JPH0832967B2 - Continuous plating system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous plating system for plating a member to be plated by a liquid phase plating method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, liquid phase plating is a process of cleaning a member to be plated with a treatment liquid such as an acid, a process of washing the treatment liquid with water, a process of forming a film in the plating liquid, and a plating liquid. The process of washing with water is included. As a plating system for performing such a series of treatments, as shown in FIG. 5, a member to be plated (not shown) is housed in a basket-shaped barrel 20, and the barrel 20 is conveyed by a hoist 21. It is considered that the barrel 20 is sequentially dipped in the processing tanks 22a to 22f in the process. Moreover, each processing tank 22a-22
A drive mechanism 23 for rotating or rocking the barrel 20 is provided in order to sufficiently bring the liquid into contact with the member to be plated in f. Processing tanks 22a to 22f
The processing tank 22a for pretreatment for cleaning the member to be plated, the three processing tanks 22b for washing the processing liquid used for cleaning with water, the processing tank 22c for forming a base film by plating,
Three treatment baths 22d for washing the plating liquid, a treatment bath 22e for forming an intended surface film (for example, chromium) on a base film (for example, nickel) by plating, and three treatment baths 22f for washing the plating liquid with water. Is equipped with.

[0003]

In the plating system described above, the member to be plated is housed in the barrel 20 and the processing tank 2 is used.
Since it is immersed in 2a to 22f and is a batch process, there is a problem that a small amount of plated members per batch leads to high cost and is not suitable for high-mix low-volume production. In addition, the member to be plated is set in each processing tank 22a.
Since the large hoist 21 is required as a carrying device since the hoist 21 is put in and taken out of the equipment 22f, there is also a problem that the equipment becomes large. Furthermore, the barrels 20 are removed from the processing tanks 22a to 22f.
When taking out, each processing tank 22a-2
Since the liquid in 2f is attached, there is a problem that the consumption of the processing liquid and the plating liquid increases. Also, barrel 2
Since the treatment liquid or the plating liquid contacts the member to be plated through 0, the treatment liquid or the plating liquid in the barrel 20 may not be sufficiently replaced, and the cleaning or plating efficiency may decrease.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by carrying out the processing in each process without using a barrel, it is possible to easily carry out small-lot production of a wide variety of products, downsize the equipment, and further, the barrel. The present invention intends to provide a continuous plating system in which the consumption of the processing liquid and the plating liquid used for cleaning is reduced as compared with the case of using.

[0005]

[0006]

According to the present invention, the portion to be plated is
Process of cleaning material with treatment liquid, washing treatment liquid with water
In the process, soak the cleaned member in the plating solution
The process of forming a film by plating,
It is a continuous plating system used for the plating process including
, A plurality of processing tanks for containing the liquid for each process are arranged in the vertical direction, each processing tank is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open upper surface, and the center line is arranged in the vertical direction. A spiral transfer path on which the member to be plated is placed is fixed to the inner peripheral surface, and vibration in the vertical direction and the circumferential direction with respect to the processing tank is performed so that the member to be plated moves upward along the transfer path. One shaker that gives each of the processing tanks is connected to each processing tank through one vibrating rod that connects the processing tanks, and the upper end of the transport path of each processing tank projects from the processing tank, and the processing of each process is performed. guide to be introduced into the treatment tank for the next process that provided by receiving an object to be plated member to fall is discharged from the upper end portion of the transport path of the vessel.

[0007]

According to the structure of the present invention, the processing tank used in each process is formed into a cylindrical shape to form a spiral transfer path therein, and the processing tank is vibrated in the circumferential direction and the vertical direction by a vibrator. By doing so, the member to be plated is moved upward along the transfer path, and furthermore, the upper end of the transfer path is projected out of the processing tank to take out the member to be plated,
Since the member to be plated is conveyed to the processing tank in the next process by a conveyor, the member to be plated is conveyed in one direction along the conveyance path formed in the processing tank, so that the member to be plated is It will be processed by continuous processing instead of batch processing. That is, as compared with the batch processing, the cost does not increase even when the number of members to be plated is small, and the cost does not increase even when a large number of various products are produced in a small amount. Further, since the member to be plated is transported from the bottom to the top of the transport path and the member to be plated can be taken out from the upper part of the processing tank, it is put into the processing tank without using a barrel as in the conventional case. The members to be plated can be sequentially taken out, and as a result, the work of loading and unloading the members to be plated can be completely automated. Moreover, since the treatment tank is vibrated by the vibrator, it is possible to enhance the contact efficiency between the member to be plated and the liquid in the treatment tank without using a separate means for rotating or swinging the barrel. Become. Further, the member to be plated placed in the processing tank can be taken out without causing the liquid in the processing tank to flow out. It is not taken out, and the consumption of processing liquid and plating liquid is greatly reduced compared to the case where a barrel is used. Also,
Environmental pollution can be reduced by reducing the outflow amount of the processing liquid and the plating liquid from the processing tank.

In the structure of the present invention , since the processing tanks are arranged in the vertical direction, the installation area can be reduced, and the vibration from the vibrator can be applied to each processing tank by one vibrating rod. Since it is transmitted, equipment costs can be reduced by sharing the vibration exciter. Further, since the member to be plated falling from each processing tank is received by the guide and put into the plating tank in the next process, there is no need for a device for transporting the member to be plated between the processing tanks, and the facility cost can be further reduced. Become.

[0009]

EXAMPLE In this example, the process of cleaning the plated member
And the process of washing with water after cleaning, the process of plating, and the plating
And the subsequent step of washing with water, the continuous plating system of the present invention.
Show the As shown in FIG. 1, four processing tanks 1A～1 d
Are arranged vertically . Each processing tank 1A～1 d is
In order from the top of FIG. 1, a pretreatment tank 1a for cleaning the member to be plated, a treatment tank 1b for washing the pretreatment solution with water,
Treatment tank 1 for performing the first-stage plating treatment for forming a base film
c, which is the treatment tank 1 d for washing the plating solution. In addition, the processing tanks 1a to 1d are arranged lower in later steps.
Have been. Waso respectively Guy between each processing tank 1A～1 d
If the guide 8 is provided and this guide 8 is used,
Therefore, the member to be plated is carried from each of the processing tanks 1a to 1c to the next step.
It is supposed to be sent.

[0010] Each processing bath 1 (1a~1 d), as shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface is formed in a cylindrical shape whose upper surface is closed is opened, the inner peripheral surface conveyance path 2 spiral is integrally Is formed. The bottom surface of the processing tank 1 is formed in a convex shape in which the central portion is higher than the peripheral portion, and the members to be plated put in the bottom portion of the processing tank 1 gather on the peripheral portion of the processing tank 1. Transport path 2
Is a flat plate-shaped main piece 2a having one side edge fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the processing tank 1, and a side piece 2 protruding upward from the other side edge of the main piece 2a.
It is formed of vinyl chloride or the like so as to be continuously integrated with b, and a member to be plated is placed on the main piece 2a. The transfer path 2 is cantilevered with respect to the processing tank 1 by fixing only one side edge in the width direction. At the upper part of the peripheral wall of the processing tank 1, a discharge port 6 is opened above the liquid surface of the plating liquid put in the processing tank 1, and the upper end of the transport path 2 projects outside the processing tank 1 through the discharge port 6. ing. Further, the lower end of the transport path 2 is continuous with the bottom surface of the processing tank 1.

By the way, it shows a configuration for performing Oite electroplating treatment tank 1 c in FIG. 2. Therefore,
In the processing tank 1 shown in FIG. 2, a linear cathode 3 is arranged over the entire length of the upper surface of the main piece 2a of the transport path 2. Although only one cathode 3 is provided in FIG. 2, a plurality of cathodes 3 may be provided. On the other hand, eight strip-shaped anode plates 5 each having an upper end coupled to the peripheral edge of an octagonal anode holding plate 4 are inserted on the inner peripheral side of the transport path 2 in the processing tank 1.
Processing tank 1 c other than the treatment tank 1a for performing plating, 1b, 1 d
For a, the same configuration except for the cathode 3 and the anode plate 5.

On the lower surface of the processing tank 1, the movable base 1 of the vibrator 10 is provided.
1s are combined. As shown in FIG. 3, the vibrator 10 includes a fixed base 12 having a stationary seat 13 made of rubber for vibration isolation, and two electromagnetic solenoids 14 are arranged on the fixed base 12. . The movable base 11 is formed in a cross shape, and each piece of the movable base 11 is coupled to the fixed base 12 via the leaf spring 15, so that the movable base 11 is arranged above the fixed base 12. A magnetic pole plate 16 attracted by the electromagnetic solenoid 14 is vertically provided on two pieces of the movable table 11. The leaf springs 15 are arranged so as to be inclined as shown in FIG. 3B when the electromagnetic solenoid 14 is not excited, and when the magnetic pole plate 16 receives an attractive force due to the excitation of the electromagnetic solenoid 14, the movable table 11 is moved. Rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3A, and at this time, the distance between the movable base 11 and the fixed base 12 is restricted by the leaf spring 15, so that the movable base 11 moves away from the fixed base 12. That is, when the electromagnetic solenoid 14 is excited, the movable table 11 moves upward while rotating. When the electromagnetic solenoid 14 is de-excited, the movable base 11 returns to its original position by the restoring force of the leaf spring 15. The electromagnetic solenoid 14 is connected to the lead wire 18 via a terminal block 17.

As described above, the movable base 11 of the vibration exciter 10 vibrates in the rotational direction and in the vertical direction by the excitation / non-excitation of the electromagnetic solenoid 14,
Since the treatment tank 1 is coupled to the movable table 11, the shaker 10 can vibrate the treatment tank 1 in the circumferential direction and the vertical direction. Therefore, when the electromagnetic solenoid 14 is excited, the member to be plated on the conveyance path 2 receives a diagonally upward force and floats up.
When is de-excited, the member to be plated moves upward while rolling on the transport path 2. Here, since the transfer path 2 is cantilevered, the vibration of the processing tank 1 by the shaker 10 causes the transfer path 2 to perform a wobbling motion, so that the processing liquid or plating solution contained in the processing tank 1 The liquid will be stirred. If the vibration cycle of the shaker 10 is set to resonate with the processing tank 1, a strong water flow is generated from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side of the processing tank 1 due to the tilting motion of the transport path 2. The treatment liquid and the plating liquid can be sufficiently brought into contact with the member to be plated.

According to the above-mentioned structure, when the member to be plated is put between the inner periphery of the transport path 2 and the anode plate 5, the central portion of the bottom surface of the processing tank 1 is projected more than the peripheral portion. ,
The members to be plated are gathered in the peripheral portion of the processing tank 1 and introduced into the transport path 2 in accordance with the vibration in the vibrator 10. After that, the member to be plated moves upward in the transport path 2 along with the vibration of the processing tank 1 and is taken out of the processing tank 1 through the discharge port 6. It is plated member that has been removed from the transport path 2 rests beginning of the guide 8, and is introduced into the treatment tank 1 the following process at the end of the guide 8.

In order to make the operation of the present invention easier to understand,
FIG. 4 showing a state in which the processing tank 1a to the processing tank 1f are arranged in the lateral direction.
The operation will be described with reference to FIG. That is, when the member to be plated is put into the processing tank 1a, the member to be plated is cleaned and then washed with water, and the undercoat film is plated and washed with water.
The surface film is plated and washed with water, and during this period, continuous processing is performed. The plated member that has been plated is introduced into the warm air drying unit 31 and dried. By the way, in this case , in order to prevent the processing liquid or the plating liquid from being discharged to the outside and contaminate the environment, and to reduce the consumption of the processing liquid or the plating liquid, the liquid which is collected in the vat 7a and overflows. And the liquid (shown by the broken line in FIG. 4) overflowing from the processing tanks 1a to 1f is collected in the recovery tank 32a
After being collected in ~ 32f, they are circulated in the processing tanks 1a to 1f, or used for preliminary cleaning of members to be plated while being conveyed by the conveyor 7. That is, in the processing tanks 1a, 1c, and 1e that use the processing liquid or the plating liquid, the processing liquid or the plating liquid collected in the bat 7a by draining is collected in the collection tanks 32a, 3e.
2c, 32e, pumps 33a, 33c, 33e
Is to be returned to the processing tanks 1a, 1c, 1e. Further, regarding the treatment tanks 1b, 1d, 1f for washing with water, overflowed water is collected in the recovery tanks 32b, 32d, 32.
Pumps 33b, 33d, and 33f are used for pumping so that they can be collected in f and used for preliminary water washing while being conveyed by the conveyor 7 before water washing. In addition, the recovery tanks 32a to 32
The liquids collected in f are drainage treatment devices 3 for each liquid of the same type.
4a to 34c to generate high-purity water by ion exchange, and the water generated in the wastewater treatment devices 34a to 34c is pumped up by pumps 33g to 33i and washed with water after being washed by the conveyor 7. Used for.
As described above, since each liquid is circulated and used and is purified by ion exchange, the processing liquid and the plating liquid are not discharged to the outside, and environmental pollution can be prevented. can Ru.

In the structure shown in FIG. 4 , the cathode 3 is linearly formed in the plating treatment tanks 1c and 1e. You may line up in a row. Further, in this example, an example of electroplating is shown, but the plating solution may be prepared for electroless plating and electroless plating may be performed without providing the cathode 3 and the anode plate 5. Also in this case, the member to be plated and the plating solution can be sufficiently brought into contact with each other by the tilting motion of the transport path 2, and the member to be plated moves while rolling on the transport path 2, so that the film formed by plating can be efficiently used. And it can be formed uniformly.

[0017]

[0018] For each processing tank 1a~1d comprises a helical conveying path 2 to the inner part. A guide 8 is arranged below the upper end of the transport path 2 protruding from each of the processing tanks 1a to 1d. The guide 8 is formed in a shape capable of receiving a member to be plated dropped from the upper processing tanks 1a to 1c and putting it into the lower processing tanks 1b to 1d. That is, by using the gas Lee <br/> de 8, Ru can be from the processing tank 1a~1c conveying the plating member to the next process.

By the way, a connecting cylinder 9 is integrally formed in the central portion of each of the processing tanks 1a to 1d, and a single vibrating rod 19 having a tubular shape is vertically penetrated through the connecting cylinder 9. The movable body 11 of the vibration exciter 10 is coupled to the lower end portion of the vibrating rod 19, so that the vibration of the vibrating vibrator 11 is transmitted to the vibrating rod 1.
It can be transmitted to each of the processing tanks 1a to 1d via the line 9. That is, the one shaker 10 can simultaneously vibrate the four processing tanks 1a to 1d.
And the configuration is simple. Moreover, each processing tank 1a-1
Since d is arranged vertically, there is an advantage that the installation area is small.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing tank used in each process is formed into a cylindrical shape to form a spiral transfer path inside, and the processing tank is circumferentially and vertically moved by a vibrator. Since the member to be plated is moved upward along the transport path by vibrating the plate, the member to be plated can be processed by continuous processing instead of batch processing.
That is, compared with the batch processing, there is an advantage that the cost does not increase even when the number of members to be plated is small, and the cost does not increase even when a large number of various kinds of products are produced. Further, since the processing tank is vibrated by the vibrator, there is no need to use a separate means for rotating or swinging the barrel, and since there is no barrel, the member to be plated and the processing tank This has the advantage of increasing the efficiency of contact with the liquid of the plating solution. Furthermore, compared to the case of rotating or rocking the plating target member in the barrel, collisions between the plating target members are reduced and There is also the advantage that the deformation of the plated member is small. Further, the member to be plated placed in the processing tank can be taken out without causing the liquid in the processing tank to flow out. There is an advantage that the consumption amount of the processing liquid and the plating liquid is significantly reduced as compared with the case where the barrel is used without being taken out. Further, there is also an effect that the influence on the environment can be reduced by reducing the outflow amount of the treatment liquid or the plating liquid from the treatment tank.

In the present invention, since the processing tanks are arranged in the vertical direction, the installation area can be reduced, and the vibration from the exciter is transmitted to each processing tank by one vibrating rod. Therefore, there is an advantage that equipment cost can be reduced by sharing the vibration exciter. Further, since the member to be plated falling from each processing tank is received by the guide and put into the plating tank in the next process, an apparatus for conveying the member to be plated between the processing tanks is not required, and the facility cost can be further reduced. effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the overall configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention .

2A and 2B show a treatment tank used for a plating treatment according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG. 2B is a vertical sectional view.

3A and 3B show a vibration exciter, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a side view.

[Fig. 4] Operation when a plurality of processing tanks are horizontally arranged
FIG .

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 treatment tank 1A～1 d treatment vessel 2 carrying path 3 cathode 4 anode holding plate 5 the anode plate 6 outlet 7 conveyor 8 Guide 10 vibrator 19 vibrating rod

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Koji Tsuge 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP 60-114597 (JP, A) JP 58-100698 (JP, JP, A) JP-A-59-145789 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A member to be plated is cleaned with a treatment liquid.
Process, washing process solution with water, cleaned plating
The component is immersed in the plating solution to form a film by plating.
Used for plating process including washing the plating solution with water
It is a continuous plating system, in which liquid for each process is added.
Multiple processing tanks are arranged vertically, and each processing tank is on the top
Is formed into a cylindrical shape with an opening, and the center line is in the vertical direction
The parts to be plated are placed on the inner peripheral surface of each processing tank.
The spiral transport path to be placed is fixed,
For the processing tank to move upward along the transport path
One vibrator that gives vertical and circumferential vibrations
Each processing tank via one vibrating rod connecting each processing tank
The upper end of the transport path of each processing tank projects from the processing tank.
Out, and discharge from the upper end of the transport path of the processing tank in each process
In the processing tank of the next process after receiving the plated member that is dropped
A continuous plating system , characterized in that it is provided with a guide to be thrown into .