JPH1071611A - Method of and apparatus for laminating ceramic green sheets - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To laminate ceramic green sheets in a shortened time and with a high precision even if there are many layers of ceramic green sheets to be laminated, and to perform lamination in a simplified manner and under an optimum laminating condition even if a ceramic green sheet laminated product comprises different materials such as a dielectric ceramic green sheet and a magnet ceramic green sheet. SOLUTION: An apparatus for laminating ceramic green sheets comprises a plurality of cutters 11 capable of cutting an elongate ceramic green sheet (a) into smaller pieces each having a predetermined shape and capable of stacking the smaller ceramic green sheets (a) one above the other and the moving them; a ceramic green sheet supply means capable of supplying an elongate ceramic green sheet (a) to be cut in the above cutters; a press machine 23 capable of receiving a pile of smaller ceramic green sheets (a) cut by the above cutters and stacked in a desired manner and capable of pressing the pile of smaller ceramic green sheets (a) in a laminating direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing electronic components such as multilayer ceramic capacitors and multilayer ceramic inductors by laminating ceramic green sheets partially having electrode patterns, cutting and laminating the ceramic green sheets. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for crimping.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A multilayer ceramic capacitor, which is the most typical example of a multilayer electronic component, has a multi-layered ceramic layer made of a dielectric material having internal electrodes, and has internal electrodes on opposite end faces of the multilayer body. It is drawn out alternately. External electrodes are formed on the end surfaces of the stacked body from which the internal electrodes are drawn out, and the external electrodes are connected to the internal electrodes.

The multilayer body 3 of such a multilayer ceramic capacitor has, for example, a layer structure as shown in FIG. Are laminated in the order shown in FIG. 5, and the ceramic layers 7, 7,... On which the internal electrodes 5, 6 are not formed on both sides thereof are arranged. Each is stacked in multiple layers. And
The internal electrodes 5 and 6 are exposed on the end surfaces of the laminate 3 having such a layer structure, and the above-mentioned external electrodes are formed at the end of the laminate 3.

[0004] Such a laminated electronic component is not usually manufactured individually as one component as shown in FIG.
In practice, the following manufacturing method is employed. First, a finely divided ceramic powder and an organic binder are kneaded to form a slurry, which is thinly spread on a carrier film made of a polyethylene terephthalate film or the like by a doctor blade method and dried to form a ceramic green sheet. Next, the ceramic green sheet is cut into a desired size with a cutting head while being placed on the support film, and a conductive paste is printed on one surface thereof by a screen printing method and dried. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of sets of internal electrode patterns 2a,
Ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b on which 2b are arranged
Is obtained.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b having the internal electrode patterns 2a and 2b are laminated, and some ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b having no internal electrode patterns 2a and 2b are stacked. The ceramic green sheets 1 and 1 are stacked one on top of the other, and they are pressed together to form a laminate. Here, the ceramic green sheet 1
As for a and 1b, those 1a and 1b in which the internal electrode patterns 2a and 2b are shifted by a half length in the longitudinal direction are alternately stacked. Then, this laminate is cut into a desired size,
A laminated green chip is manufactured, and the green chip is fired. Thus, a laminate having a layer structure as shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. Next, a conductive paste is applied to both ends of the fired laminate 3 and baked, so that the external electrodes 2
Thus, a multilayer ceramic capacitor, which is a multilayer electronic component on which the composite 2 is formed, is completed.

[0006]

In recent years, such multilayer electronic components have been required to have higher functions. For example, a multilayer ceramic capacitor has been reduced in size and capacity, or a composite such as a multilayer LC component has been developed. Therefore, the number of laminated ceramic green sheets has increased remarkably, and ceramic green sheets made of different materials such as dielectric ceramic green sheets and magnetic ceramic green sheets have been laminated.

When the number of laminated ceramic green sheets increases, even if the error in the lamination accuracy per layer is small, the error is accumulated and the error increases, and the overall lamination accuracy is reduced. Further, as the number of laminated ceramic green sheets increases, a lot of time is required for the process of forming one laminated body. In the case of laminating ceramic green sheets made of different materials, such as laminating a dielectric ceramic green sheet and a magnetic ceramic green sheet, since the properties such as density and elongation of each ceramic green sheet are different, heating during lamination is performed. It is necessary to optimally set conditions such as temperature and pressurizing pressure according to each material. Therefore, it is necessary to change the setting of the laminating conditions, which is troublesome in the laminating step.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems in the ceramic green sheet laminating step, and enables the ceramic green sheets to be laminated in a short time and accurately even if the number of laminated ceramic green sheets is large. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ceramic green sheet laminating method and apparatus that can easily laminate under optimal laminating conditions even in laminating ceramic green sheets made of different materials such as dielectric ceramic green sheets and magnetic ceramic green sheets. Aim.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a long ceramic green sheet a is laminated while being cut into a predetermined shape by a cutter 11, and this is pressed in the laminating direction. In press-fitting, the sheets were stacked while being cut by a plurality of cutters 11 into a predetermined shape, and a plurality of sets of the stacked bodies were further stacked and pressed. Thus, a large number of ceramic green sheets b can be cut and laminated in a short time as a whole, and the lamination conditions of each cutter 11 can be adjusted according to the type of each ceramic green sheet. It can be set separately.

That is, the method for laminating ceramic green sheets according to the present invention comprises the steps of: cutting a long ceramic green sheet a into a predetermined shape; and stacking the cut ceramic green sheets a sequentially.
A pressing step of pressing the laminated ceramic green sheets a in the laminating direction and press-bonding them, wherein the cutting and laminating step is performed simultaneously at a plurality of locations, and the ceramic green sheets a laminated at the plurality of locations are provided at one location. And pressurized in the pressing step.

Further, the ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to the present invention provides a long ceramic green sheet a.
And a plurality of cutters 11 for stacking and transporting the ceramic green sheets a
A ceramic green sheet supply mechanism for supplying a long ceramic green sheet a to be cut to the cutters 11; and a supply of the stacked ceramic green sheets a cut and laminated by the plurality of cutters 11; And a press machine 23 for pressing the green sheet a in the laminating direction. Here, the press machine 23 has a lower mold 22 for storing a laminate of ceramic green sheets a to be pressed.

In the method and apparatus for laminating ceramic green sheets according to the present invention, a long ceramic green sheet a is cut into a predetermined shape by a plurality of cutting lamination steps or a plurality of cutters 11 and laminated. ,
Since these are pressurized and pressed by one press bonding step or one press machine 23, the time required for the time-consuming cutting and laminating step can be shortened as a whole. Thereby, a large number of ceramic green sheets can be cut and laminated as a whole in a short time. In each of the cutting and laminating steps or the cutter 11, a relatively small number of ceramic green sheets b may be cut and laminated, so that
The accumulation of the stacking errors is small, and the stacking errors can be suppressed as a whole.

Furthermore, in each of the cutting and laminating steps or the cutter 11, the laminating conditions can be set independently according to the type of each ceramic green sheet.
During the cutting and laminating step, there is no need to change the lamination conditions. Therefore, it is preferable that the cutter 11 be capable of individually adjusting and setting the lamination conditions when laminating the ceramic green sheets a. In the above-described laminating apparatus, the undersheet c can be supplied from the undersheet supply unit 29 into the lower mold 22. If the undersheet c has a rough surface or an adhesive surface, the ceramic green sheet b
Can be prevented from slipping at the time of pressing, and a pressing error such as extension of the ceramic green sheet b can be minimized.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described specifically and in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an example of a ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to the present invention, and is a side view of a process portion for cutting and laminating a long ceramic green sheet a into a predetermined shape,
FIG. 2 shows an overall layout of an example of the laminating apparatus.

The ceramic green sheet a is formed by applying a thin ceramic slurry to a predetermined width and a uniform thickness on a long carrier film such as a long polyethylene terephthalate film and drying. Each of the long ceramic green sheets a formed on such a carrier film is wound around a roll 16 and fed out from the roll 16 and supplied.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, two rolls 16 around which a long ceramic green sheet a are wound are provided. Here, taking a case where a laminate of ceramic green sheets for producing a multilayer ceramic capacitor is taken as an example, a ceramic green sheet a supplied from a roll 16 on the left side in FIGS.
A predetermined internal electrode pattern is printed thereon, and such an internal electrode pattern is not printed on the ceramic green sheet a supplied from the right roll 16 in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The ceramic green sheet a fed from the roll 16 is adjusted in tension by a feed mechanism including a roller 18 while the cutter base 17 is adjusted.
Sent over the top. At the time of this feeding, a positioning mark provided on the lower surface of the carrier film is detected by a sensor 19 provided below the cutter base 14, and the ceramic green sheet is printed on the basis of the internal electrode pattern printed on the surface of the ceramic green sheet a. The sheet is conveyed and stopped while a is positioned.

On the cutter base 17, there are provided cutters 11 for cutting the ceramic green sheet a into a predetermined shape, peeling the cut green sheet from the carrier film and laminating it. The cutter 11 has a suction head 12 that sucks and holds the cut ceramic green sheet b on the lower surface, and a cutter blade 13 that is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the suction head 12. The suction head 12 has a large number of suction holes in the bottom wall, and suctions air from a vacuum source (not shown) to make the bottom surface a negative pressure, and sucks and holds the cut ceramic green sheet b. The suction head 12 is moved up and down by an air cylinder 14, and a heater (not shown) is built therein. The cutter blade 13 includes the suction head 1.
It is arranged on its four sides surrounding 2 and is moved up and down by an air cylinder 15.

The cutter 11 is entirely driven by a drive unit 20 in the horizontal and vertical directions in FIG.
While moving in the −Y direction, the angle can be changed in the horizontal direction. Furthermore, on this cutter 11,
An image pickup device 21 such as a CCD camera or the like is arranged, whereby the electrode pattern or the like of the ceramic green sheet a conveyed on the cutter base 17 is imaged, and its position is recognized by image processing.

The ceramic green sheet a held on the long carrier film is conveyed onto the cutter base 17 by the feed mechanism including the roll 16 and the roller 18. Then, the position of the ceramic green sheet a is recognized by the sensor 19 and stopped. Further, the mark printed on the ceramic green sheet a together with the internal electrode pattern is picked up by the image pickup device 21, and image processing is performed on the mark to recognize the misalignment of the internal electrode pattern on the ceramic green sheet a. You.

The position and angle of the cutter 11 in the X-Y direction are adjusted by the displacement of the internal electrode pattern recognized in this manner, and the cutting position of the internal electrode pattern by the cutter 11 is determined. As a result, the misalignment due to the fine meandering of the ceramic green sheet a is corrected. After that, the suction head 12 descends,
The lower surface is set to a negative pressure, and the ceramic green sheet a is sucked and held. Next, the cutter blade 13 is lowered, and the ceramic green sheet a is cut at the cutting edge. Thereafter, as the cutter 11 moves up, the cut ceramic green sheet b is attached to the suction head 12.
While being held on the lower surface. Next, the carrier film is fed by a predetermined length, and thereafter, similarly, positioning of the ceramic green sheet a, positioning of the cutter 11, cutting of the ceramic green sheet a, and cutting of the cut ceramic green sheet b
Is repeated from the carrier film. By repeating this operation, a plurality of ceramic green sheets b are stacked between the cutter blades 13.

The cutting of the ceramic green sheets a and the stacking of the cut ceramic green sheets b are simultaneously performed by two cutters 11 at the same time.
Are stacked, the cutter 11 moves in a predetermined order,
Ceramic green sheet b laminated as described later
To the lower mold 2 transported between the two cutters 11.
Press into the mold of No. 2 while applying pressure and heat and store.

In this manner, the ceramic green sheets a are cut and laminated simultaneously by the two cutters 11.
Since they are sent to one lower mold 22, the number of ceramic green sheets b cut and laminated in a unit time can be reduced by one cutter 11.
Is doubled as compared with the case of cutting and laminating. Also, 2
The lamination conditions of the three cutters 11, for example, the setting of the temperature of the suction head 12 at the time of lamination and the like can be changed according to the ceramic green sheet c to be cut. By using three or more cutters 11, the number of ceramic green sheets b that can be cut and laminated in a unit time can be further increased.

The lower mold 22 is provided on the conveyor 2 shown in FIG.
4 reciprocates the position between the take-out stage 27, the press machine 23, and the cutter 11 for taking out the stacked body of the ceramic green sheet b that has been transported and pressed. As will be described later, an undersheet c is previously laid on the bottom surface of the lower die 22 on the takeout stage 27 side. Thereafter, the lower mold 22 is transported between the cutters 11 and is placed on the temporary crimping table 31 as shown in FIG.
Is fixed by Here, a predetermined number of ceramic green sheets b cut and laminated by the cutter 11 as described above are housed in the lower mold 22, placed on the under sheet c, and pressed. At this time, the ceramic green sheet b is heated at a predetermined temperature by a heater built in the suction head 12.

For example, when obtaining a laminated body of ceramic green sheets b for obtaining a laminated ceramic capacitor, first, the cutter 11 on the right side in FIG. 1 cuts and the laminated ceramic green sheets b are pushed into the lower mold 22. Next, in FIG. 1, the left cutter 11 cuts and the laminated ceramic green sheet b is
The cutter 1 on the right side in FIG.
1 is cut and the laminated ceramic green sheet b is pushed into the lower mold 22. Thereby, the layer of the ceramic green sheet b having no internal electrode pattern, the layer of the ceramic green sheet b having the internal electrode pattern, and the layer of the ceramic green sheet b having no internal electrode pattern are sequentially stacked in the lower mold 22. Tentatively.

Thereafter, the lower mold 22 is moved to a conveyor 24.
To the press machine 23 side such as a hydraulic press. FIG. 3 shows a portion of the press machine 23, and the press machine 23 shows only an upper mold portion. The lower mold 22 conveyed by the conveyor 24 is positioned by the positioning pins 26 and fixed on the pressing table 33. Here, the upper mold of the press machine 23 is lowered while heating them to a predetermined temperature by a heater built in the upper mold of the press table 33 and the press machine 23, and is stacked in the mold of the lower mold 22. The obtained ceramic green sheet b is pressed in the laminating direction and pressed. After that, the upper die of the press machine 23 rises, and the lower die 22 moves to the next unloading stage 27.

The lower mold 2 moved to the take-out stage 27
2, the laminate of the ceramic green sheets b pressed as described above is taken out, and an undersheet supply unit 29 and an undersheet collection unit 31 for storing the used undersheet c are arranged on both sides thereof. I have.
FIG. 4 shows only the unloading stage 27 and the undersheet supply unit 29 on one side thereof. As described above, the under sheet supply section 29 stocks the under sheet c laid on the inner bottom surface of the lower mold 22, and the under sheet c is conveyed by the sheet chuck 30. On the other hand, the undersheet storage unit 31 shown only in FIG.
The used undersheet c laid on the inner bottom surface of the lower mold 22 as described above is stocked, and the undersheet c is conveyed by the sheet chuck 32.

When the lower mold 22 arrives at the take-out station 27, the laminate of ceramic green sheets b is taken out of the mold and stored in the next step or a temporary storage location (not shown). Further, the used undersheet c remaining in the lower mold 22 is taken out by the sheet chuck 32 and stored in the undersheet storage unit 31. At the same time, the undersheet is taken out from the undersheet supply unit 29 by the sheet chuck 30 and laid on the bottom surface of the lower mold 22. Thereafter, the lower mold 22 returns to the lamination position between the cutters 11, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

The under sheet c prevents the material of the ceramic green sheet b from adhering to the inner bottom surface of the lower mold 22 and keeps the mold surface of the lower mold 22 clean at all times. It has a function of preventing slippage and elongation at the time of laminating the sheets b and at the time of pressing. Therefore, a material having a large friction coefficient such as a rough surface or an adhesive surface is used. In the above example, the ceramic green sheet b is cut into a square, but the cut shape is not particularly limited to a square and may be cut into a circle or the like.

In the above examples, the lamination of ceramic green sheets for producing a laminated ceramic capacitor has been mainly described. However, the method and apparatus for laminating ceramic green sheets according to the present invention are, for example, for producing an LC composite component. It is also suitable for laminating ceramic green sheets. In such a composite component, since the dielectric ceramic green sheet and the magnetic ceramic green sheet are laminated, the lamination conditions need to be different for each. In such a case, the dielectric ceramic green sheets are laminated by one cutter 11 and the other
In 1, the magnetic ceramic green sheets are laminated, and the laminating conditions are different for each. For example, in the former cutter 11 for laminating the dielectric ceramic green sheets, the laminated ceramic green sheets b are housed in the lower mold 22, the heating temperature when pressurizing is set to 70 ° C., and the pressurizing pressure is set to 0. 0.6 kg / mm ² . In the latter cutter 11 on which the magnetic ceramic green sheets are to be laminated, the heating temperature is 60 ° C., and the pressing pressure is 0.4 kg / m 2.
and m ^2.

[0031]

As described above, in the method and apparatus for laminating ceramic green sheets according to the present invention, even if the number of laminated ceramic green sheets is large, lamination of ceramic green sheets can be performed in a short time and with high accuracy. Even in the case of laminating ceramic green sheets made of different materials, such as laminating a dielectric ceramic green sheet and a magnetic ceramic green sheet, lamination can be easily performed under optimum lamination conditions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a laminating step showing an example of a ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a pressure bonding part showing an example of the ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a laminated body removing process part showing an example of the ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing separated layers of a multilayer body of a multilayer ceramic capacitor as an example of a component made by laminating ceramic green sheets.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing layers of a ceramic green sheet laminate for obtaining a laminate of the multilayer ceramic capacitor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 cutter 22 mold 23 press machine 29 undersheet supply section a long ceramic green sheet b cut ceramic green sheet c undersheet

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A ceramic green sheet laminating method in which a plurality of cut ceramic green sheets (b) are stacked, and the ceramic green sheets (b) are pressed in the laminating direction and pressure-bonded. (A) is cut into a predetermined shape, and a cutting and laminating step of sequentially stacking the cut ceramic green sheets (a), and a crimping step of pressing the stacked ceramic green sheets (a) in the laminating direction and press-bonding them. Wherein the cutting and laminating step is performed simultaneously at a plurality of places, and the ceramic green sheets (a) laminated at the plurality of places are pressed and crimped in one crimping step. Green sheet lamination method. 2. A ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus in which a plurality of cut ceramic green sheets (b) are stacked, and these ceramic green sheets (b) are pressed in the laminating direction and pressure-bonded. (A) is cut into a predetermined shape, a plurality of cutters (11) for stacking and transporting these ceramic green sheets (a), and a long ceramic green sheet (a) to be cut into these cutters (11). And a press for receiving the supply of the laminated ceramic green sheets (a) cut by the plurality of cutters (11) and pressing the ceramic green sheets (a) in the laminating direction. Ceramic green sea characterized by having a machine (23) G stacking device. 3. The ceramic green sheet lamination according to claim 2, wherein the pressing machine (23) has a lower mold (22) for storing a laminate of the ceramic green sheets (a) to be pressed. apparatus. 4. The ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an undersheet supply section (29) for supplying an undersheet (c) in the lower mold (22). 5. The ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the undersheet (c) has a rough surface. 6. The ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the undersheet (c) has an adhesive surface. 7. The cutter (11) adjusts laminating conditions for laminating the ceramic green sheets (a) individually.
The ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the apparatus can be set. 8. The ceramic green sheet laminating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the angle of the cutter (11) is adjustable in a horizontal direction.