JPH05177811A - Cleaning method and its device of printing mask - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove clearly cream solder adhering to an opening of a printing mask by simple device constitution. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning board 8 is fitted to the upper side of a printing table 1 and a cleaning material 25 having affinity for cream solder is provided on the cleaning board 8. At the time of cleaning of a printing mask 3, the cleaning material 25 is arranged on the lower side of the printing mask 3 and a spouting device 21 spouting compressed air is arranged on the upper side of the printing mask 3 by fixing to a holding body of a squeegee 5. The spouting device 21 is reciprocated along the surface of the printing mask 3 while spouting the compressed air, through which an opening 6 of the printing mask 3 is cleaned by blowing off the cream solder 4 adhering to the opening 6 by the compressed air and the blown off cream solder 4 is sucked and collected by the cleaning material 25.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning a print mask for printing cream solder on a circuit board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, when cream solder is printed on a circuit board such as a printed circuit board, the circuit board 2 is fixed on a printing table 1 as shown in FIG. The printing mask 3 is applied to the upper side of the printing mask 3, the cream solder 4 is applied to the upper side of the printing mask 3, the squeegee 5 is pressed against the upper side of the printing mask 3, and the cream solder 4 is moved from the opening 6 of the printing mask 3 to the circuit. It is applied to the substrate 2 and a layer of cream solder 4 corresponding to the pattern shape of the openings 6 of the print mask 3 is printed on the surface of the circuit substrate 2.

When the cream solder 4 is repeatedly printed, extra cream solder adheres to the back surface of the print mask 3 and the opening 6, so that normally, after the cream solder has been printed a predetermined number of times, The print mask 3 is being cleaned.

The cleaning of the print mask is usually carried out by using a dedicated cleaning device incorporated in the cream solder printing device. This cleaning device is, for example, of a type that wipes the back side of the print mask with a roll of paper or the like, or a type that removes excess cream solder adhering to the back side of the print mask 3 or the opening 6 by vacuum suction. Things are common.

[0005]

However, each of these cleaning apparatuses has a problem that the apparatus structure is complicated and large-scaled, and the apparatus cost increases.
There is a problem that it is difficult to cleanly remove the cream solder attached to the opening 6 of the print mask.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to print with a simple apparatus configuration, which can cleanly remove the cream solder attached to the opening of the printing mask. A mask cleaning method and apparatus are provided.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, in the method for cleaning a print mask of the present invention, a compressed gas ejection device is attached to a squeegee holder disposed above the print mask, and the ejection device operates in conjunction with the squeegee holder. It is characterized in that compressed gas is jetted toward the print mask while moving along the surface, and the cream solder adhering to the opening of the print mask is blown off and removed.

Further, in the printing mask cleaning device of the present invention, the squeegee is moved by pressing the squeegee on the upper side of the printing mask on which the cream solder is applied, and the opening of the printing mask is opened on the circuit board closely arranged on the back surface of the printing mask. A cleaning device for a printing mask, which is installed in a cream solder printing device that prints a cream solder layer corresponding to a pattern, in which a compressed gas is sprayed onto the printing mask on a squeegee holder that holds the squeegee. It is characterized in that it is equipped with a device for ejecting a compressed gas for blowing out the cream solder attached to the opening of the printing mask.

[0009]

In the present invention having the above structure, when cleaning the print mask, the holder of the squeegee is moved along the surface of the print mask while ejecting the compressed gas toward the print mask from the ejection device. The spraying device also moves along the surface of the printing mask in conjunction with the movement of the holder of the squeegee. As a result, compressed gas is sequentially blown over the entire surface of the printing mask, and the cream attached to the opening of the printing mask. The solder is blown away by this compressed gas and removed, and cleaning of the print mask is achieved.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the same parts as those described in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the essential structure of the first embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, the printing table 1 is a movable table (not shown) which is movable in the respective axial directions of the X, Y, Z triaxial Cartesian coordinates and in the θ direction (rotation on the X, Y plane). (Not shown), and the movement of the moving table is controlled by a control device (not shown) such as servo control.

A circuit board 2 and a cleaning board 8 are detachably fixed to the upper surface of the printing table 1 by using a clamp 7, and a printing mask 3 made of a metal thin film is arranged above the circuit board 2. A squeegee unit 10 is arranged above the print mask 3.

This squeegee unit 10 includes a squeegee 5
And a holder 11 that holds the squeegee 5. The squeegee 5 is fixed to a main rod 12, and the main rod 12 can be moved up and down freely by an air cylinder 13 attached to a holder 11. A holding plate 14 is fixed to the rod 12, and sliding rods 15 are provided on both ends of the holding plate 14 so as to project upward. The sliding rod 15 is provided on the holding plate 11. Guided by the guide bearing 16, it is adapted to slide up and down. A tip end side of a connecting arm 17 is fixed to the holding body 11, and a ball screw nut 18 is fixed to a base end side of the connecting arm 17. A ball screw shaft 20 is fitted in the ball screw nut 18, and the squeegee 5 is reciprocated along the surface of the print mask 3 by the rotation of the ball screw shaft 20 in the forward and reverse desired directions. ing.

A characteristic of this embodiment is that the holder
That is, a compressed gas ejection device 21 is attached to 11. This jetting device 21 is, for example, a closed pipe 22.
The gas ejection holes 19 are continuously formed in a slit shape on the lower surface of the, or a plurality of gas ejection holes 19 are intermittently provided at predetermined intervals. The pipe 22 is connected and fixed to a holding plate 14, vertically moved by the air cylinder 13, and reciprocally moved along the surface of the print mask 3 in association with the holder 11 by the rotation of the ball screw shaft 20. It is supposed to do.

An air introducing pipe 23 is provided at an appropriate position of the pipe 22, a hose 24 is connected to the air introducing pipe 23, and compressed air is supplied from a compressor (not shown) via the hose 24. The compressed air is supplied to the pipe 22, and the compressed air is ejected from the gas ejection hole 19 of the pipe 22 toward the printing mask 3 side. The rotation control of the ball screw shaft 20 and the vertical drive control of the air cylinder 13 are performed by a control device (not shown).

When the cream solder 4 is printed on the circuit board 2 using the cream solder printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the circuit board 2 is set on the printing table 1 as shown in FIG. The print table 1 is moved upward and the front surface of the circuit board 2 is pressed against the back surface of the print mask 3. In this state, the cream solder 4 is applied to the upper side of the print mask 3 and the squeegee 5 is placed above the print mask 3. The cream solder 4 is printed on the surface of the circuit board 2 by being pressed against and moved.

When the print mask 3 is cleaned, the cleaning substrate 8 is fixed on the print table 1 by using the clamp 7 as shown in FIG. As the cleaning substrate 8, the circuit substrate 2 may be used, or a dummy substrate may be used.
The same shape is used. Then, a cleaning material 25 made of paper or cloth (for example, non-woven fabric) having an affinity for cream solder is fixed to the surface of the cleaning substrate 8 using an adhesive or an adhesive.

With the cleaning material 25 in close contact with the lower side of the print mask 3 or arranged with a minute gap, the air cylinder 13 is driven to move the squeegee 5 upward from the surface of the print mask 3. By separating and rotating the ball screw shaft 20, the pipe 22 moves along the surface of the printing mask 3 integrally with the holder 11. At this time, the hose
By supplying the compressed air into the pipe 22 via 24, the compressed air is vigorously ejected toward the surface of the printing mask 3 from the gas ejection holes 19 provided in the pipe 22, and the ejection of the compressed air causes printing. The cream solder 4 adhering to the inside of the opening 6 of the mask 3 is blown off and adsorbed and collected by the cleaning material 25 located below. As described above, by moving the jetting device 21, that is, the pipe 22 back and forth along the surface of the print mask 3 a required number of times while jetting the compressed air, all the cream solders attached to the openings 6 of the print mask 3 are discharged. Are effectively blown away and removed, and the print mask 3 is thoroughly cleaned. At the end of this cleaning, the supply of compressed air is stopped, the cleaning board 8 is removed from the printing table 1, the circuit board 2 is fixed instead, and the next cream solder 4 is prepared for printing.

According to this embodiment, the compressed solder is blown to blow off the cream solder 4 adhering to the opening 6 of the printing mask 3 to remove the cream solder 4. It is possible to cleanly remove the cream solder adhered to 6 in every corner.

Further, the jetting device 21 can be constructed very simply by using the pipe 22, and the vertical movement of the jetting device 21
Since the mechanism for vertically moving and reciprocating the squeegee 5 is used as it is for the reciprocating movement along the print mask, the apparatus configuration can be formed extremely simple and small, and the apparatus cost can be reduced. Further, since all the cream solder blown off by the compressed air is adsorbed and collected by the cleaning material 25, the blown out cream solder does not adhere to the surrounding device parts, which is very convenient.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is characterized in that the cleaning material 25 is wound around a roll and arranged, and the other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment. The cleaning material 25 is formed by using a sheet-shaped paper or cloth having a strong affinity for the cream solder 4, and the cleaning material 25 is wound around a feeding roll 26. At the time of normal cream solder printing on the circuit board 2, as shown in FIG. 4A, the cleaning material 25 is wound around the delivery roll 26 and stored, and at the time of cleaning the print mask 3, the cleaning material 25 shown in FIG. Drawer roll as shown in b)
27 is pulled out and the cleaning material 25 is fed out from the feeding roll 26 and is arranged on the back side of the print mask 3, and in this state,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4C, the printing table 1
Is moved upward to support the cleaning material 25 on the printing table 1. Then, with the squeegee 5 retracted above the print mask 3, the ball screw shaft 20 is rotated to move the jetting device 21, that is, the pipe 22 along the surface of the print mask 3 as in the first embodiment. Then, the compressed air is ejected from the gas ejection holes 19 of the pipe 22 to blow off the cream solder adhering to the opening 6 of the print mask 3 to clean the print mask 3.

The blown-out cream solder is adsorbed and collected by the cleaning material 25 arranged below the printing mask 3. At the end of the cleaning by blowing the compressed air, the printing table 1 is moved downward as shown in FIG.
Descend away from. Then, the cleaning material 25 that has been drawn out is wound around the payout roll 26 side and stored.
The first state shown in FIG. 3A is prepared for the next printing of cream solder. When cleaning the print mask 3 in this embodiment, the circuit board 2 is placed on the print table 1.
May be performed with the cleaning substrate 8 attached, or with the cleaning substrate 8 attached.

In the second embodiment, the cleaning material 25 is unwound from the unrolling roll 26 to clean the printing mask 3. Therefore, the cleaning material 25 is unloaded as in the first embodiment. The work of fixing the cleaning substrate 8 with an adhesive or the like becomes unnecessary, and the work efficiency can be further improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but various embodiments can be adopted.
For example, in each of the above embodiments, the ejection device 21 is formed by continuously or intermittently forming the gas ejection holes 19 on the lower surface of the pipe 22, but the ejection device 21 ejects the compressed gas toward the print mask 3. As long as it has the above configuration, various other configuration modes can be adopted.

[0024]

According to the present invention, a squeegee holder is provided with a compressed gas jetting device, the compressed gas is jetted while the jetting device is moved along the surface of the print mask, and the print mask is jetted by the jetting of the compressed gas. Since it is configured to blow off and remove the cream solder adhering to the opening of the printing mask, the cream solder adhering to the opening of the printing mask can be completely blown off without leaving any residue. The attached cream solder can be removed cleanly.

Further, since the compressed gas ejecting device is attached to the squeegee holder, the compressed gas ejecting device can be moved using the moving mechanism of the squeegee as it is. Therefore, the ejecting device is moved. Since it is not necessary to provide a dedicated moving mechanism for the device, the device configuration can be greatly simplified and the device cost can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus to which a method for cleaning a print mask according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a work process in the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a general cream solder printing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printing table 3 Printing mask 4 Cream solder 5 Squeegee 6 Opening 10 Squeegee unit 21 Spouting device 22 Pipe

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A squeegee holder mounted on the upper side of a print mask is provided with a compressed gas ejector, and the ejector is moved along the surface of the print mask in association with the squeegee holder. A method for cleaning a printing mask, in which compressed gas is jetted toward the printing mask to blow off the cream solder adhering to the opening of the printing mask. 2. A cream solder layer corresponding to an opening pattern of the print mask is printed on a circuit board closely arranged on the back surface of the print mask by pressing and moving a squeegee on the upper side of the print mask coated with the cream solder. A cleaning device for a printing mask, which is installed in a cream solder printing device, wherein the squeegee holding member holding the squeegee sprays compressed gas onto the printing mask to attach the cream solder attached to the opening of the printing mask. Cleaning device for printing masks equipped with a device for blowing out compressed gas.