JPH11298111A - Surface processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the adjustment of immersion time, based on the restriction between carriers and the change of cycle time, by providing a surface processor with carriers equipped with ascending/descending arms traveling along a chemical processing container, on both sides of the processing container. SOLUTION: The matter 9 to be processed such as a substrate for a printed wiring or the like is set to a carrier bar 8, with load. This carrier bar 8 is held up with the ascending/descending arm 3 or 6 of the carrier, and is carried onto each processing container 7, according to treating process, and is immersed in the liquid by the descent of the ascending/descending arm. The carrier bar 8 where this matter 9 to be processed is set is let alone according to the soaking time, meanwhile the carrier 1 or 4 carries other carrier bar 8, and proceeds with plural treating processes, and removes the matter to be processed with unload. The shifting distance (height) of the ascent/descent of the ascending/ descending arm is taken enough so that one carrier may shift face to face with the other carrier even if one hand between one carrier and the other carrier is carrying the matter 9 to be processed. Both carriers 1 and 4 shift freely on traveling rails.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrier transport type surface treatment apparatus which is excellent in the quality and productivity of articles to be processed such as printed wiring boards or printed wiring boards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, surface treatment lines for automatically treating the surface of a printed wiring board or a printed wiring board by immersing in a plurality of chemicals include carrier transport type, pusher type, elevator type, horizontal conveyor transport. And a vertical conveyor transport type. Among them, the carrier transport type has made it possible to freely set each processing step and each immersion time according to the individual workpiece with the development of the sequence control device in recent years, and the specifications of various processing quality It can be processed in one line, and has been used in many surface treatment apparatuses such as a plating apparatus.

[0003] A conventional carrier transport type surface treatment apparatus includes:
As shown in FIG. 3, a traveling route of the carrier 21 provided with the lifting arm 23 on one traveling rail 22 was laid along the line of the processing tank, and a plurality of carriers 21 were arranged on the traveling route. However, in this transport system, generally, two carriers are close to adjacent processing tanks, and it is physically difficult to work simultaneously in terms of the size of the carriers. In addition, the operating range of the carriers is fixed, the products need to be delivered between the carriers, and a space that is irrelevant to a series of processing steps called a relay tank 10 is required. The transfer operation of the object to be processed between the carriers by the relay tank 10 restricts the operation of each carrier, and the more the number of processing steps is increased, and the shorter the cycle time of the carriers is to increase the production amount. Well,
The control of each carrier is complicated, which makes it difficult to design a sequence program, has a high productivity, and makes it difficult to perform the processing with an optimum processing step and an optimum immersion time. Further, the relay tank hinders downsizing of the line, and the object to be processed waiting in the relay tank may be contaminated with the chemical solution of the object to be processed being transported.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention makes it possible to easily adjust the immersion time of each processing tank and change the cycle time due to restrictions between carriers, which could not be solved by the conventional carrier transport type surface treatment apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier-conveying surface treatment apparatus capable of suppressing variations in the quality of a processed material and improving productivity.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a surface treatment apparatus having a carrier provided with a lifting arm for carrying a printed wiring board or a printed wiring board to be processed and immersing it in a plurality of chemical processing tanks. It is a surface treatment apparatus characterized in that a carrier traveling along the chemical treatment tank is provided on both sides of the chemical treatment tank, and the carrier is moved up and down under the lifting arm of one carrier. This is a surface treatment device having a mechanism in which an arm passes face to face.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to only the embodiments. 1 and 2 are a front view and a top view, which are conceptual diagrams of a carrier-conveying type surface treatment apparatus which is a feature of the present invention. Along the both sides (left and right) of each processing tank 7, one has a carrier 1 provided with an elevating arm 3 moving and traveling on the traveling rail 2, and the other has an elevating arm 6 traveling and traveling on the traveling rail 5. The equipped carrier 4 is installed.

An object 9 such as a printed wiring board or a printed wiring board is set on a carrier bar 8 by a load 11. The carrier bar 8 is lifted by the lifting arm 3 or 6 of the carrier, transported onto each processing tank 7 according to the processing steps, and immersed by the lowering of the lifting arm. The carrier bar 8 on which the object 9 is set,
The carrier 1 or 4 is transported by another carrier bar 8 during the immersion time, during which a plurality of processing steps are performed, and the workpiece is removed by the unload 12.

Here, one carrier and the other carrier are provided with a lifting arm so that one carrier can move face-to-face with the other carrier even if one of them is carrying the object 9 to be processed. A sufficient vertical movement distance (height) is provided, and a space for avoiding collision is provided. This space may be provided above or below. As a result, one carrier 1 and the other carrier 4 can move freely on each traveling rail without being bound by other carriers, and a plurality of carriers can handle each processing tank. Therefore, there is no need to provide a relay tank, and since the distance between carriers can be made as close as possible,
Adjustment of the immersion time in each processing step is easy, and processing with high efficiency and high productivity is possible.

[0009] The carrier may be of the tank side cantilever type shown in Fig. 1 or may be of the type suspended from the ceiling, and the number of traveling rails is not limited to two. Two or three running rails are good. Further, it is preferable that only one carrier be installed on one traveling rail, but a plurality of traveling rails may be provided as in the related art. One more carrier on one side
If it is necessary, a carrier may be provided further outside the installed traveling rail or directly above the processing tank, and a carrier capable of further increasing the vertical movement height of the vertical arm. When the carrier is provided on the processing tank, the means for elevating and lowering the object to be processed is preferably a ceiling-hanging type.

The surface treatment apparatus of the present invention can be used for other surface treatments such as plating, desmearing, and blackening. Examples of the treatment tank to be used include a tank for washing treatment, a tank for drying treatment and the like in addition to a tank for a chemical solution such as an acid and an alkali. Further, in the present invention, a printed wiring board or a printed wiring board is used as an object to be processed, but electronic parts such as semiconductor chips, engines, and mechanical parts such as screws are also used.
It can be applied to the field of plating of general decorative parts such as pots, door knobs and bumpers.

Specific examples include electrolytic solder plating and electroless solder plating of a printed wiring board, as described below. Each processing tank has a processing tank. Process as electrolytic solder plating: loading → degreasing → rinsing → rinsing → soft etching → rinsing → rinsing → pickling → rinsing → rinsing → activating → electrolytic solder plating → rinsing → rinsing → neutralization → rinsing → rinsing → rinsing with hot water → Drying → Unloading Process as electroless solder plating process: Load → Conditioner → Hot water washing → Water washing → Water washing → Soft etching → Water washing →
Rinsing → pickling → rinsing → rinsing → pre-dip → catalyst → rinsing → rinsing → accelerator → rinsing → rinsing → electroless solder plating → rinsing → rinsing → unload

[0012]

According to the present invention, in a surface treatment having a plurality of immersion treatment steps, each carrier is not restricted by the movement of another carrier, and there is no need to provide a relay tank. Because there is no restriction, the immersion time of each processing step and the cycle time of the carrier can be set more freely, and optimal and efficient immersion processing can be performed for the workpiece, and the quality of the workpiece is stabilized. Since a processing apparatus excellent in productivity and productivity can be obtained, it is suitable as an industrial carrier transport type surface processing apparatus such as a plating apparatus for a printed wiring board or a printed wiring board.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a carrier transport type surface treatment apparatus which is a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a carrier transport type surface treatment apparatus which is a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a conventional carrier type surface treatment apparatus.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A surface treatment apparatus having a carrier provided with an elevating arm for carrying a substrate for printed wiring or a printed wiring board and immersing the substrate in a plurality of chemical treatment tanks, A carrier which runs along a vehicle is provided on both sides of a chemical solution treatment tank. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the lower part of the lifting arm of one carrier is
2. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lifting / lowering arm of the other carrier is a mechanism that passes through the facing surface.