JP5295645B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a cutting device, which can order a right cutting tools at the right moment without adding burden to workshop and buying department. The cutting device comprises: a clamp workbench for holding object to be processed; and a cutting component. The cutting tools can be rotatably mounted, the cutting tools is used for cutting the object to be processed on the clamp workbench, and the cutting device is characterized in that the cutting device comprises: a cutting tools collecting storeroom for collecting a plurality of cutting tools for replacing; a detecting component for detecting the amount of the cutting tools collected in the cutter collecting storeroom; and an informing component for generating informing signals when the amount of the cutting tools detected by the detecting component is less than that of a presetting amount.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus capable of easily achieving stock management of a cutting blade.

  A workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer formed on the surface by dividing a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs by dividing lines called streets is divided into individual devices by a cutting device (dicing device) to which a cutting blade is attached. These devices are divided and widely used in electric appliances such as mobile phones and personal computers.

The cutting blade attached to the cutting apparatus is a consumable item, and when a chip of the cutting edge or a predetermined amount of wear is detected by the blade sensor, it is necessary to replace it with a new cutting blade. Since storing a large number of replacement cutting blades in stock is inefficient as inventory management, it is common for a user to order an appropriate amount of cutting blades on a regular basis.
Japanese Patent No. 2688623

  However, it is not always the case that an appropriate amount of order is requested from the site at the right time. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus that can order an appropriate amount of cutting blades at an appropriate timing without imposing a burden on the site or the purchasing department. It is to be.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cutting apparatus comprising a chuck table that holds a workpiece, and a cutting means that is rotatably mounted with a cutting blade that cuts the workpiece held on the chuck table. A cutting blade storage capable of storing a plurality of cutting blades, a detecting means for detecting the number of cutting blades stored in the cutting blade storage, and the number of cutting blades detected by the detecting means are preset. An informing means for generating an informing signal when the quantity falls below the predetermined quantity, the cutting blade housing having a first end wall and a second end wall opposite to the first end wall. A first chamber on the first end wall side and a second chamber on the second end wall side which are disposed in the cutting blade storage and house the cutting blade inside the cutting blade storage And the second end wall A coil spring interposed between the plate, and the detection means includes a detection piece fixed to the plate, a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element facing the light-emitting element, and the detection piece There is provided a cutting device comprising a detectable optical sensor, wherein when the detection piece blocks an optical signal of the optical sensor, the notification means is operated to generate a notification signal .

  According to the present invention, the detection means detects the remaining quantity of cutting blades stored in the cutting blade storage, and generates a notification signal when the quantity falls below a preset quantity. It can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external view of a cutting apparatus 2 that can divide a semiconductor wafer into individual chips (devices).

  On the front side of the cutting device 2, there is provided operating means 4 for an operator to input instructions to the device such as machining conditions. In the upper part of the apparatus, there is provided a display means 6 such as a CRT for displaying a guidance screen for an operator and an image taken by an imaging means described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the surface of the wafer W to be diced, the first street S1 and the second street S2 are formed orthogonally, and the first street S1 and the second street S2 A plurality of devices D are partitioned and formed on the wafer W.

  The wafer W is attached to a dicing tape T that is an adhesive tape, and the outer peripheral edge of the dicing tape T is attached to an annular frame F. As a result, the wafer W is supported by the frame F via the dicing tape T, and a plurality of wafers (for example, 25 sheets) are accommodated in the wafer cassette 8 shown in FIG. The wafer cassette 8 is placed on a cassette elevator 9 that can move up and down.

  Behind the wafer cassette 8, a loading / unloading means 10 for unloading the wafer W before cutting from the wafer cassette 8 and loading the wafer after cutting into the wafer cassette 8 is disposed. Between the wafer cassette 8 and the loading / unloading means 10, a temporary placement area 12, which is an area on which a wafer to be carried in / out, is temporarily placed, is provided. Positioning means 14 for positioning at a certain position is provided.

  In the vicinity of the temporary placement area 12, transport means 16 having a turning arm that sucks and transports the frame F integrated with the wafer W is disposed, and the wafer W carried to the temporary placement area 12 is It is attracted by the transport means 16 and transported onto the chuck table 18 and is sucked by the chuck table 18, and is held on the chuck table 18 by fixing the frame F by a plurality of fixing means 19.

  The chuck table 18 is configured to be rotatable and reciprocally movable in the X-axis direction. Above the movement path of the chuck table 18 in the X-axis direction, an alignment unit 20 that detects a street to be cut of the wafer W is provided. It is arranged.

  The alignment unit 20 includes an imaging unit 22 that images the surface of the wafer W, and can detect a street to be cut by a process such as pattern matching based on an image acquired by imaging. The image acquired by the imaging unit 22 is displayed on the display unit 6.

  On the left side of the alignment means 20, a cutting means 24 for cutting the wafer W held on the chuck table 18 is disposed. The cutting means 24 is configured integrally with the alignment means 20, and both move together in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  The cutting means 24 is configured by attaching a cutting blade 28 to the tip of a rotatable spindle 26 and is movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The cutting blade 28 is located on the extended line of the imaging means 22 in the X-axis direction.

  Referring to FIG. 3, an exploded perspective view showing the mounting relationship between the spindle 26 to which the blade mount 36 is fixed and the cutting blade 28 is shown. A spindle 26 that is rotationally driven by a servo motor (not shown) is rotatably accommodated in a spindle housing 32 of the spindle unit 30.

  The blade mount 36 includes a boss portion 38 and a fixed flange 40 formed integrally with the boss portion 38. A male screw 42 is formed on the boss portion 38. Further, the blade mount 38 has a mounting hole.

  The blade mount 36 has a mounting hole inserted into the small diameter portion of the spindle 26 and is screwed into a male screw formed on the small diameter portion of the spindle 26 to be tightened, as shown in FIG. It is attached to the tip of

  The cutting blade 28 is called a hub blade, and is configured by electrodepositing a cutting blade 50 in which diamond abrasive grains are dispersed in a nickel base material on the outer periphery of a circular base 46 having a circular hub 48.

  The cutting blade 28 is attached to the spindle 26 by inserting the mounting hole 52 of the cutting blade 28 into the boss 38 of the blade mount 36 and screwing the fixing nut 54 into the male screw 42 of the boss 38.

  Referring to FIG. 4, an enlarged perspective view of the cutting means 24 equipped with the cutting blade 28 is shown. A blade cover 60 covers the cutting blade 28, and a cutting water nozzle (not shown) that extends along the side surface of the cutting blade 28 is attached to the blade cover 60. Cutting water is supplied to a cutting water nozzle (not shown) via the pipe 72.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a detachable cover, which is attached to the blade cover 60 with screws 64. The detachable cover 62 has a cutting water nozzle 70 that extends along the side surface of the cutting blade 28 when attached to the blade cover 60. The cutting water is supplied to the cutting water nozzle 70 via the pipe 74.

  A blade detection block 66 is attached to the blade cover 60 with screws 68. A blade sensor (not shown) composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is attached to the blade detection block 66, and the state of the cutting blade 50 of the cutting blade 28 is detected by this blade sensor.

  When the blade sensor detects chipping of the cutting edge 50 or wear of a predetermined amount or more, the cutting blade 28 is replaced with a new cutting blade. Reference numeral 76 denotes an adjusting screw for adjusting the position of the blade sensor.

  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing that the cutting blade 28 is housed in the housing case 78. The housing case 78 is formed of a resin molded body, and is preferably transparent.

  The housing case 78 includes a main body case 80 and a cover 82 attached to the main body case 80 by a hinge portion 84 so as to be opened and closed. The main body case 80 is formed with a circular convex portion 86 into which the mounting hole 52 of the cutting blade 28 is fitted.

  A hook 88 is integrally formed on the cover 82, and the cover 88 is closed with respect to the main body case 80 by engaging the hook 88 with an engaging protrusion 90 formed on the main body case 80. Retained.

  FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the storage case 78, and a detachable seal 92 for specifying the type of the cutting blade 28 is attached to a predetermined portion of the cover 82 of the storage case 78. A bar code for specifying the type of the cutting blade 28 is printed.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, a cutting blade storage 29 is attached to the front side of the cutting device 2. 31 is a signal tower, which is turned on when a detecting means provided in the cutting blade storage 29 detects that the number of cutting blades in the cutting blade storage 29 is equal to or less than a predetermined number. It is configured to prompt orders for new cutting blades.

  FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view of the cutting blade storage provided with the detecting means of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the detection means portion. The cutting blade storage 29 has opposing end walls 29a and 29b, and the partition plate 93 partitions the interior into two rooms.

  In one room defined by the end wall 29a and the partition plate 93, a plurality of replacement cutting blades 28 housed in the housing case 78 are housed. On the other hand, a coil spring 94 for biasing the partition plate 93 in the left direction is interposed in the other room defined by the end wall 29b and the partition plate 93.

  As the number of cutting blades 28 housed in the housing case 78 decreases, the partition plate 93 is pushed by the coil spring 94 and slides to the left. A laser range finder 96 includes a laser beam irradiation unit 98 and a light receiving unit 100, and measures the distance based on the well-known triangulation principle.

  When the distance to the partition plate 93 detected by the laser range finder 96 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the number of cutting blades stored in the cutting blade storage 29 becomes equal to or less than the predetermined number. 31 is turned on to prompt the operator to order a cutting blade. As an alternative, the necessity of ordering may be displayed on the screen of the display means 6, or a warning sound may be sounded.

  As another alternative, it may be configured to contact the in-house purchasing department via the LAN line or the like about the necessity of ordering the cutting blade, or to be automatically ordered to the cutting blade manufacturer via the Internet line or the like. You may do it. Instead of the laser range finder 96, a non-contact distance measuring device using ultrasonic waves or magnetism may be provided.

  FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the cutting blade storage and detection means of the second embodiment of the present invention. The cutting blade storage 102 of this embodiment is also attached to the front side of the cutting device 2, for example. In the present embodiment, a plurality of cutting blades 28 housed in the housing case 78 are housed between the end wall 102a of the cutting blade storage 102 and the plate 104, respectively, and the space between the end wall 102b and the plate 104 is accommodated. A coil spring 94 for biasing the plate 104 in the left direction is interposed.

  Further, the detection piece 112 is attached to the plate 104, and the optical sensor 110 including the light emitting element 106 and the light receiving element 108 is attached to a predetermined position of the cutting blade storage 102.

  When the number of cutting blades in the cutting blade storage 102 decreases, the plate 104 is biased by the coil spring 94 and moves to the left. When the number of cutting blades falls below a predetermined number set in advance, the detection piece 112 is inserted between the light emitting element 106 and the light receiving element 108 to block the optical signal. In response to this, the signal tower 31 is turned on to prompt the operator to order a cutting blade.

  Although not particularly illustrated, a weight sensor may be attached to the cutting blade storage 29 and the number of the cutting blades stored in the cutting blade storage 29 may be detected.

It is an appearance perspective view of a cutting device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the wafer integrated with the flame | frame. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the relationship between a spindle unit and the cutting blade which should be mounted | worn with a spindle. It is an expansion perspective view of a cutting means. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the state which accommodates the cutting blade in a storage case. It is a top view of a storage case. It is sectional drawing of the detection means of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the detection means of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Cutting device 18 Chuck table 24 Cutting means 26 Spindle 28 Cutting blade 29 Cutting blade storage 31 Signal tower 78 Housing case 96 Laser rangefinder 110 Optical sensor

Claims (1)

A cutting apparatus comprising: a chuck table for holding a workpiece; and a cutting means on which a cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table is rotatably mounted,
A cutting blade storage that can store multiple replacement cutting blades;
Detecting means for detecting the number of cutting blades stored in the cutting blade storage;
An informing means for generating an informing signal when the number of cutting blades detected by the detecting means falls below a predetermined number set in advance,
The cutting blade storage has a first end wall, a second end wall opposite to the first end wall, and a cutting blade storage disposed in the cutting blade storage. A plate that divides the first chamber on the first end wall side and the second chamber on the second end wall side that accommodates the blade, and is interposed between the second end wall and the plate; Coil springs, and
The detection means includes a detection piece fixed to the plate, a light emitting element and a light sensor facing the light emitting element, and an optical sensor capable of detecting the detection piece,
A cutting device characterized in that when the detection piece blocks an optical signal of the optical sensor, the notification means is operated to generate a notification signal .

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