JPS63199900A - Electroplating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformly distribute METSUKE (unit) weight of a metal deposited on a material to be plated, by connecting tubular guides to a dummy anode part formed at the upper part of an anode and by feeding metal particles through the guides by pushing means under control. CONSTITUTION:A dummy anode part G through which metal ions for plating can not pass is formed on the effective anode part H of an anode and tubular guides 8 are extended from both ends of the part G. Plungers 9 are moved back and forth in the guides 8. After the plungers 9 are moved back to the rear limits, metal particles 5 are cut out from cutout feeders 24 to the guides 8 through feed pipes 7 by instructions from control mechanisms 23. The plungers 9 are then moved forth to push the particles 9 in the anode part G. When the plungers 9 can be moved forth to the front limits, the anode part G is not perfectly filled, so the plungers 9 are moved back again so as to push the particles 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an electroplating apparatus in which a soluble anode is made compact and metal particles for plating can be automatically replenished into the soluble anode.

<Prior art and its problems> Conventionally, the method of electroplating is to use the plating metal as an anode and the material to be plated as a cathode, and to apply electricity in an electrolytic solution to electrochemically dissolve the anode. There is a method of plating the material to be plated while replenishing plating metal ions inside. The anode used in such a plating method is generally called a soluble anode.

As a soluble anode, there are methods that use plating metal processed into an ingot or plate shape, and methods that use plating metal particles (
There is a method in which metal particles (hereinafter collectively referred to as metal particles) are filled in an anode basket, although they have various shapes such as granules and chips.

The present invention relates to a plating device that uses a method of supplying metal particles for plating into an anode basket, and as an example of a conventional plating technique related to this, a case where a copper strip is plated by a radial type plating device will be described. , 4th
．． This will be explained using Figure 5.

In FIG. 4, a steel strip 1 is connected to an energizing roll (cathode) 2,
It is wound around a turn roll 3 and conveyed in the direction shown in the figure.

A pair of anodes 40, 40° having substantially the same width as the turn roll 3 are arranged slightly apart from and facing each other from the outer peripheral surface of the lower half of the turn roll 3.
is provided, and the anode 40° to 40° is immersed in a plating solution 17 stored in a tank (plating tank) 6. The plating solution 17 is circulated between the tank 6 and a plating solution circulation tank via a pump (both not shown).

Since the anodes 40 and 40° have exactly the same structure, only the anode 40 will be described below. The anode 40 is formed by filling an anode basket 41 with metal grains 5 for plating, and the anode basket 41 is made of a porous member 4 that is plated on the entire surface (inside) of the opposite side (inside) of the turn roll 3 and allows passage of metal ions.
1a, the entire outer surface of the basket is formed of a flat frame member 41b through which metal ions cannot pass, and an anode terminal 18 is disposed at the upper end of the basket.

Then, plating metal particles 5 are supplied into the basket 41 from two pipes 1, 9 and 19 (see FIG. 5) disposed at the upper end (open end) of the anode basket 41, and the metal particles 5 is dissolved into the plating solution 17 through the many pores of the porous member 41a, thereby replenishing metal ions.

When the plating metal particles 5 are supplied from above the two locations in the width direction of the anode basket 41 through the pipes 19 and 19, the deposition distribution of the plating metal particles 5 in the width direction in the metal basket 41 is as follows. This results in an M-type deposition distribution Ml as shown by the solid line in the figure.

Here, Ll is the liquid level of the plating solution 17, the plate width of the steel strip 1 is dl, and the widths of the parts of the plating metal grains 5 that correspond to this width d1 coming out from the plating liquid level L1 are d2 and d4.
, and if the width of the part below the plating liquid level Ll is d3,
Since the plating time in the width direction of the steel strip 1 conveyed by the turn roll 3 is shorter for the width 63 parts than for the width d2.64 parts, the coating weight for the width 63 parts is equal to the width d2. It will be less than that of part d4.

Therefore, in order to make the plating time uniform in the width direction of the steel strip 1, it is necessary to apply plating metal particles to the portion of the anode basket 41 that faces the steel strip 1, that is, to the portion of the steel strip 1 that faces the full width of the steel strip 1. 5 must be supplied from the plating liquid level L1 until it is exposed. That is, it is necessary to supply the metal particles 5 for plating to a level equal to or higher than the deposition distribution M2 shown by the dashed line in FIG. The reason why it is necessary to supply more than the deposition distribution M2 is to store the amount to automatically replenish the cleaning metal particles 5 that are consumed by plating.

In order to satisfy the deposition distribution M2 in this way, the upper end of the deposition distribution of the plating metal particles 5 must be at a height h from the plating liquid level L1.
t is considerably high, and the anode basket becomes bulky accordingly, making the equipment larger.

Furthermore, if the height of the part of the anode basket that protrudes from the plating liquid level 1 becomes as high as ht, the installation position of the energizing roll will naturally become correspondingly higher.

This increases the length of current flowing through the copper strip 1 during plating, causing problems such as power loss and heat generation due to an increase in the electrical resistance of the copper strip. Furthermore, since it is not possible to replenish the metal grains accurately through the pipe 19 to achieve the metal grain deposition distribution M2, the deposition distribution M1 may be reached, and the basis weight in the copper strip width direction is It was difficult to make the amount distribution uniform.

In order to continuously process plates of various widths as materials to be plated, the consumption amount of metal particles in the anode inner width direction is calculated moment by moment, and the accumulation distribution of metal particles in the anode inner width direction is predicted. This is because it is extremely difficult to control the amount of metal particles supplied to make the deposition distribution M2. Moreover, it is difficult to detect the deposition distribution as a result of supplying metal particles.

That is, when plating a copper strip continuously, it is difficult to automatically supply metal particles and control the deposition distribution to M2.

For this reason, the weight distribution in the width direction of the material to be plated (steel strip) cannot be made uniform.

(1) In the conventional technology, if an attempt is made to make the basis weight distribution uniform, the anode becomes larger and the equipment cost increases.

(2) When attempts are made to uniformize the basis weight distribution using the conventional technology, the plating quality deteriorates due to plating power loss and increased heat generation within the copper strip.

(3) Even if conventional techniques were used to continuously plate copper strips, it was difficult to automatically control the supply of metal particles to the anode and the deposition distribution of metal particles within the anode, and the No measures are taken to equalize the distribution.

<Object of the invention> The present invention was made to solve the above problems,
Provides a plating device that can automatically supply metal particles for plating, which can make the anode basket compact, and can easily stabilize the plating time in the width direction of the plated material, thereby making the plating area weight uniform. The purpose is to

<Structure of the Invention> According to the present invention, there is provided an electroplating apparatus that performs plating between an anode filled with metal particles for plating and a material to be plated, wherein the upper end of the anode is configured to allow passage of metal ions for plating. In addition to providing a dummy anode portion that does not permit plating, a cylindrical guide having a plating metal grain supply means is provided in communication with at least one end of the dummy anode portion, and plating metal grains supplied from the plating metal grain supply means are provided. , a pushing means is provided to supply the dummy anode part through the cylindrical guide, and when the dummy anode part lacks plating metal particles, the plating metal particles supplied from the plating metal particle supply means are provided. is supplied to the dummy anode part by the pushing means, and when the dummy anode part is filled with metal particles for plating, the supply of the metal particles for plating to the dummy anode part by the pushing means is stopped. An electroplating apparatus is provided, characterized in that it includes a control device for controlling the electroplating apparatus.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a copper strip (material to be plated) 1 is wound around a current-carrying roll (cathode) 2 and a turn roll 3, and is conveyed in six directions in the figures.

A pair of anodes 4.4°, which have approximately the same width as the roll 3, are arranged slightly apart from and facing each other from the outer peripheral surface of the substantially lower half of the turn roll 3, and these anodes 4.4° are connected to the tank ( Plating N
It is immersed in a plating solution 17 stored in a tank 6.

The plating solution 17 is circulated between the tank 6 and a plating solution circulation tank via a pump (both not shown).

Here, the anode 4.4° has exactly the same structure, so the anode 4.
I will only explain about.

The anode 4 is formed by filling an anode basket 4d with metal particles 5 for plating. As shown in Figure 1.2, this anode basket 4d has a flat outer surface made of a frame member 4b made of an insulating material, and the inner surface, that is, the surface facing the copper strip 1, is designed to allow passage of plating metal ions. It is integrally formed with an effective anode portion H formed of a porous member 4a and a frame member 4b located above the effective anode portion H and having insulation properties, and is made impermeable to the passage of plating metal ions. It also constitutes a dummy anode section G. These porous member 4a and frame member 4b are bolted together with bolts not shown.

At both ends of the dummy anode section G, a plating metal particle feeding device 20 is provided which supplies the plating metal particles 5 into the anode basket 4.
, 20 are arranged in series. This metal grain feeding device 20.20 for scalping is constructed as follows.

That is, cylindrical guides 8 are provided at both ends of the dummy anode section G.
．． 8 is extended, and a plunger (pushing means) 9.9 can be inserted into the guide 8.9 so as to be movable forward and backward. The plunger 9.9 has a bracket 10.
10 is installed and is connected via a pin 11.11 to a clevis 12.12 of a cylinder 13.13 which provides reciprocating movement to the plunger 9.9. The cylinder 13°13 is attached to a bracket 15. fixed to the bridge 16.16.
15 via an axle 14.14.

At a predetermined location in the middle of the guide 8.8, metal grains 5 for plating are placed.
Supply piping 7 of metal particle supply means for plating for supplying
, 7, and the plating metal particles 5 are connected to the guide 8 at the position where the plunger 9.9 is retracted.
, 8, and these metal particles 5 for plating are pushed into the dummy anode part G by advancing the plungers 9, 9.

The metal grain supply means for plating includes a hopper 21 for storing metal grains 5 for plating, a metal grain cutter 24 communicating with the hopper 21, and a supply pipe that guides the metal grains 5 from the metal grain cutter 24 to the guide 8. 7, a detector 26 for detecting the shortage or sufficiency of the metal grains 5 for plating in the dummy anode section G, and a control mechanism 23 for operating the metal grain cutting device 24 based on the detection signal of the detector 26. Ru.

The plating metal particles 5 in the hopper 21 are supplied to the supply lower a through the supply pipe 7 by opening and closing the metal particle cutting device 24 according to commands from the control device 23.

Any method may be used to detect the shortage or sufficiency of the plating metal particles 5 in the dummy anode portion G, and electrical means using a phototube or the like may be used, but the push-in limit of the plunger 9 described below may be used. Mechanical methods of detecting are preferred.

The pushing limit means a state in which the plunger 9 has reached a fully extended position, and the plungers 9.9 on both sides inserted into the cylindrical guides 8.8 at both ends of the dummy anode part G have fully extended. It's the location.

When detecting the pushing limit of the plunger 9, the movement of the plunger 9 is set by a timer or the like (not shown) so that it repeats reciprocating motion at predetermined time intervals.

Also, a detector 2 detects the limit of pushing of the plunger 9.
6 is provided at an appropriate position near the metal particle feeding device 20 for glittering. The detector 26 is electrically connected to the metal particle cutting device 24 via the control mechanism 23 . The control mechanism 23 turns the metal particle cutting device 24 ON-OFF based on the pushing limit detection signal of the plunger 9 of the detector 26.

The detector 26 may be of any type as long as it can detect the position of the plunger. Cylinder 13 of plunger 9
The position of the piston may be electrically detected by a proximity switch, or the movement of the plunger 9 itself may be detected by a mechanical limit.

Although the dummy anode section G is integrally formed with the frame member 4b, the present invention is not limited to this, and any member that does not allow metal ions to pass through may be separately manufactured and combined.

Power is supplied to the anode 4 through an anode terminal 18 installed on the frame member 4b.
．． It starts from 18.

Function> The function of the plating metal particle feeding device 20 having the structure of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3a shows a state in which, as a result of continuous plating, the plating metal grains 5 in the central part of the anode ridge are melted and the distribution thereof becomes concave. If the plunger 9 is pushed in in this state, the plunger 9 can be pushed to its pushing limit as shown in FIG. 3b. A detector 26 such as a position sensor determines whether or not the plunger 9 is at its pushing limit.

That is, when the detector 26 detects that the plunger 9 has been pushed to the pushing limit in the state shown in FIG. 3b, the plunger 9 moves to the retracting limit, as shown in FIG. 3c, and then,
A command is sent from the control mechanism 23 to the plating metal particle cutting device 24 shown in FIG. Metal grains are supplied to 8.

When the supply of metal grains to the guide 8 is completed, the plunger 9 pushes the metal grains 5 into the dummy anode part G as shown in FIG. 3d. As a result, the portion J shown in FIG. 3d is filled with metal particles. At this time, if the plunger 9 can be pushed to the pushing limit, the filling of the dummy anode part G is incomplete, and the plunger 9 is moved back again (the state shown in FIG. 3c) and the procedure described in At , the metal grains 5 are replenished. These Figure 3C → Figure 3d → Figure 3c → Figure 3d
The series of operations shown in the figure indicates the pushing limit of the plunger 9 by the detector 2.
This is done by detecting at step 6.

If the above-mentioned replenishment operation of metal particles is continued, the state shown in FIG. 3e will occur, and from this point on, it will be impossible to push the plunger 9 to its pushing limit, and the detector 26 will be turned off. After a certain period of time, the plunger 9 returns to the state shown in FIG. 3a, but the detector 26 remains OFF and the metal particle replenishment operation stops.

These operations are automatically stopped because the pushing limit of the plunger 9 is automatically detected every time the plunger 9 reciprocates.

After a while after the supply of metal grains stops, plating progresses,
The plating metal particles 5 serving as the anode are consumed, and the metal particles are again distributed as shown in 3a. The pushing timing of the plunger 9 is set at time intervals using a timer or the like, so if the plunger 9 is pushed in but does not reach the pushing limit, push the plunger 9 again after a predetermined timer set time to check whether the pushing limit is reached or not. In other words, it is determined whether or not it should be replenished.

When the plunger 9 can be pushed to the pushing limit, the state shown in FIG. 3b is reached again, the detector 26 is turned on, and the metal grains 5 are cut out by the metal grain cutting device 24 at the plunger 9 position shown in FIG. 3c. .

That is, with the following operation F, the effective anode portion H of the apparatus of the present invention is always filled with metal grains for plating.
The plating time in the width direction of the material to be plated (steel strip 1) becomes uniform, and therefore the distribution of the basis weight in the direction of the plate 1 can also be made uniform.

Another advantage of the present invention is that since the metal particles 5 are supplied by pushing the plunger 9, the dimensions of the anode (dummy anode part G) can be significantly shortened compared to the conventional one, so that the position of the energizing roll 2 shown in FIG. can be placed close to the anode, significantly reducing the anode equipment cost as well as the plating power cost.

Furthermore, since heat generation within the copper strip is significantly reduced, plating quality can be fully guaranteed.

The replenishment of metal grains is automatically controlled in a simple sequence, and the metal grains can be reliably filled, making automatic replenishment of metal grains possible, which was impossible with the prior art.

The embodiment described above shows the case where the metal particle feeding device 20 using the plunger 9 etc. is provided at both ends of the dummy anode section G, but even when the metal particle feeding device 20 is provided at one end of the dummy anode section G, the surface It goes without saying that this function can be achieved.

<Effects of the Invention> The plating apparatus of the present invention has the following effects by automating the plating metal particle supply device.

1. It is possible to achieve uniformity of the basis weight 14 distribution in the width direction of the covering material (copper strip).

2. Plating power cost can be reduced.

3. Heat generation inside the plated material (steel strip) can be suppressed, improving the quality of plated products.

4. The cost of anode equipment can be reduced.

5. Automatic replenishment of metal particles can be achieved in a simple sequence, reducing power and instrumentation costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a plating apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-n in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3a, 3b, and 3c. , Figures 3d and 3e
The figure is a diagram illustrating the invention in detail. FIG. 4 is a partially sectional side view showing a conventional example. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the plating time of a steel strip to be plated, the plating liquid level, and the deposition status of plating metal particles in a conventional example. Explanation of symbols 1... material to be plated (copper strip), 2-- energizing roll, 3-
...Turn loan, 4.4', 40.40' -...Anode, 4a, 41a
... Porous member, 4b, 41b - single member, 4d, 41 - one anode basket, 5... Gold delivery grain for plating, 6... Plating tank (tank), 7... Supply piping, 8・
...Cylindrical guide, 9...Plunger (pushing means), 10.15...Bracket, 11-・Pin, 12-・
・Clevis, 13-...Cylinder 14...Shaft, 16-
...Frame, 17--Plating solution, 18--Anode terminal, 1
9--Pipe, 21--Hopper, 23--Control mechanism, 24--Metal particle cutting device, 26--Detector, 31--Motor, 32--Screw shaft, 32a,
32b--screw tooth, 20.30--metal particle feeding device, G... dummy anode section, H... effective anode section, J... section

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An electroplating device that performs plating between an anode filled with metal particles for plating and a material to be plated, in which a dummy anode portion that does not allow passage of metal ions for plating is provided at the upper end of the anode, and A cylindrical guide having a plating metal particle supply means is disposed in communication with at least one end of the dummy anode part, and the plating metal particles supplied from the plating metal particle supply means are passed through the cylindrical guide to the plating metal particles. A pushing means is provided to supply the dummy anode part, and when the dummy anode part is short of plating metal particles,
The plating metal grains supplied from the plating metal grain supply means are supplied to the dummy anode part by the pushing means, and when the dummy anode part is full of plating metal grains, the plating metal grains are supplied by the pushing means. An electroplating apparatus comprising a control device for controlling the supply of metal particles for plating to an anode section.