JP5481804B2 - Plating equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plating apparatus for a plating process used when forming an external electrode of an electronic component.

  Conventionally, a plating method is used when forming an external electrode of a ceramic electronic component. For example, in electrode formation in a dielectric resonator, surface roughening with an etching solution, Sn colloid particle adhesion, catalyst Pd colloid particle adhesion, electroless Cu plating, and rust prevention treatment are performed on a prepared dielectric ceramic. Through the process, an electrode made of a Cu electroless plating film is formed. Further, a water washing step is inserted between the above steps as needed.

  When the object to be plated is small like a ceramic electronic component, a barrel plating method is used. For example, in the case of a rotating barrel, the ceramic body is placed in the barrel, and the barrel is immersed in a plating solution in a plating bath and rotated. At this time, since the ceramic body is stirred according to the rotation, the plating deposition is stabilized.

  Now, in the actual plating process, in all processes consisting of an etching process, a Sn colloid particle adhesion process, a catalyst Pd colloid particle adhesion process, an electroless Cu plating process, a rust prevention treatment process, and a water washing treatment process between each process. , There is a plating bath filled with each plating solution (in this case, not only the electroless plating solution but also all the processing solutions such as etching solution, colloid solution, washing water, etc.) The

  Then, the rotating barrel is immersed in the plating bath, rotated for a certain time at a certain rotation speed, and then fried from the plating bath. Thus, when the process in the plating bath is completed, the barrel is transported to the next plating bath, and the same processing is performed in the next plating bath. By repeating this, the entire plating process is completed.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a general barrel plating apparatus. That is, a barrel container is conveyed between a plurality of plating baths, and continuous plating treatment is possible.
JP-A-6-299397

  However, in the plating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the barrel drive mechanism is installed in all the plating baths, there is a problem that each plating bath is enlarged.

  Moreover, when controlling the plating apparatus of patent document 1, since the drive mechanism of a barrel is installed in each plating bath, it is necessary to install the control mechanism of a barrel drive and the detection mechanism of an operation state in all the plating baths. Therefore, there is a problem that each plating bath is further enlarged.

  Moreover, when performing the process between the plating baths of a barrel by centralized automatic control, the information transmission mechanism between a centralized control mechanism and all the plating baths became complicated, and there existed a problem that the whole plating apparatus enlarged.

  From the above, in the plating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the entire plating apparatus is increased in size, so that the area productivity is deteriorated. Moreover, since the plating apparatus becomes a large-scale facility, there is a problem that costs such as facility operation costs and facility maintenance costs are required. Furthermore, considering the recent trend shift from mass production type to low-volume, multi-product production type, the large-scale fully automatic line as described above is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides a plating apparatus that can cope with a small quantity and a wide variety of production, has a low cost, has a high area productivity, and has a high function.

That is, the present invention includes a plurality of baths tank processing solution is accommodated, a rotating barrel, the plating apparatus and a conveying means between the tub of the rotating barrel, the rotating barrel, a rotary drive mechanism, the rotation A speed detection mechanism, a rotation control mechanism for controlling the rotation drive of the rotation drive mechanism based on the detection result of the rotation speed, and which bathtub among the plurality of bathtubs recognizes the rotation barrel. And a function.

Further, the plating apparatus of the present invention, the rotating barrel has a function of detecting a liquid level of the processing solution in the bath tank, and said rotation control mechanism, the rotary drive based on a detection result of the liquid surface It preferably has a function of controlling the rotational drive of the mechanism.

Further, in the plating apparatus of the present invention, the rotating barrel has an alarm device, and the rotation control mechanism detects the detection result of the rotation speed, the detection result of the liquid level, and the position of the rotating barrel with respect to the bathtub. It is preferable to send an instruction to issue an alarm to the alarm device when at least one of the recognition results is out of a preset allowable range .

Further, the plating apparatus of the present invention, when the rotating barrel, which has a function of detecting the liquid temperature of the processing solution in the bath tank, out of the allowable range detection result of the liquid temperature is set in advance, the It is also preferable to send an instruction to alert the alarm device.

In the plating apparatus of the present invention, the rotary barrel has a medium having information about a preset rotation speed of the rotary barrel in the bathtub in which the rotary barrel is positioned and information on the bathtub in which the rotary barrel is positioned. comprising a, and preferably has a function of reading the information on the tub in which the rotary control mechanism the rotation speed and the rotation barrel the than the medium previously set is positioned.

Further, the plating apparatus of the present invention, the medium has a pre-set liquid information regarding the temperature of the processing solution to be accommodated in said plurality of baths tank and said rotating barrel is set in advance the The liquid temperature information may be read from the medium .

  In the plating apparatus of the present invention, the operation history of the rotating barrel is preferably recorded on the medium.

  According to the plating apparatus of the present invention, the driving mechanism, the detection function, and the control mechanism related to the rotational drive are installed on the rotating barrel side instead of the plating bathtub side, so that the plating bath can be miniaturized. Therefore, since the plating apparatus requires a plurality of plating baths, the entire plating apparatus can be downsized as the number of plating baths increases.

  Moreover, according to the present invention, when the detection function and control mechanism relating to the liquid level in the plating bath are installed on the rotating barrel side, the detection function and control mechanism relating to the liquid temperature of the plating bath are also installed on the rotating barrel side. If so, a smaller and more functional plating apparatus can be obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, when the alarm device is installed on the rotating barrel side and the alarm device is controlled by the control mechanism installed in the rotating barrel, a small and more functional plating apparatus can be obtained. Can do. In addition, when a plurality of rotating barrels are simultaneously transported to the plating apparatus, if the alarm device is installed on the rotating barrel side, it is easy to temporarily retract only the rotating barrel where the alarm has occurred. It is also possible to continue the plating apparatus without affecting the rotating barrel.

  In addition, according to the plating apparatus of the present invention, since the medium into which information on various plating conditions is input is built in the rotating barrel side, the transmission line between the central control device and each plating bath is not necessary. In addition, since the transmission line between the central control device and the rotating barrel can be made unnecessary, the plating apparatus can be further downsized. In addition, since all the various information is continuously acquired on the barrel side, it is possible to leave recorded data with high accuracy and excellent workability.

  From the above, in the plating apparatus of the present invention, the drive mechanism, detection function, control mechanism, alarm device, information medium, etc. are installed not on the plating bath side but on the rotating barrel side, so the plating apparatus is greatly reduced in size. And area productivity is improved. In addition, since the plating apparatus according to the present invention is small in size, it is possible to reduce facility operating costs and maintenance costs, and is suitable for the recent production of a small variety of products.

  The plating apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a view of a part of a line of a plating apparatus as viewed from the lateral direction.

  First, the plating apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of plating baths 2, a rotating barrel 1, and a conveying means between the plating baths of the rotating barrel. The conveying means is omitted in FIG.

  A plurality of plating baths 2 are generally installed, and FIG. 1 shows plating baths 2A, 2B, and 2C, which are a part thereof. The plating baths 2A, 2B, and 2C are filled with plating solutions 3A, 3B, and 3C, respectively. This plating solution means not only plating solution containing metal ions but also all processing solutions such as etching solution, water for washing, colloidal solution such as Sn and Pd, and antirust treatment solution. It is.

  The plating bath 2 is not provided with a large-scale mechanism such as a rotation drive mechanism or a rotation control mechanism. Therefore, the area occupied by the plating bath 2 is suppressed to a size sufficient for the rotary barrel to be immersed. The plating bath 2 may be provided with a temperature sensor, a temperature controller, a heater, and the like for controlling the temperature of the plating solution as required, but these temperature control devices are sufficiently small. It is done.

  Next, the rotating barrel 1 in the plating apparatus of the present invention will be described. Although only one rotating barrel 1 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of rotating barrels 1 may be operated simultaneously.

  The rotating barrel 1 generally includes a container 13 and a rotating shaft 14. An object to be plated such as a ceramic body is put into the container 13 (the object to be plated is not shown). In general, the wall of the container 13 is configured to allow liquid to pass through so that the plating solution 3 fills the inside of the container 13 when the rotating barrel 1 is immersed in the plating bath 2. In addition, although the direction of the rotating shaft 14 is generally horizontal, it may be inclined to the extent that the purpose is not impaired.

  It should be noted that various mechanisms are installed in the rotating barrel 1. First of all, the rotary barrel 1 includes a rotary drive mechanism 12. That is, the rotating barrel 1 includes a power source, a motor, a gear, and the like, and is driven to rotate physically independently of the plating bath 2.

  The rotation drive by the rotation drive mechanism 12 is operated at a rotation speed set in advance in the bathtub where the barrel is located. The state of the rotational speed during operation is monitored by a mechanism (not shown in FIG. 1) that detects them, and is transmitted to the control mechanism 11. The control mechanism 11 sends an instruction to the rotation drive mechanism so that the detected rotation speed is maintained within the allowable range. If the rotational speed cannot be maintained within the allowable range, the information is transmitted from the control mechanism 11 to the alarm device 16, and an alarm is issued. Similarly, an alarm is issued when the bathtub in which the rotating barrel is located is different from the bathtub that should be. Therefore, the rotation control of the rotating barrel 1 is completed only in the rotating barrel 1.

  The rotating barrel 1 may be provided with a function of detecting the liquid level in the plating bath, for example, a liquid level sensor 15. The liquid level sensor 15 detects whether the rotating barrel 1 is sufficiently immersed in the plating solution 3 and transmits the information to the control mechanism 11. For example, at the start of rotational driving, the liquid level sensor 15 sends information indicating that immersion is complete to the control mechanism 11, and the control mechanism 11 sends an instruction to start rotational driving to the rotational driving mechanism 12. Further, during rotation driving, if the immersion of the rotating barrel 1 in the plating solution 3 becomes insufficient due to some cause, the liquid level sensor 15 sends the information to the control mechanism 11, and the control mechanism 11 receives the alarm device 16. Send instructions to alert you.

  The rotating barrel 1 may be provided with a function for detecting the temperature of the plating solution 3, for example, a solution temperature sensor 18. The liquid temperature sensor 18 detects the liquid temperature of the plating solution 3 and sends the temperature information to the control mechanism 11. The control mechanism 11 determines whether or not the liquid temperature of the plating solution 3 is within a preset allowable temperature range. If the temperature is outside the allowable range, the control mechanism 11 alerts the alarm device 16. Send instructions to issue.

  Furthermore, information such as the preset rotation speed, the temperature of the plating solution, and the bathtub in which the rotation barrel is located may be transmitted from the centralized controller to the rotation barrel 1 as needed, but desirably, It is preferable to install the information medium 17 into which information has been input in advance on the rotating barrel 1. Each time the rotating barrel 1 is transported as plating baths 2A → 2B → 2C, the control mechanism 11 accesses the information medium 17 and acquires information on the plating conditions in each plating bath. Similarly, the operation history of the rotating barrel in each plating bath is also recorded on this information medium 17. After all the plating steps are completed, an operation history stored in the information medium 17 may be acquired and centrally managed as necessary. The information medium 17 is preferably removable from the rotating barrel 1. At the time of condition input before the plating process or history output after the plating process, only this information medium 17 can be connected to a computer or the like, so the operation becomes very simple.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the control mechanism 11 serves as both a rotational drive control and a plating temperature detection function, and contributes to the miniaturization of the rotary barrel 1. However, it is not always necessary to combine both of these into one control mechanism 11.

  Further, the rotating barrel 1 may have a function of displaying the current operation status. Further, it may have a function of directly inputting and correcting plating conditions.

  Moreover, the conveyance means between the plating bathtubs of the rotating barrel 1 is not particularly limited. For example, when importance is attached to downsizing of the entire plating apparatus, a method of manually conveying is preferable to installing an automatic conveying apparatus.

  Moreover, although the plating apparatus in the example of FIG. 1 is intended for electroless plating in which a metal is deposited by an oxidizing action by a reducing agent, it can also be applied to electrolytic plating. In the case of electrolytic plating, an anode is installed in the plating bath 2, a cathode is installed in the container 13, and a power supply device that is conductively connected to the anode and the cathode may be installed.

The schematic diagram of the plating apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating barrel 2 Plating bath 3 Plating solution 11 Control mechanism 12 Rotation drive mechanism 13 Container 14 Rotating shaft 15 Liquid level sensor 16 Alarm device 17 Information medium 18 Liquid temperature sensor

Claims (7)

A plurality of baths tank processing solution is accommodated, a rotating barrel, the plating apparatus and a conveying means between the tub of the rotating barrel,
The rotary barrel includes a rotation drive mechanism, a rotation speed detection mechanism, a rotation control mechanism that controls rotation drive of the rotation drive mechanism based on the detection result of the rotation speed, and any one of the plurality of bathtubs. And a function of recognizing whether the rotating barrel is positioned . The rotary barrel has a function of detecting a liquid level of the processing solution in the bath tank, and said rotation control mechanism, the function of controlling the rotation drive of the rotation drive mechanism on the basis of the detection result of the liquid surface The plating apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a plating apparatus according to claim 1. The rotating barrel has an alarm device, and the rotation control mechanism has at least one of a detection result of the rotation speed, a detection result of the liquid level, and a recognition result of the position of the rotating barrel with respect to the bathtub in advance. The plating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein an instruction is sent to the alarm device to issue an alarm when the alarm is out of a set allowable range . The rotary barrel has a function of detecting the liquid temperature of the processing solution in the bath tank, when the detection result of the liquid temperature is outside the preset allowable range, instructed to issue a warning to the warning device characterized in that a letter, plating apparatus according to claim 3. The rotating barrel comprises a medium having information about a preset rotation speed of the rotating barrel in the bathtub in which the rotating barrel is located, and the bathtub in which the rotating barrel is located , and the rotation control mechanism having the function of reading information on the tub the pre-set rotational speed and the rotating barrel from the medium is located, the plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The medium has a pre-set liquid information regarding the temperature of the processing solution to be accommodated in said plurality of baths tanks, and read from the medium the rotating barrel temperature of the coolant of the information set in advance The plating apparatus of Claim 5 which has a function. The plating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein an operation history of the rotating barrel is recorded on the medium.

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