JP4359220B2 - Tube processing method and processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tube processing method and a processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing the inner surface of a hole of a cylindrical member to be processed.

  Conventionally, techniques for treating a surface with plasma generated by discharge between electrode pairs have been applied to various members.

  For example, when the treatment such as hydrophilization is performed on the inner surface of the distal end portion of the cylindrical member to be processed, the space of the electrode pair 10 in which the flat electrodes 12 and 14 are arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. A discharge is generated in 13, a processing gas is supplied into the space 13 to form plasma, and sprayed onto the member 2 to be processed as indicated by an arrow 18. At this time, the front end side of the member to be processed 2 is inserted into the through hole 17 of the jig 16 so that the opening of the end of the member 2 to be processed faces the opening of the electrode pair 10 from which the processing gas blows out. . As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the processing gas 15 that has been converted into plasma through the space 13 of the electrode pair 10 flows along the hole inner surface 2a on the distal end side of the member 2 to be processed, and the hole inner surface 2a on the distal end side. Is processed.

As another technique for processing the inner surface of a hole of a cylindrical member to be processed, Patent Document 1 discloses that a discharge part having an electrode arranged coaxially is inserted into a hole of a cylindrical member to be processed and processed from the tip of the discharge part. It is disclosed that the discharge part is slid along the inner surface of the hole of the member to be processed while the gas is sprayed.
Japanese Patent No. 2589599 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-219082)

  When disposing the discharge part on the inner surface of the hole of the member to be processed, it is necessary to use a discharge part corresponding to the inner diameter dimension of the member to be processed. Therefore, when the inner diameter dimension of the member to be processed is changed, the dimension of the discharge part including the electrode pair needs to be changed. If the component part including the electrode pair is changed with respect to the member to be processed of a small lot, the cost required for processing the member to be processed increases.

  When the electrode pair 10 in which the flat electrodes 12 and 14 are arranged in parallel is used, the same electrode pair can be obtained even if the workpiece 16 has a different inner diameter by exchanging the jig 16 'as shown in FIG. 10 can be used.

  However, when the inner diameter of the member to be processed 4 becomes larger than the opening of the electrode pair 10, the processing gas 15 blown out from the electrode pair 10 does not flow along the hole inner surface 4 a of the member to be processed 4. Unevenness occurs in the processing of the hole inner surface 4a. If the inner diameter of the member to be processed 4 is further increased, the processing of the inner surface 4a of the member 4 to be processed cannot be performed.

  In view of the above points, the present invention is intended to provide a tube processing method and a processing apparatus that can easily cope with changes in the inner diameter of a cylindrical member to be processed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a tube processing method configured as follows.

  In the tube processing method, an end opening of a cylindrical member to be processed whose inner diameter is larger than the interval between the openings is opposed to the opening of an electrode pair in which a pair of flat electrodes are arranged in parallel with a gap. As described above, the first step of disposing the member to be processed with respect to the electrode pair, and moving the electrode pair and the member to be processed relative to each other so that the end opening of the member to be processed is And a second step of blowing a processing gas from the opening of the electrode pair to the end opening of the member to be processed while changing the position of the electrode pair facing the opening.

  In the second step, a discharge may be generated by applying, for example, an alternating electric field or a pulse electric field between the electrode pairs. The form of discharge is preferably glow discharge for uniform treatment, but may be corona discharge, dielectric barrier discharge or creeping discharge. By supplying a processing gas between the electrode pair that generated the discharge and blowing it from the opening to the end opening of the member to be processed, the inner surface of the hole in the member to be processed using plasma (active species, ions, etc.) due to the discharge Surface treatment can be performed.

  The processing gas blown from the opening of the electrode pair flows along a part of the inner surface of the hole continuous with the end opening of the cylindrical member to be processed whose inner diameter is larger than the interval between the opening of the electrode pair. Since the electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively moved, the position where the processing gas flows along the inner surface of the hole of the member to be processed is changed. If relative movement is sequentially performed so that the processing gas flows along the circumferential direction of the hole inner surface of the member to be processed, at least the entire hole inner surface near the end opening facing the electrode pair of the member to be processed Can be processed uniformly.

  Preferably, in the second step, the electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively rotated or translated.

  In this case, the relative movement between the electrode pair and the jig can be easily performed. In the case of rotational movement, if the central axis of the relative rotation and the central axis of the member to be processed are made coincident with each other, the uniformity of processing of the inner surface of the hole can be improved even if the inner diameter of the member to be processed is increased. In the case of parallel movement, it is easy to process a plurality of members to be processed simultaneously and uniformly.

  Moreover, this invention provides the tube processing apparatus comprised as follows.

  The tube processing apparatus holds an electrode pair in which a pair of flat electrodes are arranged in parallel with a gap therebetween, and a cylindrical target member having an inner diameter larger than the gap between the openings of the electrode pair. A jig for causing the end opening of the member to be processed to face the opening of the pair, and the electrode pair and the jig are moved relative to each other so that the end opening of the member to be processed is substantially the whole. And a relative movement mechanism for sequentially causing the openings of the electrode pairs to face each other. The electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism, and the position of the end opening of the member to be processed is changed to face the opening of the electrode pair. A processing gas is blown from the opening to the end opening of the member to be processed.

  In the above configuration, a discharge may be generated by applying, for example, an AC electric field or a pulse electric field between the electrode pairs. The form of discharge is preferably glow discharge for uniform treatment, but may be corona discharge, dielectric barrier discharge or creeping discharge. By supplying a processing gas between the electrode pair that generated the discharge and blowing it from the opening to the end opening of the member to be processed, the inner surface of the hole in the member to be processed using plasma (active species, ions, etc.) due to the discharge Surface treatment can be performed.

  The processing gas blown from the opening of the electrode pair flows along a part of the inner surface of the hole continuous with the end opening of the cylindrical member to be processed whose inner diameter is larger than the interval between the opening of the electrode pair. When the electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism, the position where the processing gas flows along the inner surface of the hole of the member to be processed is changed. If relative movement is sequentially performed so that the processing gas flows along the circumferential direction of the hole inner surface of the member to be processed, at least the entire hole inner surface near the end opening facing the electrode pair of the member to be processed Can be processed uniformly.

  Preferably, the relative movement mechanism relatively rotates or translates the electrode pair and the jig.

  In this case, the relative movement between the electrode pair and the jig can be easily performed. In the case of rotational movement, if the central axis of the relative rotation and the central axis of the member to be processed are made coincident with each other, the uniformity of processing of the inner surface of the hole can be improved even if the inner diameter of the member to be processed is increased. In the case of parallel movement, it is easy to process a plurality of members to be processed simultaneously and uniformly.

  According to the present invention, since the member to be processed can be processed only by changing the jig in accordance with the inner diameter size of the cylindrical member to be processed, even if the inner diameter size of the member to be processed is changed, it can be easily handled. be able to.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.

  First, Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The first embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the conventional example of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, a state in which discharge is generated in the space 13 between the electrode pair 10 by applying an appropriate voltage (for example, pulse voltage) to the electrode pair 10 in which the flat electrodes 12 and 14 are arranged in parallel. Then, the processing gas is supplied into the space 13 between the electrode pairs 10 to be converted into plasma and sprayed to the end opening of the cylindrical member 4 to be processed. At this time, the member 4 to be processed is moved relative to the electrode pair 10.

  The discharge generated between the electrode pair 10 may be any discharge such as glow discharge under atmospheric pressure or reduced pressure, corona discharge or creeping discharge, but glow discharge is most preferable for uniform treatment. What is necessary is just to select the process gas supplied to the space 13 of the electrode pair 10 according to the objective of surface treatment. For example, a mixed gas of nitrogen and oxygen is used for the oxidation treatment. Nitrogen and hydrogen are used for the reduction treatment. Fluorocarbon is used for water repellency and etching. An inert gas such as nitrogen or argon may be used as the dilution gas.

  The member to be processed 4 is held using a jig (not shown) having a through hole into which one end of the member to be processed 2 is inserted. By the jig, the end opening on one end side of the member to be processed 4 is arranged at a predetermined position facing the opening of the electrode pair 10 from which the processing gas blows out.

  In the first embodiment, a relative movement mechanism (not shown) is provided unlike the conventional example. When the processing gas is blown from the opening of the electrode pair 10 to the end opening of the member to be processed 4, the relative movement mechanism indicates the jig for holding the member to be processed 4 and the electrode pair 10 as indicated by an arrow 22. Rotate relative. The relative movement mechanism may be configured to fix either the jig for holding the member to be processed 4 or the electrode pair 10 and rotate only the other, or to rotate both. . The relative rotational speed may be constant or may vary.

  When the inner diameter of the member to be processed 4 is larger than the distance between the openings of the electrode pair 10 (the dimension in the direction between the electrodes 12 and 14), the strip-shaped process gas blown out from the opening of the electrode pair 10 It flows along a part of the inner surface of the hole. A part of the inner surface of the hole along which the processing gas flows moves in the circumferential direction along with the relative rotation between the electrode pair 10 and the jig that holds the processing target member 4 by the relative movement mechanism. If the relative movement is sequentially performed so that the processing gas flows along the circumferential direction of the hole inner surface 4a of the member 4 to be processed, the hole inner surface 4a can be uniformly processed in the circumferential direction.

  Preferably, the central axis of the relative rotation and the central axis of the member to be processed 4 held by the jig are matched. In this case, since the state in which the strip-like processing gas flows along a part of the hole inner surface of the member 4 to be processed is constant (axisymmetric) during the relative rotation, it is possible to easily achieve uniform processing.

  Next, Example 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The second embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used for the same portions. Hereinafter, differences will be mainly described.

  The second embodiment also includes a relative movement mechanism (not shown) that relatively moves a jig (not shown) that holds the processing target member 4 and the electrode pair 10. However, unlike the first embodiment, as shown by the arrow 24, the relative movement mechanism is perpendicular to the extending direction of the opening of the electrode pair 10 (left and right in the figure) (up and down in the figure). The jig for holding the member to be processed 4 and the electrode pair 10 are relatively translated. The direction of parallel movement by the relative movement mechanism may be an oblique direction with respect to the extending direction of the opening of the electrode pair 10. The speed of translation may be constant or may be changed.

  The band-like processing gas blown out from the opening of the electrode pair 10 moves in the radial direction of the member 4 to be processed along with the parallel movement of the member 4 to be processed by the relative movement mechanism. If the processing gas is sequentially moved along the circumferential direction of the hole inner surface 4a on the distal end side of the member 4 to be processed, the hole inner surface 4a can be uniformly processed in the radial direction.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where there is one member to be processed 4 is illustrated. However, a plurality of members to be processed may be held by a jig and a plurality of members to be processed may be processed simultaneously. In this case, the plurality of members to be processed may be arranged in an arbitrary form such as a lattice shape, a zigzag shape, or a honeycomb shape, and may be held in a jig with appropriate intervals if necessary. When processing a plurality of members to be processed at the same time, if the jig for holding the member to be processed 4 and the electrode pair 10 are relatively translated as in the second embodiment, the processing conditions for each member to be processed are the same. Therefore, it is easy to uniformly process a plurality of members to be processed.

  In the conventional example shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, processing unevenness occurred for the member to be processed having an inner diameter of 10 mm or more. However, according to Examples 1 and 2, the processing is uniformly performed even if the inner diameter is 10 mm or more. be able to. In Examples 1 and 2, when the width of the opening of the electrode pair 10 (the dimension in the direction between the electrodes 12 and 14) is 2 mm, the processing target member 4 having an inner diameter of 50 mm can be processed uniformly.

  In Examples 1 and 2, the inner surface of the hole of the member to be processed 4 having various inner diameters can be processed only by exchanging the jig for holding the member to be processed 4. Therefore, even if the inner diameter dimension of the member to be processed 4 changes, it can be easily handled.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications.

It is (a) top view and (b) front view of a tube processing apparatus. (Conventional example) It is a partial cross section side view of a tube processing apparatus. (Conventional example) It is a partial cross section side view of a tube processing apparatus. (Conventional example) It is a principal part block diagram of a tube processing apparatus. Example 1 It is a principal part block diagram of a tube processing apparatus. (Example 2)

Explanation of symbols

4 Processed member 10 Electrode pair 12, 14 electrode

Claims (4)

The electrode is arranged such that the end opening of a cylindrical member to be processed having a larger inner diameter than the opening of the electrode pair in which a pair of flat electrodes are arranged in parallel with a gap therebetween. A first step of arranging the member to be processed with respect to a pair;
While relatively moving the electrode pair and the member to be processed, the position of the end opening of the member to be processed is changed from the opening of the electrode pair while changing the position facing the opening of the electrode pair. A tube processing method comprising: a second step of blowing a processing gas to the end opening of the member to be processed.   The tube processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the second step, the electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively rotated or translated. A pair of flat electrodes, and a pair of electrodes arranged in parallel at intervals;
A jig that holds a cylindrical member to be processed having an inner diameter larger than the interval between the openings of the electrode pair, and makes an end opening of the member to be processed face the opening of the electrode pair;
A relative movement mechanism for relatively moving the electrode pair and the jig so that the opening of the electrode pair is sequentially opposed to substantially the entire end opening of the member to be processed;
The electrode pair and the member to be processed are relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism, and the electrode pair is changed while the position of the end opening of the member to be processed is opposed to the opening of the electrode pair. A tube processing apparatus is characterized in that a processing gas is sprayed from the opening to the end opening of the member to be processed.   The tube processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the relative movement mechanism relatively rotates or translates the electrode pair and the jig.