JPS5867891A - Method for applying electric current for continuous plating and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform stable plating treatment without damaging a workpiece to be treated, by applying an electric current through a brush to carry out the plating treatment while carrying the workpiece to be treated under a condition clamped between endless belts in which feed wires are buried. CONSTITUTION:A pair of parallel endless carrying belts 2 wound round driving pulleys 6, 6' provided on a frame 18 comprise rubber elastic bodies, feed wires 3 are buried in their surface layers along their entire peripheries, and the belts being guided by guides 5, 5' clamp a thin workpiece 1 to be treated and carry it. A negative electric current is applied to said wires 3 through brushes 4 made of copper or stainless steel. The part of the workpiece 1 other than a part 14 to be plated is covered with a masking tape 10. The workpiece 1 to be treated is immersed in plating liquid 13 inside a plating cell 12 provided with an anode 11 and subjected to plating treatment while being carried under the clamped condition with the belts 2. According to said constitution, the stable application of an electric current having large capacity can be performed during the plating treatment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention particularly relates to a power supply method for plating a thin strip-shaped workpiece while continuously conveying it, and a plating apparatus using the method.

Recently, the demand for plating processing of strip-shaped or thin plate-shaped objects used for electronic parts, etc. has increased dramatically. Conventionally, when continuously plating a strip-shaped object, the plating process is carried out by using the object as a negative electrode and placing an anode as the opposite electrode. Object to be processed by rotation? There were two methods: one method was to transport the object to supply power, and the other method was to supply power to the object by sliding it with a brush. However, in the former case, the object to be processed is conveyed by the rotation of rollers, so it may cause serious damage to the object. Although it does not affect the current flow, the contact surface between the power supply roller and the workpiece is always in line contact, so it was not possible to obtain a large discharge current.Also, in the case of the latter, the allowable current sound level is increased by increasing or decreasing the contact area of the brush. Although this is possible, since the surface of the object to be treated is sliding, it has the disadvantage of causing fine scratches due to sliding. The present invention provides a power supply method and a plating apparatus thereof that eliminates all of the above-mentioned drawbacks. The details of each embodiment will be explained below with reference to all the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a continuous plating apparatus according to the present invention, and for convenience of explanation, the arrow is referred to as the front. FIG. 2 shows the main part of the present invention, and is a longitudinal sectional front view taken from arrows ① to ② in FIG. 1. Third
The figure is an explanatory side sectional view, and is an explanatory view showing a state in which the right side of the object to be processed 1 in FIG. 2 is removed.

Mainly, 1 in the center in Fig. 2 is a thin plate-shaped object to be processed, and the thickness of the plate in the example is about /, O-2. It is covered. Although the mask is shown enlarged for explanatory purposes, the thickness of the mask in the embodiment is around θ and 0. Reference numeral 2 denotes an endless conveyor belt made of a rubber-like elastic material, and as shown in FIG. A pair of rows arranged by 6 and 6'? Therefore, the object to be treated l
? It's being held in place. And a pair of conveyor belts 2 facing each other
On the outer surface of each belt, a power supply wire 3 made of copper plated with silver or copper, stainless steel, or the like is embedded and bent around the entire circumference.

In the illustration, the cross-sectional shape of the power supply wire 3 is circular, but the contact surface for holding the object to be processed can be wide or narrow as necessary. 5.5' is simply a guide for conveying the conveyor belt 2 without swinging up and down, and is supported by a guide support 8 as shown in FIG. Guide 5.5
If the space between the two parts is connected by a holding rod 9, stability will be further increased, and the spacing can be finely adjusted. A brush 4 made of copper or stainless steel is provided on the return side of the conveyor belt 2 for supplying a negative current to the power supply wire 3.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a support frame for the brush 4; the drawing is a symmetrical drawing, and the left brush 4 is not shown entirely.

18, in which the terminal 14, which is the lower end of the object to be processed, is immersed is a plating liquid; 12. In the plating treatment tank, 11°11' is the anode.

FIG. 9 shows a slit-like notch 16.16"k through which the workpiece 1 enters and exits the plating tank. The figure shows the front side of the plating tank, and the notch of the plating tank 12 The dripping liquid leaking from the valve 17 is collected as shown by the arrow through the outer case 12'. Reference numeral 18 is the stand of the apparatus.

Next, to outline the operation, first, 10 mask tapes are placed on the conveyor belt 2 above the terminal portion 14 to be plated of the workpiece 1.
Affix it to approximately the center of the area. Then, the conveyor belt 2 is driven, and the workpiece 1' is held between the pair of conveyor belts,
Outer case 12'? When it is transported into the plating tank 12,
The terminal 14 is immersed in a plating solution, and a plating process is performed by applying electricity.

In this case, since the conveyor belt has elasticity, the workpiece 1 is held between the left and right belts in the figure and is supplied with electricity in a relative amount between the belts.

Further, since the conveyor belt id 5 is disposed on the back side of the conveyor belt 2, the belt 8 does not swing vertically, and the object 1 to be processed is conveyed while being constantly pressed. After the plating process is completed, the object to be processed l is carried out of the plating tank,
Furthermore, it comes off from the conveyor belt 3.

As described above, according to the present invention, the contact surface of the power supply wire 3 that is in tight contact with the workpiece 1 is always mechanically polished by the supply brush 4, so that the workpiece When power is supplied to the terminal, contact failures due to surface dirt are automatically eliminated, ensuring stable power supply. In addition, in the method and apparatus of the present invention, unlike the conventional power feeding method using rolls or sliding power feeding method using brushes, there is no misalignment between the power feeding wire 8 and the workpiece 1 due to rotational friction as in the conventional method. There are no sliding scratches caused by wires. In addition, it became possible to conduct a large amount of current, which was not possible with the roll type, and the stable power supply made it possible to obtain high-quality plated objects without damaging the objects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the overall external appearance of a plating apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view taken along the arrow n in FIG. 1, showing essential parts of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of FIG. 1 with the right side of the center object to be processed removed. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the front side of the plating tank. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Disposal object, 2... Conveyance belt, 8... Power supply wire, 4... Supply brush, 5... Belt guide, 7... Belt return side, 10... Mask Tezo, 1
2... Plating tank, ■4... Part to be plated (terminal). Patent applicant: Toyo Giken Kogyo Co., Ltd. Representative patent attorney: Masaaki Kato

Claims (1)

[Claims] (11) In continuous plating of a thin strip or thin plate to be processed, power is supplied to the entire circumference of the facing surfaces of a pair of endless conveyor belts that are arranged in parallel and facing each other. A wire is embedded, a metal brush is provided on the return side of the conveyor belt to energize the power supply wire, and the object to be plated is sandwiched between the pair of conveyor belts. (2) In a continuous plating device for a thin strip-shaped workpiece, a pair of endless plates facing each other are used to sandwich and convey the broken workpiece. A power supply wire is embedded in the conveyor belt around the entire circumference of the outer surface of the belt facing each other, and a metal brush that energizes the power supply wire is disposed on the return side of the belt, and is held between the pair of conveyor belts. 1. A continuous second-second plating device characterized by comprising a plating bath in which a part of the workpiece to be plated is immersed below the moving workpiece.