertical plane including the axis g, the opening angle θ of the concave portion c is about 20 degrees, but various forms such as those in the range of about 15 degrees to 44 degrees. Can be applied.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the electroless nickel plating apparatus 1 of the present example. The electroless nickel plating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a work transfer unit 2 for transferring a bar-shaped work W (see FIGS. 3, 5, and 6), a loading station 3 for loading the bar-shaped work W onto the work transfer unit 2, A pre-processing line 4 for performing pre-processing on the bar-shaped work W conveyed by the work conveying means 2; and a plating for performing electroless nickel plating on the bar-shaped work W conveyed by the work conveying means 2 after passing through the pre-processing line 4. A treatment station 5, a post-processing line 6 for performing post-processing including drying on the rod-shaped work W conveyed by the work conveyance means 2 after passing through the plating processing station 5, and a rod-shaped after passing through the post-processing line 6. An unloading station 7 for unloading the work W from the work transfer means 2. Further, a baking furnace 8 for performing a baking process on the bar-shaped work W unloaded at the unloading station 7 is provided.
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross-sectional configuration of the electroless nickel plating apparatus 1. The work transfer means 2 includes a work mounting car 21 on which the bar-shaped work W is mounted, and a car holder 22 for holding the work mounting car 21. The car holder 22 is transported by the carrier 23 along the processing line. The carrier 23 includes a carrier body 231 that moves along a pair of rails 234 arranged along a processing line, a lifting mechanism 232 attached to the carrier body 231, and a lifting hanger 233 that moves up and down by the lifting mechanism 232. ing. On the other hand, on the side of the car holder 22, a plurality of sets of hooks 222 protrude from the upper frame 221, and the car holders 22 can be lifted by the lifting hangers 233 of the carrier 23 by these hooks 222. I have.
[0018]
Therefore, the carrier 23 immerses the cage 22 in each of the tanks arranged in the processing line, raises the immersed cage 22, and then advances the cage 22 to just above the next tank. Thereafter, the operation of immersing the car holder 22 in the tank is repeated, and each car holder 22 can be transported via each tank arranged along the processing line. FIG. 3 shows a state where the car holder 22 is pulled up by the carrier 23 on the side of the pretreatment line 4, and the cage holder 22 is immersed in the tank on the side of the plating station 5 and the post-treatment line 6. FIG.
[0019]
In the electroless nickel plating apparatus 1 of the present example, a pair of rails 234 are arranged on both the pretreatment line 4 side and the plating treatment station 5 and the posttreatment line 6 side, respectively. To move a plurality of carriers 23.
[0020]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the structures of the work mounting car 21 and the car holder 22 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the work loading cage 21 includes a cylindrical body 211 through which a liquid can flow, a disk-shaped bottom 212 closing one end of the body 211, and a bottom 212. And a hanging hook 214 formed at the tip of the hollow pipe 213. The body portion 211 includes three rings 215 arranged coaxially at equal intervals, four connecting rods 216 connecting these rings, and a mesh-shaped member attached along the inner periphery of the three rings 215. And a cylindrical plate 217. The hollow part of the central hollow pipe 213 is a shaft hole 218 having one end opened on the back side of the bottom part 212. The bar-shaped work W is mounted from the upper opening of the trunk 211 of the work mounting cage 21 having this configuration.
[0021]
On the other hand, in the car holder 22 that holds the work mounting car 21, the support brackets 222 and 223 extend downward from the left and right of the horizontal upper frame 221, and these support brackets 222 and 223 The part on the side of attachment to the upper frame 221 extends vertically downward, while the part below it extends parallel to a slightly laterally inclined direction. In this example, the inclination angle is set to about 15 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. The tip portions of the support brackets 222 and 223 are connected to each other by a connecting rod 224.
[0022]
On the surface of the support bracket 223, a rotating disk 225 is rotatably mounted around the connecting rod 224. On the surface of the rotating disk 225, four guide shafts 226 are attached concentrically at equal angular intervals of 90 degrees. These guide shafts 226 extend perpendicular to the surface of the rotating disk 225. Therefore, it extends in a direction inclined with respect to a vertical line or a horizontal line. These guide shafts 226 have an outer diameter dimension that can be inserted into the shaft holes 218 formed in the work mounting cage 21. Therefore, if the work mounting car 21 is mounted so that the guide shaft 226 is inserted into the shaft hole 218 of the work mounting car 21, the work mounting car 21 is inclined to the car holder 22 in the same manner as the guide shaft 226. It will be in the attached state. In the present example, four guide shafts 226 are arranged, and four work mounting cars can be attached to one car holder 22. However, three or less, or five or more guide shafts are provided. 226 may be attached so that a smaller number or a larger number of work-equipped cars are attached.
[0023]
Next, the rotating disk 225 of the car holder 22 is driven to rotate as follows. External teeth 227 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating disk 225. The external teeth 227 are connected to a horizontal shaft 229 extending horizontally horizontally via a gear train 228. A sprocket 237 is attached to the tip of the horizontal shaft 229. On the other hand, drive chains 238 are arranged along side positions of the processing line, and the drive chains are always driven by a drive source (not shown). When the car holder 22 is immersed in the tank 51, the sprocket 237 is engaged with the chain 238 from above and is driven to rotate by the chain 238. The rotation of the sprocket 237 is transmitted to the rotating disk 225 via the gear train 228, and the rotating disk 225 rotates around the connecting rod 224.
[0024]
As described above, in the present example, when the car holder 22 is immersed in the tank 51 and other tanks arranged in the other processing lines, the rotating disk 225 is rotated by the chain which is always driven. Therefore, the work mounting car 21 held there also rotates integrally.
[0025]
In the electroless nickel plating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the work mounting car 21 is attached to the car holder 22 in a posture inclined with respect to the perpendicular, and the car holder 22 is conveyed by the carrier 23 in this posture. Accordingly, in the plating station 5, as shown in FIG. 5, the work mounting car 21 is immersed in the processing tank 51 while being inclined. Therefore, many rod-shaped works W mounted on the work mounting cage 21 are also immersed in the processing tank 51 in a posture inclined with respect to the perpendicular. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, a concave portion c is formed at an end portion a of the rod-shaped workpiece W, and an upper side defining the cross-sectional shape of the concave portion c when cut along a vertical plane including the axis g. The oblique line e1 is horizontal or oblique with the opening side of the concave portion facing upward. Therefore, since air or gas does not accumulate in the concave portion, a state in which air or gas remains in the concave portion c is formed, and the plating process on the inner peripheral surface e of the concave portion becomes insufficient. No harm occurs.
[0026]
Next, in this example, the car holder 22 is also conveyed in the post-processing line 6 while being similarly inclined. In the drying station 61 (see FIG. 1) in the post-processing line 6, hot air of about 30 degrees is blown horizontally from the horizontal direction to the plated workpiece W held in the inclined state. Work drying process is performed. By blowing air horizontally from the lateral direction on the inclined work W, efficient drying can be performed. Further, in the washing step performed before the drying station, the work is inclined, so that there is an advantage that drainage from the tank is good when drained.
[0027]
Next, with reference to FIG. 7, a structure of a transport vehicle that moves between the loading station 3 and the unloading station 7 in the electroless nickel plating apparatus 1 will be described.
[0028]
A pair of rails 31 are arranged between these stations 3 and 7 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in the processing line, and a transport carriage 32 reciprocating between the stations 3 and 7 along the rails 31. Is arranged. The transport trolley 32 includes a gantry 34 having wheels 33 at four corners, a horizontal swing shaft 35 supported by the gantry 34, and a swing frame 36 attached to the swing shaft 35. The turning frame 36 is a portion on which the car holder 22 is placed. By rotating the pivot shaft 35, the pivot frame 36 attached thereto is moved by a predetermined angle between the horizontal position held by the clamp mechanism 37 and the horizontal position, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. It is possible to turn between the inclined turning position.
[0029]
The turning force of the turning shaft 35 is obtained by transmitting the rotation of the motor 71 attached to the gantry 34 to the turning shaft 35 via a transmission mechanism 72 including a reduction gear train and a belt / pulley. Further, a driving force for moving the transport cart 32 is also obtained by transmitting the rotational force of the motor 74 attached to the cart 34 to one wheel 33 via a transmission mechanism 75 including a reduction gear train and a belt pulley. ing.
[0030]
When loading the bar-shaped work W, the transport cart 32 having the above configuration is moved to the loading station 3, and the turning frame 36 is turned to the turning position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. When the revolving frame 36 is in the revolving position, as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, the car holder 22 placed thereon is in a horizontal state, and the respective guide shafts 226 are oriented vertically. After this state is formed, a work mounting car 21 on which a number of bar-shaped works W are mounted is inserted into a vertically standing guide shaft 226 of the car holder 22 from above by using a hoist or the like.
[0031]
After each work-mounted car 21 is attached to the car holder 22 in this way, the turning frame 36 is returned to the horizontal position indicated by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the car holder 22 that has been in the horizontal state assumes an inclined posture as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. As a result, the basket holder 22 on which the work W is loaded by the carrier 23 is lifted and can be transported toward the processing line.
[0032]
Next, the transport trolley 32, in which the car holder 22 is lifted and emptied by the carrier 23, moves on the rail 31 toward the unloading station 7, and removes the workpiece W, which has been subjected to the plating process, from the processing line. Get ready to unload. After the car holder 22 on which the workpiece W after the plating process is mounted is mounted on the revolving frame 36 of the carriage 32 by the carrier 23, the revolving frame 36 is revolved to the revolving position. As a result, the car holder 22 on the revolving frame 36 is in a horizontal state, and can be removed from the car holder 22 by pulling the work-mounted car 21 held thereon upward. Also in this case, each work mounting car 21 is lifted using a hoist or the like, and removed from the car holder 22. Each of the lifted cages 21 is carried on a roller bearing 81 toward the baking furnace 8, and is sent into the baking furnace 8.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the electroless nickel plating method and apparatus of the present invention, the plating process is performed on the rod-shaped work having the concave portions formed at both ends while the rod-shaped work is inclined. Therefore, by appropriately setting the inclination angle, it is possible to avoid accumulation of air, gas, and the like in the concave portion on the lower side of the rod-shaped work, and it is possible to efficiently dry and drain the rod-shaped work. This has the effect of simplifying the handling of the bar-shaped work.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a rod-shaped work to which the method of the present invention can be applied.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a planar configuration of an electroless nickel plating apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of the electroless nickel plating apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a work mounting cage of the electroless nickel plating apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a work mounting car and a car holder of the electroless nickel plating apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration as viewed from the direction of arrows VI-VI in FIG. 5;
7A and 7B are diagrams showing a transport cart reciprocating between a loading and an unloading station of the electroless nickel plating apparatus of FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 7A is a side view of the transport cart, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the configuration when viewed.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electroless nickel plating apparatus 2 Work conveyance means 21 Work loading basket 221 Body 212 Bottom part 218 Shaft hole 22 Car holder 226 Guide shaft 23 Carrier 3 Loading station 4 Pre-processing line 5 Plating processing station 6 Post-processing line 61 Drying station 7 Unloading station W Work a, b Work end c, d Concave at both ends of work e Inner surface of recess e1 Upper oblique line f defining inner surface of recess Work axis f

Claims (8)

In a method of performing electroless nickel plating on a rod-shaped work having a concave portion formed on an end surface, the rod-shaped work is held at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to a perpendicular, and the rod-shaped work having the inclined position is held. An electroless nickel plating method for a rod-like work, which comprises performing a plating process. In claim 1, the upper oblique line defining the cross-sectional shape of the concave portion when cut along a vertical plane including the axis of the rod-shaped work is horizontal or the oblique line with the concave portion opening side facing upward. An electroless nickel plating method for a rod-shaped work, wherein an inclination angle of the rod-shaped work is set. 3. The rod-shaped work according to claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped work is loaded on a work transfer means, the rod-shaped work conveyed by the work transfer means is subjected to electroless nickel plating, and the electroless nickel plating is performed. The subsequent bar-shaped work is to be unloaded from the work transfer means,
A method for electroless nickel plating a rod-shaped work, wherein the loading and unloading of the rod-shaped work are performed in a state where the rod-shaped work is changed to a vertical posture. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a step of drying the rod-shaped work after the electroless nickel plating treatment is performed, followed by drying.
The drying is performed by blowing hot air from a horizontal direction to the rod-like workpiece in the inclined posture, wherein the rod-like workpiece is electroless nickel-plated. An electroless nickel plating apparatus for a bar-shaped workpiece for performing the method according to claim 1 or 2,
A work transfer means for transferring the rod-shaped work, a loading station for loading the rod-shaped work onto the work transfer means, a pre-processing line for performing pre-processing on the rod-shaped work transferred by the work transfer means, A plating station for applying an electroless nickel plating process to the rod-shaped work conveyed by the work conveyance means after passing through a line; and drying the rod-shaped work conveyed by the work conveyance means after passing through the plating processing station. A post-processing line for performing post-processing including, and an unloading station for unloading the rod-shaped work from the work transfer means after passing through the post-processing line,
The work transfer means includes a work mounting car for mounting the bar-shaped work, and a car holder for holding the work mounting car,
The work-loading cage has a tubular body through which a liquid can flow, a bottom part that blocks one end of the body part, and a bottom part that penetrates the bottom part from the back surface and is parallel to the axis of the body part. Shaft hole extending in various directions,
The cage holder has a guide shaft that can be inserted into the shaft hole from below, and the guide shaft is inclined with respect to a vertical line. 6. The car holding tool turning means according to claim 5, wherein the loading station and the unloading station hold the car holding tool in a state where the guide shaft can turn between a vertical position and an inclined position. An electroless nickel plating apparatus for a bar-shaped work, comprising: The vehicle according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising a transport cart provided with the car holder turning means, wherein the transport cart is reciprocally movable between the loading station and the unloading station. Electroless nickel plating equipment for bar-shaped workpieces. 8. The post-processing line drying means for drying the rod-shaped work according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the drying means in the post-processing line is horizontally oriented with respect to the rod-shaped work conveyed in an inclined state by the conveyance means. An electroless nickel plating apparatus for a rod-shaped workpiece, comprising: a blowing means for blowing hot air from above.

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