JPH0234985A - Method of controlling circuit lithography machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a lithography while discharging a thick film paste at a necessary time by starting, stopping the discharge of the paste while synchronizing with the movement of a nozzle corresponding to the type of the paste and the variation in a lithography speed. CONSTITUTION:A nozzle 10 for discharging thick film paste 9 and a sensor 13 disposed at a predetermined distance forwardly of a relatively moving direction of the nozzle can be accurately moved on a lithography trace designated with NC data. Further, even if the nozzle 10 and the sensor 13 are altered at the positions in the structure of a thick film circuit lithography apparatus, it can be coped with variation in the number of shifts at each operation unit. Further, in a thick film paste discharge control operation and a X-Y table moving control operation, it can be coped with the variation in a discharging timing in response to the variation in the type of the paste and the moving speed of the table 12. Thus, the paste on a desired lithography trace can be accurately provided on the basis of the NC data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of controlling a circuit drawing machine for drawing a circuit forming material at a plurality of locations on a circuit board using a drawing machine having a nozzle.

Conventional technology In recent years, thick film circuit drawing equipment has developed completely non-contact technology that maintains the gap between the nozzle and the substrate without using contact pieces or paste back pressure, in order to respond to the increasing density and multifunctionality of thick film circuits. The method has been given importance. Hereinafter, a conventional thick film circuit drawing apparatus as described above will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a conventional thick film circuit drawing apparatus. In Figure 6, 1 is a thick film paste, 2 is a nozzle that discharges the thick film paste, 3 is a substrate, 4 is an X-Y table that holds and moves the substrate 3, and 5 is a height of the substrate surface. A sensor for distance measurement, 6 a sensor information line, 10 a height information line of the substrate surface directly below the nozzle, 11 a nozzle drive control unit that controls the vertical movement of the nozzle, 12 a nozzle drive control information line, 13 a nozzle a nozzle drive unit that moves the nozzle up and down based on information sent through the drive control information line;
is a fixing part for fixing the sensor and nozzle drive part, 1
5 is a microcomputer, and 16 is a memory.

The operation of the thick film circuit drawing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

First, the substrate 3 is moved under the sensor 5 by the moving table 4. Next, the sensor 5 detects an arbitrary point on the substrate surface.
Measure the height of a point. The measured sensor information is stored in the memory 16 by the microcomputer 15 through the sensor information line 6. Further, by repeating the above operations while moving the substrate 3 using the moving table 4, the height information of the entire substrate surface is stored in the memory 16 as two-dimensional information. Next, the substrate 3 is moved under the nozzle 2 by the moving table 4. Then, the current height of the surface of the substrate 3 directly below the nozzle 2 is calculated by the microcomputer 15 using two-dimensional information stored in advance in the memory 16. The calculated height information of the surface of the substrate 3 directly below the nozzle 2 is sent to the nozzle drive control section 11 through the height information line 10. Nozzle drive control section 1
1 generates nozzle drive control information to keep the gap between the tip of the nozzle 2 and the substrate surface constant based on the sent height information. The nozzle drive control information is then sent to the nozzle drive section 13 through the nozzle drive control information line 12, thereby moving the nozzle 2 up and down. Simultaneously with the above vertical movement of the nozzle, the substrate 3 is moved by the moving table and the thick film paste 1 is discharged from the tip of the nozzle 2 to draw a thick film circuit on the surface of the substrate.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the above configuration requires time to measure the height of the entire substrate surface in advance, which reduces the manufacturing speed of thick film circuits. Furthermore, there is a limit to the accuracy of the height information on the substrate surface directly below the nozzle due to the manufacturing speed and the limit on the number of height measurement points on the substrate surface due to the capacity of the memory in which sensor information is stored. In addition, it is necessary to process the two-dimensional information stored in the memory and calculate the height information of the substrate surface directly under the nozzle.
When overlapping drawing is performed on a thick film that has already been drawn, it is necessary to measure the height of that part again, which has the problem of complicating the manufacturing process.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a thick film circuit drawing apparatus that can measure the height of the substrate surface and move the nozzle up and down in real time and with high accuracy using a simple configuration and processing.
The present invention provides a control method for a circuit drawing machine that makes it possible to move a sensor and a nozzle on a desired drawing trajectory given as C data and to discharge thick film paste onto the moving path with high precision. .

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the method of the present invention includes: a nozzle equipped with a discharge control unit that controls paste discharge; and a sensor that moves integrally with the nozzle a predetermined distance away from the nozzle. Movement is controlled on a path to be drawn according to pre-stored drawing information, the circuit board is rotated and moved relative to the circuit board, and the distance to the circuit board is measured by the sensor provided at a position preceding the nozzle. and storing information from the sensor regarding the relative distance between the nozzle and the circuit board in association with the amount of movement of the sensor per unit time when simultaneously performing the step of drawing the paste with the nozzle; step of sequentially reading out information regarding the distance between the nozzle and the circuit board that is stored in advance in connection with the movement of the nozzle, and moving the nozzle up and down with respect to the circuit board independently of the sensor. , a predetermined paste drawing is performed on a circuit board according to pre-stored drawing information, and furthermore, the paste discharge control unit is controlled according to the pre-stored drawing information as the nozzle moves. The method includes a step of controlling paste discharge.

Operation The present invention uses the simple configuration and processing described above to measure the height of the substrate surface and move the nozzle up and down in real time, while moving the sensor and nozzle on a drawing trajectory according to NC data with high precision. make it possible. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain highly accurate drawing trajectories in response to changes in the type of thick film paste and drawing speed. In other words, a sensor located a certain distance in front of the nozzle in the relative movement direction of the nozzle that discharges thick film paste measures the height of the substrate directly below it, and uses that sensor information to control the nozzle's height up and down. used for At this time, the sensor always precedes the nozzle on the movement path, so the sensor and nozzle move on the drawing trajectory at intervals between the installation positions, and the CPU calculates the required amount of thick film paste to be ejected from the amount of nozzle movement per unit time. By calculating and starting and stopping the discharge of the thick film paste in synchronization with the movement of the nozzle, it becomes possible to discharge the paste on the drawing locus given by the NC data.

By repeating the above operations at high speed, the sensor and nozzle move on the drawing trajectory with high precision, and drawing is performed while discharging the thick film paste when necessary.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a thick film drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, 7 is a microcomputer for calculating operation data for each control section, and 8 is a memory for storing original nozzle movement route data (hereinafter referred to as NC data 1) and operation data for each control section (in the figure). 2.3.4,
5°6). 9 is a thick film paste, 10 is a nozzle for drawing the paste, 11 is a distribution board, 1
2 is a table that moves the substrate in two orthogonal directions of X-Y, 1
3 is a sensor 1 that measures the distance between the substrate and the nozzle 10
4 is an information line for rotating the sensor 13, 15 is an information line for driving the nozzle in the vertical direction, 16 is an X-Y table drive information line, 17 is a paste ejection drive information line from the nozzle 10, and 18 is an X -Y table drive control section, 19 is a discharge control section that controls paste discharge timing amount, 20
Reference numeral 21 indicates a control unit for the motor 20a that moves the nozzle up and down, and 21 indicates a drive control unit for the sensor rotation motor 23 that rotates the sensor rotation unit 13a to which the sensor 13 is attached via a gear 22 around the axis of the nozzle 10. .

The operation of the thick film circuit drawing apparatus configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. First, from the NC data 1 taken out from the memory 8 in FIG.
U7 calculates the amount of movement of the X, Y, O, and B axes per unit time (T) (2 in FIG. 1). The flow of the above processing is shown in FIG. Furthermore, each movement amount is sent to each control section (
(3.4, 5.6) in Fig. 1) Therefore, it is divided into movement amounts for each operation unit time (T), shifted by a certain distance between the sensor and the nozzle, and output to the drive system of each axis. (14.15.16.17 in Figure 1). FIG. 3 shows an example in which, when drawing on an arcuate trajectory, the unit time is divided into 8 units of operation, and the mounting positions of the sensor and nozzle are shifted by (6Xt) time.

In FIG. 3, when the nozzle is located at the drawing start point 1, the preceding sensor must be located at 2 (t■) on the drawing trajectory. That is, there is a certain distance W! ahead in the relative moving direction of the nozzle 10 that discharges the thick film paste 9 from the nozzle! The heights of the surfaces of C, 8, and 11 directly below the sensor 13 are measured at every operation unit time by the sensor 13 located at a remote location.The distance measurement points are shown at t■ to t■ in FIG. The nozzle height of the thick film circuit drawing apparatus is controlled based on the information obtained at each distance measurement point. Figure 4 shows the amount of movement per unit time T performed in each control section, the amount of movement per unit time of operation (1 to 8 in Figure 4).
), and if the deviation between the nozzle and sensor mounting positions is 6 times the operation unit time, the calculation result of the X-Y table control section is shifted by 6 operation units from the calculation result of the sensor control section. , shows how the data is stored in the memory in each control unit. In FIG. 4, T1 to T4 correspond to unit time, and (x, y) and OlB each correspond to 3°6.4 in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the calculation results for each unit time of operation for each unit time T are divided and stored in two of the three memories (2) to (4) in FIG. Fifth
The figure shows calculations performed by each control unit, storage operations in the memory, and output memory for each unit time T. Furthermore, in the thick film paste discharge control operation and the X-Y table movement control operation, depending on the type of thick film paste and the movement speed of the X-Y table, the start and stop of the discharge can be controlled by the movement of the On the other hand, by relatively advancing or delaying, a drawing locus that is faithful to the NC data can be obtained. That is, similar to the sensor rotation operation that precedes the movement of the X-Y table described above, when storing data for each operation unit to each control unit shown in FIG. 4, the operation unit time that you want to advance or delay. The ejection operation data is shifted and stored with respect to the XY movement data according to the time. Then, the data is divided and stored in two of the three memories Φ to ■ in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows an example where there is no advance or delay in the ejection operation with respect to the movement of the X-Y table.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention is capable of discharging thick film paste in a thick film circuit drawing apparatus that measures the height of the C, 8 surface and moves the nozzle up and down in real time and with high precision using a simple configuration and processing. The nozzle and the sensor located a certain distance in front of the nozzle in its relative movement direction can move with high precision on the drawing trajectory specified by the NC data. Furthermore, even if the positions of the nozzle and sensor are changed due to the configuration of the thick film circuit drawing apparatus, it is possible to cope with this by changing the number of shifts for each operation unit. Furthermore, in the thick film paste discharge control operation and the X-Y table movement control operation, the discharge operation timing can be changed to correspond to changes in the type of thick film paste and the moving speed of the X-Y table. .

As described above, it is possible to draw a thick film paste on a desired drawing trajectory with high precision based on NC data, and the practical effects thereof are great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a thick film drawing apparatus and control system in an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a basic flowchart of operations performed by the CPU in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a nozzle and sensor. FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing the outline of the processing performed by the CPU 9, memory 8, and each control section in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relative positional relationship of the conventional FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a film circuit drawing apparatus. 9...Paste, 10...Nozzle, 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Board, 12... X-Y table, 13... Sensor 19... Discharge control section. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person 1.10 Figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A method for drawing circuit forming material at multiple locations on a circuit board using a nozzle, which includes a nozzle equipped with a discharge control unit that controls the discharge of paste, and a sensor that moves integrally with the nozzle at a predetermined distance from the nozzle. , controls the movement on a path to be drawn according to pre-stored drawing information, rotates and moves relative to the circuit board, and measures the distance to the circuit board by the sensor provided at a position preceding the nozzle. When performing the measuring process and the process of drawing paste using the nozzle at the same time, information from the sensor regarding the relative distance between the nozzle and the circuit board is stored in memory in association with the amount of movement of this sensor per unit time. storing, and sequentially reading out information regarding the distance between the nozzle and the circuit board stored in advance in connection with the movement of the nozzle from the memory, and moving the nozzle to the circuit board independently of the sensor. A control method for a circuit drawing machine, in which a predetermined paste is drawn on a circuit board according to pre-stored drawing information by performing a step of vertically moving the circuit board. (2) A method for drawing circuit forming material at multiple locations on a circuit board using a nozzle, which comprises: a nozzle equipped with a discharge control section for controlling paste discharge; and a sensor integrally provided at a predetermined distance from the nozzle. The circuit board is moved relative to the path of the circuit board to be drawn according to pre-stored drawing information, and the sensor provided at a position preceding the nozzle is rotated so that the circuit board is always ahead of the nozzle. When simultaneously performing the step of measuring the distance to the circuit board along the route taken and the step of drawing the paste using the nozzle, the relative distance between the nozzle and the circuit board is determined in relation to the amount of movement of this sensor per unit time. a step of storing information from the sensor regarding the distance in a memory; and sequentially reading information regarding the distance between the nozzle and the circuit board stored in advance in relation to the movement of the nozzle from the memory; A method for controlling a circuit drawing machine, which performs a step of moving up and down with respect to the circuit board independently from the above, and draws a predetermined paste on the circuit board according to drawing information stored in advance. (3) A request for calculating the amount of paste discharged from pre-stored drawing information and the amount of movement of the nozzle per unit time, and sequentially providing information to the discharge control unit to control the amount of paste discharged as the nozzle moves. Item 1. A method for controlling a circuit drawing machine according to item 1.