KR100578530B1 - Electroless plating device for powder - Google Patents

Abstract

Electroless plating for powders that can not only obtain high quality metal coating powder materials but also minimize the loss of materials generated during the work process through efficient separation of powder materials after pretreatment and plating processes. An apparatus is disclosed. The electroless plating apparatus for powder according to the present invention has a vertical frame extending vertically vertically, a horizontal frame extending horizontally on one side of the extension part of the vertical frame, and a control box fixed to one side lower portion of the vertical frame. main body; A work table having a work tank disposed adjacent to one side of the control box and having an electric heater disposed on the lower surface thereof and electrically connected to the control box; And a convex surface having a dome shape in which the upper part is opened and the inside is empty so that the plating liquid can be filled in and inside the working tank and the inside is hollow, and the upper surface is curved, and the main surface of the convex surface is downward. The curved concave surface includes a plating tank formed while radially surrounding the convex surface, and a plating tank having a cover covering the plating tank.

Description

Electroless plating device for powder

1 is a perspective view showing an electroless plating apparatus for powder according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the plating tank shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an exploded perspective view showing the plating tank shown in FIG. 2 separately;

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawing

100: electroless plating apparatus for powder 110: main body

112: vertical frame 114: horizontal frame

116 lift motor 118 lift shaft

120: lifting pulley 122: control box

124: pH sensor 126: temperature sensor

128: injection hose 130: metering pump

140: workbench 142: work tank

144: electric heater 150: plating tank

152: plating bath 154: convex surface

156: concave surface 158: discharge hole

160: discharge cap 166: cover

168: sensor injection hole 170: additive injection hole

172: stirring shaft 174: stirring motor

176: motor housing 178: wire

The present invention relates to an electroless plating apparatus for powder, and more particularly, to obtain a high-quality metal coating powder material, as well as to remove the material generated during the work process through efficient separation of the powder material after the pretreatment process and the plating process. The present invention relates to an electroless plating apparatus for powder, which can minimize the loss and maximize the overall productivity improvement.

In general, electroless plating is also referred to as chemical plating or autocatalyst plating. The electroless plating is a plating method in which metal ions in an aqueous metal salt solution are autocatalytically reduced by the force of a reducing agent without depositing electric energy from the outside, thereby depositing metal on the surface of the workpiece. That is, in electroless plating, unlike electroplating, in which electrical energy is supplied from the outside, metal ions in the plating solution are plated on a workpiece by a chemical reaction when no external power source is required.

The electroplating method is used for the current-carrying conductor, but in the case of the non-conductor where the current does not flow, electroless plating is performed after pretreatment for the plating characteristics. Examples of the workpiece to be subjected to electroless plating include CBN (cubic boron nitride), diamond, silicon carbide, and alumina in the form of fine powder according to various purposes. Also, in the case of a powder in which current flows, an electroless plating method may be used to obtain a uniform plating layer because electroplating makes it difficult to obtain a uniform plating layer. In particular, an object to be processed having a powder form of several μm is difficult to handle, and when electroplating, an electroless plating method is used because a plating layer having a uniform thickness cannot be obtained.

By the way, the electroless plating method described above requires an operator's skill and close attention because the plated object has a fine powder form. However, no matter how skilled workers, there is a problem that the loss occurs during the process of processing the workpiece having a fine powder form of several micrometers to several hundred micrometers.

In addition, in the plating tank used in the conventional electroless plating method, the agglomeration of the processed materials occurs in the center of the plating tank due to the phenomenon that the powder-like processed material is concentrated in the middle when stirring using a stick bar. Since the plating reaction is active in the part, there is a problem that nickel plating occurs in the center of the plating tank bottom.

In the case of the CBN material to be processed with the size of 100 ~ 150㎛, if the electroless plating is performed, there is no phenomenon that the object is concentrated in the center of the floor before plating, but as time goes by As the nickel plated layer was formed on the surface, the weight of the target object was relatively increased, so that a smooth stirring effect was not obtained. Therefore, the agitation speed may be increased to obtain a smooth dispersion effect of the dense objects in the center, but it is not sufficient to solve the fundamental problem. If the processed materials are not dispersed smoothly in the plating solution, the processed materials may aggregate and plate. It is difficult to obtain a completely coated treatment because it results in a result, and if an intensive plating reaction occurs in one place, a plating phenomenon occurs in the plating tank of that part, and the plating layer that is plated on the plating tank falls off. It is not only possible to obtain high-purity treated materials with water, but also loss of powder in separating powder from pretreatment tank or plating tank, resulting in lower productivity.

The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object of the present invention is not only to obtain a high-quality metal coating powder material but also a work process through the efficient separation of the powder material after the pretreatment process and plating process It is to provide an electroless plating apparatus for powder that can maximize the overall productivity improvement by minimizing the loss of material generated during the process.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention as described above, the present invention,

A main body having a vertical frame extending vertically upward, a horizontal frame extending horizontally on one side of the extension part of the vertical frame, and a control box fixed to one side of the vertical frame;

A work table having a work tank disposed adjacent to one side of the control box and having an electric heater disposed on the lower surface thereof and electrically connected to the control box; And

A convex surface with a dome shape is formed at the center of the lower surface, and has an open shape and a hollow shape inside the working tank to allow the plating liquid to be filled in and out, and to the lower surface as the main surface of the convex surface. Provided is an electroless plating apparatus for powder, comprising a plating tank having a concave surface formed while radially surrounding the convex surface, and a plating tank having a cover covering the plating tank.

Preferably, a plurality of discharge holes are formed on the concave surface of the plating bath, and the discharge hole stoppers made of rubber material are fitted in the discharge holes.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only a good metal coating powder material can be obtained, but also the overall productivity by minimizing the loss of material generated during the work process through efficient separation of the powder material after the pretreatment process and the plating process. The improvement can be maximized.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a powder electroless plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the electroless plating apparatus for powder 100 according to the present invention is a plating tank selectively entering and exiting the main body 110, the work table 140 and the work table 140 disposed on one side of the main body 110 150.

First, the main body 110 includes a vertical frame 112, a horizontal frame 114, and a control box 122. The vertical frame 112 extends upwardly vertically from the ground. The horizontal frame 114 extends to the outside of the vertical frame 112 horizontally on one side of the extension of the vertical frame 112. The lifting motor 116 is fixedly disposed on the upper surface of the extension of the horizontal frame 114. At this time, the lifting pulley 120 is integrally mounted to the lifting shaft 118 extending from the lifting motor 116. On the other hand, the control box 122 is fixedly disposed on the lower side of one side of the vertical frame (112). The control box 122 electrically controls the electroless plating apparatus 100 for powders according to the present invention. Such a control box 122 is electrically connected to the lifting motor 116, the additive side in which the conventional pH sensor 124, the temperature sensor 126 and the injection hose 128 is exposed to the outside on the upper side Metering pump 130 is mounted. The pH sensor 124, the temperature sensor 126, and the dosing pump 130 for adding the additive are exposed to the outside of the control box 122 and electrically connected to the control box 122 like the lifting motor 116. The work table 140 is disposed in the main body 110 formed as described above.

The work bench 140 includes a work tank 142 disposed adjacent to one side of the control box 122. The working tank 142 has an open top and an empty rectangular enclosure shape. On the lower surface of the work tank 142, the electric heater 144 is arranged in a zigzag shape. At this time, the electric heater 144 is electrically connected to the control box 122 similarly to the lifting motor 116. On the other hand, the support bars 146a and 146b spaced at predetermined intervals are arranged in the open upper portion of the working tank 142. The support bars 146a and 146b are fixedly disposed between one inner side surface of the working tank 142 and the other inner side surface facing the one inner side surface. Preferably, the working tank 142 may be placed on the base 148 having a predetermined height. The plating tank 150 enters and exits the work tank 142 of the work table 140 formed as described above.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the plating tank shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the plating tank separated from FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2.

2 to 4, the plating tank 150 is provided with a plating tank 152 and a cover 166 that enter and exit the working tank 142. The plating bath 152 has a cylindrical shape that is empty inside so that the top is open and the plating liquid is filled. A convex surface 154 having a dome shape curved toward the upper side of the plating tank 152 is formed at the center of the lower surface of the plating tank 152, and a lower portion of the plating tank 152 is formed around the convex surface 154. A concave surface 156 that is curved to the side is formed while radially surrounding the convex surface 154. In this case, a plurality of discharge holes 158 are formed in the concave surface 156 so as to smoothly separate the fine powder material after the pretreatment or after the plating in the plating bath 152, and in the discharge hole 158 when electroless plating is performed. In order to prevent the fine powder from entering the discharge hole 158, the discharge ball stopper 160 made of a rubber material is fitted. In addition, on the circumferential surface adjacent to the upper portion of the plating tank 152, a plurality of clasp protrusions 162 protrude at equal intervals along the circumferential surface, and the plating tank 152 at the lower portion of the locking projection 162 to the working tank ( A plurality of handles 164a, 164b, which spans the support bars 146a, 146b formed in 142 so that the bottom of the plating bath 152 is spaced apart from the electric heater 144, on both radial sides of the plating bath 152 It is formed to extend to the outside. On the other hand, the cover 166 has a substantially conical shape to cover and define the upper portion of the plating bath 152. The cover 166 may be guided to the additive in the sensor injection hole 168 and the additive injection metering pump 130 so that the pH sensor 124 and the temperature sensor 126 may be inserted into the plating bath 152. Additive injection hole 170 through which the injection hose 128 is inserted so as to pass through the cover 166, respectively. The stirring motor 174 having the stirring shaft 172 extending downward of the cover 166 is disposed on the upper surface of the cover 166 in which the sensor injection hole 168 and the additive injection hole 170 are formed. At this time, the stirring motor 174 is wrapped by the motor housing 176, the motor housing 176 is connected by the lifting pulley 120 and the wire 178 formed on the lifting motor 116. Also, on the circumferential surface of the cover 166, a plurality of clasps 180 coupled to the clasp protrusions 162 may be mounted to fix the cover 166 to the plating bath 152. Preferably, the stirring shaft 172 is formed with a plurality of stirring blades 182 extending to the outside of the stirring shaft 172.

Hereinafter, a method of plating CBN (cubic boron nitride) powder using the electroless plating apparatus 100 for powders formed as described above will be briefly described.

First, the pre-treated CBN powder is introduced into the plating bath 152 under the condition that the pre-treatment process is performed on the CBN powder in a conventional manner. When the CBN powder subjected to the pretreatment process is introduced into the plating bath 152, the electroless nickel plating solution is added to a predetermined work order line. When the CBN powder and the plating solution are introduced into the plating bath 152, the cover 166 is placed on the plating bath 152, and the clasp 180 formed on the cover 166 is placed on the outer circumferential surface of the plating bath 152. The cover 166 is strongly fastened to the upper portion of the plating bath 152 by coupling to the clasp protrusion 162 formed at the upper surface of the plating tank 152.

When the cover 166 is mounted on the plating tank 152 as described above, the plating tank 150 is placed on the work table 140. At this time, the pH sensor 124 and the temperature sensor 126 are immersed in the plating liquid while the handles 164a and 164b formed in the plating bath 152 are placed over the support bars 146a and 146b formed in the working tank 142. It is inserted into the sensor injection hole 168 side, and similarly, the injection hose 128 is inserted into the additive injection hole 170 side. When the plating tank 150 is placed on the work table 140, the stirring motor 174 is operated. When the stirring motor 174 operates, the stirring shaft 172 rotates to stir the plating liquid. At this time, by operating the electric heater 144 disposed in the work tank 142 to raise the plating liquid to the work order temperature, and when the pH and temperature is the same level as the work order conditions, the reducing agent is put into the plating tank 150 Electroless nickel plating is performed. Since the amount of nickel deposited varies depending on the purpose of the powder to be plated, the amount of nickel deposited can be controlled by adjusting the input amount of the reducing agent. In addition, the plating operation is performed while supplying additional additives during the operation through the metering pump 130 for adding an additive with respect to the precipitation shape of the powder.

If the plating liquid is exhausted because the nickel ions are exhausted, the wire 178 is connected to the motor housing 176 while the stirring motor 174 is stopped, and the lifting motor 116 is rotated. In this case, the lifting motor 116 rotates the lifting shaft 118 and the wire 178 is wound around the lifting pulley 120 connected to the lifting shaft 118. When the wire 178 is wound around the lifting pulley 120 in this way, the plating tank 150 is separated from the working tank 142. When the plating tank 150 is separated from the working tank 142, the discharge hole stopper 160 is removed from a plating solution recovery tank (not shown) prepared in advance to separate the plating solution and the powder. At this time, in order to separate the plating liquid and powder, a conventional mesh (MESH) network (not shown) is used. The powder thus separated is washed with water, dried and shipped to the product.

 As described above, the electroless plating apparatus 100 for powders according to the present invention improves the shape of the plating tank 150 so that the powder to be plated can be sufficiently dispersed, thereby obtaining high quality metal plating powder. In addition, it is possible to minimize the loss of material through efficient separation of powder material after the pretreatment process and the plating process, thereby maximizing the overall productivity.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art can be variously modified and changed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims You will understand.

Claims (8)

A main body having a vertical frame vertically extending upward, a horizontal frame extending horizontally on one side of the extension part of the vertical frame, and a control box fixed to one side of the vertical frame; A work table having a work tank disposed adjacent to one side of the control box and having an electric heater disposed on the bottom surface thereof to be electrically connected to the control box; And A convex surface having an open shape and an inner shape having a hollow shape and a dome shape curved toward an upper side is formed at the center of the lower surface so that the inside and the inside of the working tank can be filled with the plating liquid. An electroless plating apparatus for powder, characterized in that it comprises a plating tank having a concave surface curved to the side and radially surrounding the convex surface, and a plating tank covering the plating tank. 2. The electroless plating apparatus for powder of claim 1, wherein a lift motor is fixedly disposed on an upper surface of the extension part of the horizontal frame, and a lift pulley is integrally mounted to the lift shaft extending from the lift motor. According to claim 2, On the upper surface of the cover is a stirring motor with a stirring shaft extending to the lower side of the cover is disposed, the stirring motor is wrapped by a motor housing, the motor housing is the lifting motor formed in the lifting motor Electroless plating apparatus for powder, characterized in that connected by the pulley and the wire. According to claim 2, wherein the control box is electrically connected to the lifting motor and the upper side of the conventional pH sensor, the temperature sensor is exposed to the outside while electrically connected to the control box, the pH sensor and the temperature sensor One side of the electroless plating apparatus for powder, characterized in that the injection hose is equipped with a metering pump for additive injection exposed to the outside is electrically connected to the control box. The method of claim 4, wherein the sensor injection hole and the additive injection hole is formed through the cover so that the pH sensor, the temperature sensor and the injection hose of the metering pump for the additive injection may be inserted into the plating bath. Electroless plating apparatus for powder. 2. The electroless plating apparatus for powder according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of discharge holes are formed on the concave surface of the plating bath, and discharge plugs made of rubber material are fitted in the discharge holes. According to claim 1, The open upper portion of the work tank is a support bar disposed between the inner side of one side and the other inner side of the working tank is spaced apart at a predetermined interval, the working tank is a predetermined height The electroless plating apparatus for powder, characterized in that the eggplant can be placed on top of the base. According to claim 7, On the circumferential surface adjacent to the upper portion of the plating tank a plurality of clasp protrusions are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential surface, The lower portion of the locking projection to the support bar formed in the working tank A plurality of handles are formed to extend, and a plurality of clasps coupled to the clasp protrusions are mounted on the circumferential surface of the cover to fix the cover to the plating bath.

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