Z-axis slide

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses a Z-axis sliding table, which comprises a fixed seat, a suction nozzle air inlet, a suction nozzle air outlet and a Z-axis motor mounted on the fixed seat, further comprises an air floating guide rail, an upper fixing part, a lower fixing part and an air inlet connector, the air floating guide rail is composed of an air floating plate and a guide rail, the suction nozzle air inlet is arranged on the fixed seat, the air floating plate is connected with the fixed seat, the Z-axis motor drives the guide rail, the upper fixing part and the lower fixing part are respectively connected with the upper and lower ends of the guide rail, the suction nozzle air outlet is arranged at the bottom of the lower fixing part, the air inlet connector is arranged on the upper fixing part, the upper fixing part, the lower fixing part and the guide rail are internally provided with air passages in communication, the air inlet connector is communicated with the suction nozzle air outlet through the air passages, and the suction nozzle air inlet and the air inlet connector are communicated through an air pipe. The air floating guide rail is taken as a part of the air pipe, the length of the air pipe is reduced, the internal structure of the Z-axis sliding table is prevented from being scratched by the air pipe, the open loop force control of the Z-axis motor is influenced, and the precision of the Z-axis sliding table is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor chip pick-up and mounting technology, and in particular to a Z-axis slide. Background Technology

[0002] In automated production, the application of robotic arms is becoming increasingly widespread. In the grasping of small workpieces (such as small ICs, especially semiconductor chips with dimensions in the micrometer range), there are high requirements for the overall structure of the robotic arm and the control of its Z-axis precision, force, and stability.

[0003] Due to the narrow application environment of robotic arms, the distance between the air inlet and outlet of the nozzle on the existing Z-axis slide is relatively large, which requires the use of a long air pipe to connect the air inlet and outlet of the nozzle.

[0004] The long air tube moves within a narrow internal space, making it prone to scraping against the internal structure of the Z-axis slide. Furthermore, the long air tube is heavy, and the force exerted on the Z-axis motor is uneven when it moves up and down to different positions. The air tube will seriously affect the open-loop force control of the Z-axis motor, thereby affecting the accuracy of the Z-axis slide. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a Z-axis slide to improve accuracy.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a Z-axis slide, comprising a fixed base, an air inlet for the suction nozzle, an air outlet for the suction nozzle, and a Z-axis motor mounted on the fixed base. It also includes an air-bearing guide rail, an upper fixed component, a lower fixed component, and an air inlet connector. The air-bearing guide rail consists of an air-bearing plate and a guide rail. The air inlet for the suction nozzle is located on the fixed base, and the air-bearing plate is connected to the fixed base. The Z-axis motor drives the guide rail. The upper and lower fixed components are respectively connected to the upper and lower ends of the guide rail. The air outlet for the suction nozzle is located at the bottom of the lower fixed component, and the air inlet connector is located on the upper fixed component. The upper fixed component, lower fixed component, and guide rail are provided with interconnected air passages. The air inlet connector communicates with the air outlet for the suction nozzle through the air passages. The air inlet for the suction nozzle and the air inlet connector are connected by an air pipe.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes a counterweight elastic element, which acts on the center of the guide rail and applies an upward force to the guide rail.

[0008] Furthermore, the stator of the Z-axis motor is connected to the guide rail, and the mover of the Z-axis motor is connected to the fixed base.

[0009] Furthermore, the mounting base is provided with an air inlet for the air flotation plate that communicates with the internal air passage of the air flotation plate.

[0010] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. This invention uses an air-bearing guide rail as the guide for the linear motion mechanism, which reduces motion friction resistance, improves the open-loop force control accuracy of the Z-axis motor, and enables the Z-axis motor to achieve even lower force control accuracy due to the low friction.

[0011] 2. This invention incorporates the air-bearing guide rail as part of the air pipe, reducing the length of the air pipe and preventing it from rubbing against the internal structure of the Z-axis slide, thus affecting the open-loop force control of the Z-axis motor and improving the accuracy of the Z-axis slide. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the Z-axis slide table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a front view of the Z-axis slide table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a rear view of the Z-axis slide table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a perspective view of the guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Explanation of icon numbers 1. Fixing base; 2. Air inlet for suction nozzle; 3. Air outlet for suction nozzle; 4. Stator; 5. Guide rail; 6. Upper fixing component; 7. Lower fixing component; 8. Air inlet connector; 9. Air float plate; 10. Air inlet for air float plate; 11. Air pipe; 12. Counterweight elastic element; 13. Motor; 14. Air passage. Detailed Implementation

[0017] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other. The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0018] In this embodiment of the invention, directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indicator will also change accordingly.

[0019] Furthermore, in this invention, descriptions involving "first," "second," etc., are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features.

[0020] Please refer to Figures 1-4 The Z-axis slide of this invention includes a fixed base, an air inlet for the suction nozzle, an air outlet for the suction nozzle, a Z-axis motor, an air-bearing guide rail, an upper fixed component, a lower fixed component, and an air inlet connector.

[0021] The air-bearing guide rail consists of an air-bearing plate and a guide rail. The suction nozzle, with its air inlet, is mounted on a fixed base, and the air-bearing plate is connected to the fixed base. A Z-axis motor drives the guide rail to move up and down. Because the air-bearing guide rail is non-contact, its frictional resistance is very low and very uniform.

[0022] Air-bearing guides are sliding guides that use gas as a lubricating medium. The thickness of their lubricating film typically ranges from submicron to tens of micrometers, and their bearing surfaces are diverse, including rigid or flexible, smooth or grooved, flat, and other shaped surfaces. Due to the low viscosity, good viscosity-temperature characteristics, and radiation resistance of gas, air-bearing guides demonstrate superior application prospects in special applications such as high-speed, high-precision, low-friction, low-power consumption, high and low temperature, and radiation-exposed environments. This invention utilizes such an air-bearing guide, which improves both motion control accuracy and pressure control.

[0023] Preferably, there are four air-bearing plates in total, one on each side. The four sides of the guide rail are air-bearing precision surfaces, which respectively mate with the four air-bearing plates, with a gap of approximately 5μm to 15μm.

[0024] The air-bearing plates and guide rails have small throttling holes designed to meet specific requirements on their mating surfaces. Air passages are machined inside the air-bearing plates, and these passages are interconnected. The mounting base has an air inlet for the air-bearing plates, which communicates with the internal air passages. Because the internal air passages of the four air-bearing plates are interconnected, when a positive pressure air source is introduced through the inlet, the small throttling holes on the mating surfaces of the four air-bearing plates and guide rails will blow out high-pressure gas. A thin air film will form between the air-bearing plate and guide rail surfaces. These four air-bearing plates form air films in four directions, enabling the air-bearing guide rail to achieve low-friction linear motion. Simultaneously, because the gap between the air-bearing plates and guide rails is very small and the flatness is very high, the linear accuracy of the air-bearing guide rail's operation is guaranteed.

[0025] The upper and lower fixing parts are connected to the upper and lower ends of the guide rail, respectively. The air outlet for the suction nozzle is located at the bottom of the lower fixing part, and the air inlet is located on the upper fixing part. The upper and lower fixing parts and the guide rail have interconnected air passages. The air inlet connects to the air outlet for the suction nozzle through these air passages. The air inlet for the suction nozzle and the air inlet connector are connected by an air pipe. The air outlet for the suction nozzle is used to connect the suction nozzle and to pick up products such as chips.

[0026] In one implementation, the Z-axis slide also includes a counterweight elastic element. This counterweight elastic element acts on the center of the guide rail, applying an upward force to the guide rail. Positioning the counterweight elastic element in the middle of the guide rail ensures balanced force on the air-bearing guide rail counterweight, preventing the guide rail and air-bearing plate from being squeezed to one side due to the imbalance of counterweight force after the air supply to the air-bearing guide rail is interrupted. This would cause scratches on the air film surface of the air-bearing guide rail, affecting accuracy.

[0027] The counterweight elastic element is used to balance the weight of the load on the Z-axis guide rail. The counterweight force is approximately 0.5~1.5N greater than the weight of the Z-axis load. It is generally a tension spring or a constant force counterweight, but it is not limited to these two methods.

[0028] In one implementation, the stator of the Z-axis motor is connected to the guide rail, and the mover of the Z-axis motor is connected to the fixed base. In a specific implementation, the stator of the Z-axis motor and the guide rail are parallel, and the upper and lower ends of the stator and the guide rail are connected by upper and lower fixing parts, respectively. The mover of the Z-axis motor remains stationary while the stator moves, thus preventing the cable from moving along with the Z-axis motor.

[0029] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A Z-axis slide, comprising a fixed base, an air inlet for a suction nozzle, an air outlet for a suction nozzle, and a Z-axis motor mounted on the fixed base, characterized in that, It also includes an air flotation guide rail, an upper fixing component, a lower fixing component, and an air inlet connector. The air flotation guide rail consists of an air flotation plate and a guide rail. The air inlet for the suction nozzle is located on the fixed base. The air flotation plate is connected to the fixed base. The Z-axis motor drives the guide rail. The upper and lower fixing components are respectively connected to the upper and lower ends of the guide rail. The air outlet for the suction nozzle is located at the bottom of the lower fixing component. The air inlet connector is located on the upper fixing component. The upper fixing component, the lower fixing component, and the guide rail are provided with interconnected air passages. The air inlet connector is connected to the air outlet for the suction nozzle through the air passages. The air inlet for the suction nozzle and the air inlet connector are connected through an air pipe.

2. The Z-axis slide as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a counterweight elastic element, which acts on the center of the guide rail and applies an upward force to the guide rail.

3. The Z-axis slide as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The stator of the Z-axis motor is connected to the guide rail, and the mover of the Z-axis motor is connected to the mounting base.

4. The Z-axis slide as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting base is equipped with an air inlet for the air flotation plate, which is connected to the internal air passage of the air flotation plate.

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