JPH04348875A - Fine particle supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a particulate supply device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a particle supply device suitable for use in a powder beam etching apparatus for processing a workpiece by injecting particles in the form of a solid-gas two-phase flow.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Sandblasting, etc., which processes a workpiece by injecting a solid-gas two-phase flow containing fine particles onto the workpiece, is conventionally known. According to conventional sandblasting equipment, fine processing cannot be performed because the diameter of the fine particles is large. Therefore, a microfabrication device has been proposed that utilizes fine particles with a small particle size, mixes such fine particles with gas to form a solid-gas two-phase flow, and injects the flow from a nozzle at high speed.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] As the particle size of the fine particles mixed with gas and injected onto the workpiece becomes smaller,
It becomes difficult to stably inject fine particles. The first reason is that as the particle size becomes smaller, the fine particles aggregate into balls due to the moisture they contain, which may clog the nozzle injection port.
This is because it prevents smooth generation of jet flow. Therefore, when processing with fine particles, it is necessary to sufficiently remove water in advance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a supply device that supplies fine particles in a state in which moisture has been removed.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A first invention is provided with a particulate supply tank that stores therein particulates to be supplied, the supply tank is provided with heating means and stirring means, and the particulates are heated by the heating means. In addition, air is supplied into the supply tank and water is discharged from the exhaust hole.

[0006] In a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect, the fine particles from which moisture has been removed in the supply tank are supplied to a transparent mixing tank.

[0007]

According to the first invention, the fine particles introduced into the supply tank are heated by the heating means and stirred by the stirring means to remove moisture. By supplying air into the supply tank, moisture is discharged from the exhaust hole, making it possible to supply fine particles from which moisture has been removed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the fine particles from which water has been removed in this way are supplied to a transparent mixing tank, so that the condition inside the mixing tank can be easily checked from the outside.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows the entire system of a powder beam etching apparatus equipped with a particle supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and this system is equipped with a compressor 10 as a source of air pressure. The compressor 10 is connected to a pressure tank 11, and the outlet side of the pressure tank 11 is connected to an air dryer 12, and a microelecer 13 and a filter 14 are connected to the downstream side of the air dryer 12.

A powder supply tank 17 is connected to the downstream side of the filter 14. Tank 17 is powder valve 1
Powder is supplied to the cyclone 19 through the cyclone 8. Further, the moisture outlet 40 of this tank 17 and the cyclone 19 are connected to an exhaust pipe 20. exhaust pipe 20
An exhaust fan 21 is connected to the tip of the exhaust fan 21, and a scrubber 22 is further connected to the exhaust fan 21.

A storage chamber 24 is provided below the cyclone 19, and the storage chamber 24 stores powder separated from air. A screw conveyor 25 is attached to the lower side of the storage chamber 24, and the powder is supplied to a mixing tank 26 by the screw conveyor 25. The powder in the mixing tank 26 is supplied to a processing chamber 27. Then, a nozzle 28 disposed in the processing chamber 27
9, a solid gas two-phase flow of powder and air is injected.

Next, the structure of the powder supply tank 17 will be explained. A band heater 32 is attached to the outer periphery of the body of the powder supply tank 17. Also this tank 17
A motor 33 is disposed above the tank 17 to rotate a stirring arm 34 inside the tank 17. Further, an atmosphere inlet 35 is provided in the upper part of the tank 17, and a valve body 36 is attached thereto. The valve body 36 is opened and closed by an electromagnetic actuator 37.

A moisture outlet 40 is provided at the top of the powder supply tank 17. The moisture outlet 40 is connected to an exhaust valve 41, and this exhaust valve 41 has a small hole 4.
2 is provided. Further, an air pipe 44 having an air heater 43 is connected to the side of the tank 17, and air heated by the heater 43 is introduced into the tank 17 through a filter 45.

An auxiliary air pipe 46 is connected to the lower opening of the tank 17. Also tank 17
A powder supply port 47 is provided at the center of the lower part. An ejector 48 is connected to the tip of the supply port 47. The powder valve 18 is connected to the downstream side of the ejector 48.

Next, the operation of the powder supply device having the above structure will be explained. When you turn on the device,
The band heater 32 of the supply tank 17 shown in FIG. 1 is energized to heat the powder in the tank 17. Further, when the power is turned on, the motor 33 rotates and rotates the arm 34. The arm 34 stirs the powder in the tank 17.

On the other hand, the air pressurized by the compressor 10 is supplied to the tank 17 through an air pipe 44 through a micro alessor 13 and a filter 14. This air will be heated by the air heater 43. That is, a small amount of warm air heated by the air heater 43 is blown into the tank 17. By the rotation of the stirring arm 34 and the blowing up of the air heated by the air heater 43, moisture contained in the powder is separated and discharged from the small hole 42 of the exhaust valve 41 through the moisture discharge port 40. Ru. At this time, a small amount of powder is also discharged through the small holes 42, but this powder is sucked into the exhaust pipe 20 and collected by the exhaust fan 21.

A sensor 53 provided at the bottom of the mixing tank 26 shown in FIG. 2 detects the amount of particulates in the mixing tank 26. When the amount of fine particles is insufficient, the fine particles are supplied from the mixing tank 17. At the time of supply, the supply of hot air by the air heater 43 is stopped. The small hole 42 is then closed by the exhaust valve 41, the valve body 36 is lowered by the electromagnetic actuator 37 as shown by the chain line, and the atmosphere inlet 35 is opened.

After that, the powder valve 18 is opened, and after waiting for a predetermined time, for example, 1 second, so that no pressure is applied in the powder supply tank 17, pressurized air is supplied to the ejector nozzle 48 to remove the powder. The powder is sucked from the powder supply port 47 connected to the lower part of the body supply tank 17. This powder is removed by the cyclone 1 using the air flow from the exhaust fan 21.
Sent to 9th. The air and the powder are separated from each other by the cyclone 19, and the powder is supplied to the storage chamber 24.

The powder stored in the storage chamber 24 is transferred to the motor 50.
The powder is supplied to a powder supply tank 26 by a screw conveyor 25 driven by. The powder in the mixing tank 26 is stirred by a motor 51 via an arm 52.

The powder in the mixing tank 26 is transferred to the tank 2.
6 and is guided to the processing chamber 27, where it is injected onto the workpiece 29 by the nozzle 28 as a solid-gas two-phase flow with air. As a result, various types of processing such as etching processing and deposition processing are performed on the workpiece 29.

The powder scattered inside the nozzle 28, in the chamber containing the workpiece 29, and in the processing chamber 27 is collected again into the cyclone 19 by the powder return pipe 54, where the powder and air are separated. At the same time, the air is guided to the exhaust fan 21 side through the exhaust pipe 20.

As described above, in the particulate supply device according to this embodiment, the supply tank 17 for supplying powder is provided in the mixing tank 26, and the powder is dehumidified by controlling the band heater 32. Powder of stable quality is sent to the mixing tank 26 by using the suction force of the nozzle 48 and the exhaust fan 21.

In particular, since the powder is stirred by the stirring arm 34 and water is removed by direct heating by the band heater 32 and hot air heated by the air heater 43, almost completely water is removed from the powder. is removed and the powder is prevented from agglomerating into lumps. Furthermore, the suction force of the ejector nozzle 48 allows powder to be supplied manually or automatically.

In particular, in the apparatus of this embodiment, when the amount of powder in the mixing tank 26 decreases, this is detected by the sensor 53, and the powder is intermittently supplied by sequence control. Therefore, according to such a powder supply method, it is possible to process a wide area within the processing chamber 27 and to perform continuous spraying for a long time.

Moreover, the mixing tank 26 to which the powder is supplied from the supply tank 17 is made of transparent acrylic resin, so that the state of the powder can be visually observed from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to debug the apparatus while observing the movement of the powder in the mixing tank 26. Additionally, if the powder exhibits abnormal behavior, it can be confirmed at a glance. In other words, air leaks, valve failures, etc. can be confirmed with certainty.

By making not only the mixing tank 26 but also the tube through which the powder passes transparent,
Debugging becomes even easier. Furthermore, by making the cyclone 19 transparent, the state of separation of air and powder can be visually observed from the outside.

[0027]

According to the first invention, the fine particles stored in the supply tank are heated by the heating means and stirred by the stirring means, and air is supplied into the supply tank and moisture is discharged from the exhaust hole. It was designed to do so.

[0028] It is therefore possible to remove moisture from the fine particles introduced into the supply tank, thereby preventing the fine particles from agglomerating into lumps.

In the second invention, the fine particles from which water has been removed in the supply tank are supplied to a transparent mixing tank. Therefore, it becomes possible to confirm the behavior of the fine particles in the mixing tank by visual observation from the outside.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of a particulate supply tank.

FIG. 2 is a piping diagram showing the overall structure of the powder beam etching apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Compressor 11 Pressure tank 12 Air dryer 13 Micro Alessa 14 Filter 17 Powder supply tank 18 Powder valve 19 Cyclone 20 Exhaust pipe 21　Exhaust fan 22 Scrubber 24 Storage chamber 25 Screw conveyor 26 Mixing tank 27 Processing room 28 Nozzle 29 Workpiece 32 Band heater 33 Motor 34 Stirring arm 35 Atmosphere inlet 36 Valve body 37 Electromagnetic actuator 40 Moisture outlet 41 Exhaust valve 42 Small hole 43 Air heater 44 Air piping 45 Filter 46 Auxiliary air piping 47 Powder supply port 48 Ejector 50, 51 Motor 52 Stirring arm 53 Sensor 54 Powder return pipe

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A particulate supply tank that stores particulates to be supplied therein, a heating means and a stirring means provided in the supply tank, the particulates being heated by the heating part and stirred by the stirring part; A particulate supply device characterized in that air is supplied into the supply tank and moisture is discharged from an exhaust hole. 2. A particulate supply device characterized in that the particulates from which water has been removed in the supply tank are supplied to a transparent mixing tank.