JP7461132B2 - Cutting Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cutting device that includes a holding means for holding a workpiece, a cutting means that rotatably supports a cutting blade having a cutting edge on its outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, a cutting water supplying means that supplies cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece, and a feeding means that feeds the holding means and the cutting means relatively to each other for processing.

A wafer with multiple devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on its surface along planned division lines is divided into individual device chips by a cutting machine equipped with a rotatable cutting blade, and each of the divided device chips is used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

The applicant has proposed a cutting device that makes it possible to avoid special tools required when fastening a cutting blade to a mount with a nut, and avoid individual differences when fastening a cutting blade to a mount with a nut (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

This cutting device includes a holding means for holding the workpiece, a cutting means rotatably supporting a cutting blade having a cutting edge on its outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, a cutting water supplying means for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece, and a feed means for relatively feeding the holding means and the cutting means for processing. The cutting means includes a rotating shaft, a housing for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft, and a mount formed at the tip of the rotating shaft for holding the cutting blade. The mount has a boss portion inserted into an opening formed in the center of the cutting blade, a ring-shaped support portion formed on the outer periphery of the boss portion for supporting the cutting blade while exposing it, a suction hole that opens between the boss portion and the support portion for suctioning and holding the cutting blade, and a communication passage that connects the suction hole to a suction source.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-154054

However, if foreign matter is present between the mount and the cutting blade and sufficient suction force is not obtained, there is a problem that the wafer and cutting blade may be damaged if the cutting blade is rotated to perform cutting.

Even if the cutting blade is properly attached to the mount, there is a problem in that when cutting water is supplied, cutting chips are sucked in along with the cutting water through the small gap between the mount and the cutting blade.

In light of the above, the objective of the present invention is to provide a cutting device that does not damage the wafer or cutting blade, and does not suck in cutting water or cutting chips between the mount and the cutting blade.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following cutting device: That is, the cutting device includes a holding means for holding a workpiece, a cutting means rotatably supporting a cutting blade having a cutting edge on its outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, a cutting water supplying means for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece, and a feeding means for relatively feeding the holding means and the cutting means for processing, the cutting means being at least composed of a rotating shaft, a housing for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft, and a mount formed at the tip of the rotating shaft for holding the cutting blade, the mount including a boss portion inserted into an opening formed in the center of the cutting blade, a ring-shaped support portion formed on the outer periphery of the boss portion for supporting the cutting blade while exposing the cutting edge, and a ring-shaped support portion opening between the boss portion and the support portion for suction-holding the cutting blade. The present invention provides a cutting device which includes a suction hole and a communication passage which connects the suction hole to a suction source, a pressure gauge disposed in the communication passage, and a control means which prevents the rotating shaft from starting to rotate and the supply of cutting water from starting if the value measured by the pressure gauge does not reach an allowable value, and allows the rotating shaft to start to rotate and allows the supply of cutting water to start after the rotating shaft starts to rotate if the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches the allowable value, wherein two cutting means are disposed so that the cutting blades face each other, and the control means allows the cutting of a workpiece held by the holding means by only one of the cutting means and rotates the rotating shaft of the other cutting means when the cutting blades are attached to the mounts of both cutting means when the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches the allowable value.

The cutting device of the present invention includes: a holding means for holding a workpiece; a cutting means rotatably supporting a cutting blade having a cutting blade on the outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means; The cutting means includes a cutting water supply means for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece, and a feeding means for relatively feeding the holding means and the cutting means. The housing includes at least a housing that rotatably supports a rotating shaft, and a mount that is formed at the tip of the rotating shaft and holds the cutting blade, and the mount is inserted into an opening formed in the center of the cutting blade. a ring-shaped support part formed on the outer periphery of the boss part to expose and support the cutting edge of the cutting blade; and a ring-shaped support part that is opened between the boss part and the support part to suck the cutting blade. It includes a suction hole to be held and a communication path that communicates the suction hole with the suction source, and a pressure gauge is disposed in the communication path, and if the value measured by the pressure gauge does not reach the allowable value, the rotation The start of rotation of the shaft and the start of supply of cutting water are prevented, and when the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches the allowable value, the start of rotation of the rotary shaft is allowed, and the cutting water is stopped after the start of rotation of the rotary shaft. The cutting means is provided with two cutting blades facing each other, and the control means is configured to control the pressure when the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches a permissible value. When the cutting blade is attached to the mounts of both cutting means, only one cutting means is allowed to cut the workpiece held by the holding means, and the other cutting means is allowed to cut the workpiece held by the holding means. Since the rotating shaft is rotated , if there is a foreign object between the mount and the cutting blade and sufficient suction force cannot be obtained, the value measured by the pressure gauge will not reach the allowable value and cutting will not start. First, the problem of damaging the wafer and cutting blade is eliminated. In addition, in the cutting device of the present invention, since the supply of cutting water is allowed to start after the rotation of the rotary shaft starts, even if the cutting water and cutting water adhere to the mount and cutting blade, the mount and cutting blade will not be centrifuged. The cutting water and cutting debris are blown away by the force, and the cutting debris is not sucked together with the cutting water through the small gap between the mount and the cutting blade.

1 is a partial perspective view of a cutting device constructed in accordance with the present invention; (a) A partial perspective view of the cutting means shown in Fig. 1, (b) A perspective view showing a state in which the cutting water supply section is flipped up from the state shown in (a), (c) Cutting from the state shown in (b) A perspective view showing a state in which the blade is removed. FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the cutting means shown in FIG. 1;

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The cutting device 2 shown in FIG. 1 includes a holding means 4 for holding a workpiece, and a cutting means rotatably supporting a cutting blade having a cutting blade on the outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means 4. 6, a cutting water supply means 8 (see FIG. 2) that supplies cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece, and a feeding means 10 that relatively feeds the holding means 4 and the cutting means 6 for processing. In FIG. 1, the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction, which are perpendicular to each other, are indicated by arrows X, Y, and Z, respectively. The plane defined by the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is substantially horizontal.

The holding means 4 includes an X-axis movable plate 14 mounted on a substrate 12 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, a column 16 fixed to the upper surface of the X-axis movable plate 14, and a cover plate fixed to the upper end of the column 16. 18. A circular opening 18a is formed in the cover plate 18, and a chuck table 20 extending upward through the circular opening 18a is rotatably mounted on the upper end of the support column 16. The chuck table 20 is rotated about an axis extending in the vertical direction by a chuck table motor (not shown) built into the support column 16.

A porous circular suction chuck 22 connected to a suction means (not shown) is disposed at the upper end of the chuck table 20. The suction means generates a suction force on the upper surface of the suction chuck 22, so that the workpiece placed on the upper surface of the suction chuck 22 is sucked and held by the chuck table 20. In addition, a number of clamps 24 are disposed at intervals around the periphery of the chuck table 20.

The cutting means 6 of the illustrated embodiment includes a first cutting means 6a and a second cutting means 6b, which are arranged such that two cutting blades face each other and are spaced from each other in the Y-axis direction. . In the cutting means 6 of the illustrated embodiment, the workpiece held by the holding means 4 can be simultaneously cut by two cutting blades. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first cutting means 6a includes a rotating shaft 26 (see FIG. 3), a housing 28 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 26, and a housing 28 formed at the tip of the rotating shaft 26. and a mount 32 for holding the cutting blade 30.

A motor (not shown) for rotating the rotating shaft 26 is connected to the other end of the rotating shaft 26. As shown in FIG. 2, a blade cover 34 is attached to the tip of the housing 28. The blade cover 34 includes a main part 36 fixed to the tip of the housing 28 and a movable part 38 supported by the main part 36 so as to be freely swingable. The cutting blade 30 has a cylindrical base 40 and an annular cutting blade 42 attached to the outer periphery of one side of the base 40. A circular opening 40a is formed in the center of the base 40. For convenience, the blade cover 34 is omitted from FIG. 3.

Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 3, the mount 32 includes a boss portion 44 that is inserted into an opening 40a formed in the center of the cutting blade 30, and a boss portion 44 that is formed on the outer periphery of the boss portion 44 and a cutting edge 42 of the cutting blade 30. a ring-shaped support part 46 that exposes and supports the cutting blade 30; a suction hole 50 that is opened between the boss part 44 and the support part 46 and holds the cutting blade 30 under suction; and a communication hole that communicates the suction hole 50 with a suction source 52. passage 54.

The boss portion 44 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the diameter of the boss portion 44 corresponds to the diameter of the opening 40a of the base 40 of the cutting blade 30. The outer diameter of the support portion 46 is smaller than the outer diameter of the cutting blade 42 of the cutting blade 30, so that the cutting blade 42 is exposed from the mount 32 when the cutting blade 30 is mounted on the mount 32. Further, the tip end surface of the support portion 46 in the Y-axis direction is set back from the tip surface of the boss portion 44 in the Y-axis direction.

Between the boss 44 and the support 46, there is provided an annular recess 48 that is further back in the Y-axis direction than the tip of the support 46, and this annular recess 48 is formed with a suction hole 50 for suction-holding the cutting blade 30. The mount 32 in the illustrated embodiment is provided with a pair of suction holes 50. Although one suction hole 50 may be provided, it is preferable to form two or more suction holes 50 at equal angular intervals in order to improve rotational balance. As shown in FIG. 3, each suction hole 50 communicates with the suction source 52 via a communication passage 54. The communication passage 54 is provided with a pressure gauge 56 for measuring the pressure in the communication passage 54 and a valve 58 for opening and closing the communication passage 54. In the mount 32, the suction source 52 is operated with the valve 58 open to suction-hold the cutting blade 30 fitted to the boss 44.

1, the first cutting means 6a includes a Y-axis movable piece 60 supported by an appropriate support member (not shown) so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis movable piece 62 supported by the Y-axis movable piece 60 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction. The housing 28 is fixed to the lower end of the Z-axis movable piece 62. The second cutting means 6b may have the same configuration as the first cutting means 6a, so it is given the same reference numerals as the configuration of the first cutting means 6a and a description thereof will be omitted.

The cutting water supply means 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The cutting water supply means 8 includes a cylindrical supply port 64 attached to the main portion 36 of the blade cover 34 and a pair of nozzles 66 communicating with the supply port 64. The supply port 64 communicates with a cutting water supply source (not shown), and a water passage (not shown) communicating the supply port 64 with the cutting water supply source is provided with a valve (not shown) for opening and closing the water passage. As shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 2(c), the nozzle 66 has a plurality of injection holes 68. In the cutting water supply means 8, when the cutting means 6 cuts the workpiece held by the holding means 4, the cutting water supplied to the supply port 64 from the cutting water supply source is injected from the injection holes 68 of the nozzle 66 toward the cutting blade 30 and the workpiece.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure gauge 56 is electrically connected to a control means 70 for controlling the operation of the cutting device 2, and the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 is sent to the control means 70. There is. The control means 70, which is composed of a computer, includes a central processing unit (CPU) that performs arithmetic processing according to a control program, a read-only memory (ROM) that stores the control program, etc., and a read/write random access memory that stores the calculation results, etc. and a memory (RAM) (none of which is shown). The control means 70 prevents the rotation of the rotating shaft 26 and the start of supply of cutting water when the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 does not reach the allowable value, and prevents the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 from reaching the allowable value. In this case, the rotation of the rotating shaft 26 is allowed to start, and the supply of cutting water is allowed to start after the rotation of the rotating shaft 26 starts.

As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding means 10 of the illustrated embodiment includes an X-axis feeding means 72, and first and second It includes two Y-axis feeding means 74a, 74b and first and second Z-axis feeding means 76a, 76b. The X-axis feeding means 72 includes a ball screw 78 that is connected to the X-axis movable plate 14 and extends in the X-axis direction, and a motor 80 that rotates the ball screw 78. The X-axis feeding means 72 converts the rotational motion of the motor 80 into a linear motion using a ball screw 78 and transmits the linear motion to the X-axis movable plate 14, and holds the holding means 4 relative to the cutting means 6 in the X-axis direction. Send it for processing.

The first Y-axis feeding means 74a includes a ball screw 82 that is connected to the Y-axis movable piece 60 and extends in the Y-axis direction, and a motor 84 that rotates the ball screw 82. The first Y-axis feeding means 74a converts the rotational motion of the motor 84 into linear motion using the ball screw 82 and transmits the linear motion to the Y-axis movable piece 60. Perform processing feed (index feed) relatively in the Y-axis direction. Further, in the first Y-axis feeding means 74a, the motor 84 is connected to one end of the ball screw 82 in the Y-axis direction, while in the second Y-axis feeding means 74b, the motor 84 is connected to the Y-axis of the ball screw 84. The second Y-axis feeding means 74b may have the same configuration as the first Y-axis feeding means 74a, except that it is connected to the other end in the direction. The second Y-axis feeding means 74b processes and feeds the second cutting means 6b relative to the holding means 4 in the Y-axis direction (index feeding).

The first Z-axis feed means 76a has a ball screw (not shown) that is connected to the Z-axis movable piece 62 and extends in the Z-axis direction, and a motor 86 that rotates the ball screw. The first Z-axis feed means 76a converts the rotational motion of the motor 86 into linear motion using the ball screw and transmits it to the Z-axis movable piece 62, feeding (cutting) the first cutting means 6a in the Z-axis direction relative to the holding means 4. The second Z-axis feed means 76b, which may have the same configuration as the first Z-axis feed means 76a, feeds (cuts) the second cutting means 6b in the Z-axis direction relative to the holding means 4.

In the cutting device 2 as described above, if a foreign object is present between the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30 in either the first cutting means 6a or the second cutting means 6b, the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30 may be interposed. A gap is created between the blade 30 and the air flows into the communication path 54 from this gap, so the pressure in the communication path 54 does not fall to the allowable value (for example, about 0.03 MPa absolute pressure), and the mount 32 The suction force holding the cutting blade 30 never reaches the required value. Therefore, when the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 does not reach the allowable value, the control means 70 prevents the rotation shafts 26 of both the first and second cutting means 6a and 6b from starting to rotate and from starting the supply of cutting water. do.

On the other hand, in both the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b, if there is no foreign matter between the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30, when the cutting blade 30 is suction-held (attached) to the mount 32, the support part 46 of the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30 will come into close contact with each other. Then, the pressure in the communication passage 54 drops to an allowable value, and the cutting blade 30 is held to the mount 32 with the required suction force. Therefore, when the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 reaches the allowable value, the control means 70 allows the rotation shafts 26 of both the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b to start rotating, and allows the supply of cutting water to start after both rotation shafts 26 start rotating.

In this way, in the cutting device 2 of the illustrated embodiment, if the value measured by one of the pressure gauges 56 does not reach the allowable value, the rotation shafts of both the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b 26 and the supply of cutting water, and when the values measured by both pressure gauges 56 reach the allowable value, the rotation shafts 26 of both the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b are stopped. Since it is provided with a control means 70 that allows the start of rotation and also allows the start of supply of cutting water after the start of rotation of both rotating shafts 26, there is no possibility that foreign matter will be present between the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30 and sufficient suction will be achieved. Since cutting is not started if no force is obtained, the wafer and cutting blade 30 will not be damaged.

Further, in the cutting device 2, the supply of cutting water is allowed to start after the rotation of the rotating shaft 26 starts, so even if the cutting water and the cutting water adhere to the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30, the mount 32 and the cutting blade Cutting water and cutting waste are blown away by the centrifugal force of 30, and the cutting waste is not sucked together with the cutting water from the small gap between the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30.

Further, in the cutting device 2, there are times when the workpiece held by the holding means 4 is cut by only one of the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b. In such a case, the control means 70 controls the first and second cutting blades when the cutting blades 30 are attached to both mounts 32 with the values measured by both pressure gauges 56 reaching the allowable value. Cutting of the workpiece by only one of the means 6a, 6b is allowed, and the other rotating shaft 26 of the first and second cutting means 6a, 6b is rotated.

This prevents cutting chips generated by cutting with one cutting means 6 from adhering to the mount 32 of the other cutting means 6 and contaminating the mount 32. In other words, by attaching the cutting blade 30 to the mount 32 of the other cutting means 6 when the value measured by the pressure gauge 56 reaches the allowable value, adhesion of cutting chips to the mount 32 of the other cutting means 6 is prevented.

In addition, even if the cutting blade 30 of the other cutting means 6 is attached to the mount 32, cutting chips generated by cutting with one cutting means 6 are not sucked in through the small gap between the cutting blade 30 and the mount 32. In other words, by rotating the rotating shaft 26 of the other cutting means 6, the centrifugal force caused by the rotation prevents cutting chips from being sucked in through the small gap between the mount 32 and the cutting blade 30.

Although an example in which the cutting device 2 of the illustrated embodiment includes two cutting means 6 has been described, the number of cutting means 6 may be one.

2: Cutting device 4: Holding means 6: Cutting means 6a: First cutting means 6b: Second cutting means 8: Cutting water supply means 10: Feeding means 26: Rotating shaft 28: Housing 30: Cutting blade 32: Mount 42: Cutting edge 44: Boss portion 46: Support portion 50: Suction hole 52: Suction source 54: Communication passage 56: Pressure gauge 70: Control means

Claims (1)

A cutting device including: a holding means for holding a workpiece; a cutting means for rotatably supporting a cutting blade having a cutting edge on its outer periphery for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means; a cutting water supplying means for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade and the workpiece; and a feeding means for feeding the holding means and the cutting means relatively for processing,
The cutting means is at least composed of a rotating shaft, a housing that rotatably supports the rotating shaft, and a mount that is formed at a tip of the rotating shaft and holds the cutting blade;
The mount includes a boss portion inserted into an opening formed in the center of the cutting blade, a ring-shaped support portion formed on the outer periphery of the boss portion for supporting the cutting edge of the cutting blade while exposing it, a suction hole opening between the boss portion and the support portion for suction-holding the cutting blade, and a communication passage connecting the suction hole to a suction source,
a control means for preventing the start of rotation of the rotating shaft and the start of supply of cutting water when a value measured by the pressure gauge does not reach an allowable value, and for allowing the start of rotation of the rotating shaft and allowing the start of supply of cutting water after the start of rotation of the rotating shaft when the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches the allowable value ;
The cutting means includes two cutting blades arranged opposite to each other,
The control means is a cutting device that allows cutting of the workpiece held by the holding means by only one of the cutting means when the cutting blades are attached to the mounts of both cutting means and the value measured by the pressure gauge reaches an allowable value, and rotates the rotation shaft of the other cutting means .