A multi-arc ion plating apparatus

Abstract

The application belongs to the field of coating equipment, and specifically discloses a multi-arc ion coating equipment. The multi-arc ion coating equipment is provided with a rotating shaft and a swing shaft nested in the rotating shaft, and the independent power input of the power source is matched, so that the rotating shaft drives the workpiece platform to rotate while the swing shaft is matched with the inclination piece, the swing arm, the connector and the buffer structure to make the workpiece platform swing stably, and then the workpiece is made to move in multiple degrees of freedom through the composite swing mechanism, and the multi-arc target is matched to make the workpiece rotate and longitudinally swing circularly in a controllable manner during the coating process, and then the uniformity in the coating process is improved in the form of composite swing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of coating equipment, specifically relating to a multi-arc ion coating equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Multi-arc ion plating is a method that uses electric arc discharge to directly evaporate metal onto a solid cathode target. The evaporated material consists of ions of the cathode material emitted from the glowing point of the cathode arc, which are then deposited on the substrate surface to form a thin film. The equipment used for multi-arc ion plating of products is called multi-arc ion plating equipment.

[0003] Multi-arc ion plating technology not only offers high-quality coatings and fast deposition rates during the coating preparation process, but also boasts a wide range of applications. The resulting coating films exhibit high density and strength, along with excellent adhesion, significantly improving the surface properties of workpieces. Therefore, multi-arc ion plating is widely used across various industries.

[0004] In the current technology research and development industry, it is often necessary to perform multi-arc ion plating on small test samples to ensure that the samples maintain stable surface performance during the testing process. On this basis, when performing rapid multi-arc ion plating on small workpieces with relatively complex shapes, traditional medium and large-sized equipment often lacks specific optimization for small workpieces with complex surfaces, resulting in problems such as uneven coating and long coating time. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop a small, fast multi-arc ion plating equipment that can uniformly coat the surface of complex workpieces. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a multi-arc ion plating device, specifically adopting the following technical solution:

[0006] First, this application provides a multi-arc ion plating apparatus, comprising:

[0007] The coating machine housing has a cavity inside.

[0008] The compound swing mechanism is located inside the cavity. The compound swing mechanism includes a shaft assembly and a swing structure. The lower end of the shaft assembly is connected to the bottom end of the cavity, and the upper end of the shaft assembly is connected to the swing structure. The shaft assembly is used to drive the swing structure to rotate eccentrically, and the swing structure is used to drive the workpiece to rotate and swing simultaneously.

[0009] The workpiece fixing part has its bottom end connected to the upper end of the swing structure. The workpiece fixing part is used to fix the workpiece and moves under the drive of the swing structure.

[0010] The power source is connected to the shaft assembly for transmission, and is used to drive the shaft assembly to rotate.

[0011] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the shaft assembly includes a rotating shaft and a swing shaft, which are respectively connected to a power source for transmission. The rotating shaft is hollow inside, and the swing shaft is nested inside the rotating shaft. The bottom end of the rotating shaft is supported on the lower surface of the cavity, and the top end of the rotating shaft is provided with a support platform. The upper end of the support platform is connected to the workpiece fixing part; the top end of the swing shaft is connected to the swing structure.

[0012] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the swing structure includes an inclined member, the bottom end of which is connected to a swing shaft, and a swing arm is connected to the inclined surface of the inclined member. The swing arm is detachably connected to the workpiece fixing part, and the swing shaft drives the swing arm to swing the workpiece fixing part.

[0013] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the swing structure also includes a connector, the top of which is connected to the bottom of the workpiece fixing part, and the top of the swing arm is connected to the bottom of the connector through a locking structure.

[0014] The locking structure includes a locking cavity for accommodating the swing arm. The side wall of the locking cavity is provided with a locking through hole, and a locking bolt is threaded into the locking through hole. The screw of the locking bolt is used to clamp the swing arm.

[0015] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the compound swing mechanism also includes a buffer structure, the lower end of which is connected to the support platform and the upper end of which is connected to the workpiece fixing part.

[0016] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the workpiece fixing part includes a workpiece platform, the bottom end of which is connected to a buffer structure and a connector; the workpiece platform is used to support the workpiece; a clamping component is provided on the workpiece platform, which is used to clamp the workpiece for fixing.

[0017] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the clamping component includes a fixing component fixed to both ends of the workpiece platform. The fixing component has a fixing component through hole, and a screw is threadedly connected to the fixing component through hole. A clamping arm is provided at one end of the screw near the center of the workpiece platform. The screw is used to push the clamping arm to clamp and fix the workpiece.

[0018] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the power source includes a first motor and a second motor, the first motor being connected to the rotating shaft via a transmission; the second motor being connected to the swing shaft via a transmission.

[0019] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, a vacuum pump is also included, which is connected to the cavity; a multi-arc target is provided on the inner wall of the cavity, and the multi-arc target points towards the workpiece platform.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: by using a compound oscillation mechanism to enable the workpiece to move in multiple degrees of freedom, and in conjunction with a multi-arc target, the workpiece can be controlled to rotate while oscillating longitudinally during the coating process, thereby improving the uniformity of the coating process in the form of compound oscillation. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic diagram of a multi-arc ion plating equipment provided in a specific embodiment.

[0022] Figure 2 The diagram shown is a partial structural schematic of the composite swing mechanism provided in the specific embodiment.

[0023] Legend: 101-Top cover; 102-Multi-arc target; 103-Transmission assembly; 104-Rotation axis; 105-Swing axis; 107-Clamping component; 108-Support platform; 109-Buffer structure; 110-Workpiece platform;

[0024] 201- Inclined component; 202- Swing arm; 203- Connector. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0026] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0027] In the description of this invention, "several" means an indefinite quantity, "multiple" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features or their sequential relationship. The use of "and / or" throughout the text indicates three parallel solutions; for example, A and / or B indicates a solution satisfied by A, a solution satisfied by B, or a solution satisfied by both A and B.

[0028] In the description of this invention, if there is a short phrase containing multiple parallel features, the modifier in the phrase defines the closest feature. For example, "B, C, and E connected to D are set on A" means that B is set on A, E is connected to D, and C is not defined. However, modifiers indicating the relationship between features, such as "interval setting" or "circular arrangement," do not fall into this category. Modifiers preceded by "all" define all features in the short phrase. For example, "B, C, and D are all set on A" means that B, C, and D are all set on A. In statements where the subject is omitted, the omitted subject is the subject of the preceding statement; that is, "A has B and includes C" means that A has B and A includes C.

[0029] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set up," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0030] The following is combined Figures 1-2 The specific implementation methods of this application are described below.

[0031] First, this application provides a multi-arc ion plating apparatus, comprising:

[0032] The coating machine housing has a cavity inside.

[0033] The compound swing mechanism is located inside the cavity. The compound swing mechanism includes a shaft assembly and a swing structure. The lower end of the shaft assembly is connected to the bottom end of the cavity, and the upper end of the shaft assembly is connected to the swing structure. The shaft assembly is used to drive the swing structure to rotate eccentrically, and the swing structure is used to drive the workpiece to rotate while swinging.

[0034] The workpiece fixing part has its bottom end connected to the upper end of the swing structure. The workpiece fixing part is used to fix the workpiece and moves under the drive of the swing structure.

[0035] The power source is connected to the shaft assembly for transmission, and is used to drive the shaft assembly to rotate.

[0036] In some specific implementations, the user can open the top cover 101 of the coating machine housing, fix the workpiece to be processed on the workpiece fixing part, and then close the top cover 101. At this time, the top of the coating machine housing and the top cover 101 can form a seal, thereby allowing the vacuum pump connected to the coating machine housing to evacuate the inside of the housing. After evacuation, the power source is started, and the power source provides power to the composite swing mechanism, causing the rotating shaft 104 to drive the support platform 108 connected to the top of the rotating shaft 104. The support platform 108 rotates under the drive of the rotating shaft 104. During the rotation, the support platform 108 drives the workpiece fixing part connected to the top of the buffer structure 109 connected to the top of the support platform 108, thereby causing the workpiece fixing part to drive the workpiece fixed on the workpiece fixing part to rotate. At the same time, the power source also drives the swing shaft 105, and the swing shaft 105 drives the tilting part 201 fixed to the top of the swing shaft 105 to rotate. A swing arm 202 is fixed to the surface of the tilting member 201. The swing arm 202 is a smooth cylinder (in some specific embodiments, the swing arm 202 is a metal cylinder, and in some preferred embodiments, it is a titanium alloy). One end of the cylinder is connected to the surface of the tilting member 201, and the other end drives the workpiece fixing part to form an inclination at the same angle as the tilting member 201. At this time, the buffer structure 109 is in an inward contraction state, applying a contraction force to the workpiece fixing part and the support platform 108, thereby forming a stable load-bearing structure with the swing arm 202. Under the drive of the swing shaft 105 and the tilting member 201, the swing arm 202 can apply a stable eccentric motion to the workpiece fixing part. This allows the workpiece fixing part and the workpiece fixed on it to rotate stably. At the same time, the rotation speed of the swing shaft 105 can be adjusted to obtain a specific frequency of swing, thereby coordinating with the rotation to form a stable and adjustable regular swing-rotation compound motion, which effectively improves the uniformity of the coating.

[0037] In some specific implementations, the workpiece fixing part can be made to have a greater tilt angle by replacing the tilting member 201 with a different tilt angle. In this specific embodiment, the tilting member used is a 15° tilting block. In some additional specific embodiments, the workpiece fixing part can be made to rotate at a faster or slower speed by adjusting the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 104.

[0038] In some specific implementations, by adjusting the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 104, the rotational speed of the swing shaft 105, the inclination of the tilting member 201, and the synergistic effect of the multi-arc target 102 pointing towards the workpiece platform 110, a fast, efficient and uniform coating can be achieved.

[0039] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the shaft assembly includes a rotating shaft 104 and a swing shaft 105. The rotating shaft 104 is hollow inside, and the swing shaft 105 is nested inside the rotating shaft 104. The bottom end of the rotating shaft 104 is supported on the lower surface of the cavity, and the top end of the rotating shaft 104 is provided with a support platform 108.

[0040] The bottom of the rotating shaft 104 in the shaft assembly is supported on the lower surface of the cavity and can rotate through the bearing and corresponding fitting structure; the swing shaft 105 is housed inside the rotating shaft 104 and can rotate independently, thereby achieving independent control without interfering with the rotating shaft 104.

[0041] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the swing structure includes an inclined member 201. One end of the inclined member 201 is connected to the swing shaft 105, and the other end of the inclined member 201 is connected to a swing arm 202. The other end of the swing arm 202 is connected to the workpiece fixing part, and the swing arm 202 is used to drive the workpiece fixing part to swing.

[0042] The inclined component 201 in the compound swing mechanism forms a stable fit with the screw fastening structure at the top through the keyway at the top, thereby realizing power transmission and load-bearing capacity at the same time. The inclined surface of the inclined component 201 is provided with a swing arm 202, which is fastened with bolts to form a stable connection between the inclined component 201 and the swing arm 202, thereby providing stable support during the driving of the swing arm 202.

[0043] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the swing structure further includes a connector 203, the top end of the connector 203 is connected to the bottom end of the workpiece fixing part, and the top end of the swing arm 202 is connected to the bottom end of the connector 203 through a locking structure.

[0044] The swing arm 202 is a round rod. In the specific embodiment provided in this application, the upper part of the swing arm 202 is connected to the connector 203 installed at the bottom of the workpiece platform 110. The connector 203 is vertically installed at the bottom of the workpiece platform 110. Under the drive of the swing arm 202, the workpiece platform 110 fixedly connected to the connector 203 is parallel to the inclined surface of the tilting member 201. Thus, during the rotation of the swing shaft 105, the tilting member 201, the swing arm 202, the connector 203 and the workpiece platform 110 can swing at corresponding angles, thereby improving the coverage during the coating process.

[0045] When the rotational speed of the swing shaft 105 is adjusted, the swing shaft 105 causes the tilting member 201 to change its rotational speed. At this time, the angular velocity of the swing arm 202 driven by the tilting member 201 changes, which in turn causes the speed of the connector 203 driven by the swing arm 202 to change, thereby adjusting the swing frequency of the workpiece platform 110 accordingly.

[0046] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the locking structure includes a locking cavity for accommodating the swing arm 202. The side wall of the locking cavity is provided with a locking through hole, and a locking bolt is threadedly connected to the locking through hole. The screw of the locking bolt is used to clamp the swing arm 202.

[0047] By inserting the swing arm 202 into the locking cavity and locking it with bolts, a stable and secure connection is formed between the swing arm 202 and the locking cavity, preventing the swing arm 202 from falling off during movement. At the same time, a bearing is provided outside the locking structure in the connector 203. The bearing enables the swing arm 202 and the connector 203 to rotate relative to each other axially while the locking structure is connected to the swing arm 202.

[0048] At the same time, because this locking structure can achieve stable and rapid locking while also being able to unlock by rotating the bolt in the opposite direction, the structure is simple and robust, and locking and unlocking are convenient and fast. Therefore, it is suitable for quickly replacing the fixing parts of workpieces with different structures.

[0049] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the composite swing mechanism further includes a buffer structure 109, the lower end of which is connected to the support platform 108, and the upper end of which is connected to the workpiece fixing part; the buffer structure 109 includes a hydraulic rod or a spring, and there are no fewer than three buffer structures 109, which are arranged around the swing axis 105.

[0050] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, by using a spring as a buffer structure 109, the workpiece platform 110 can be kept in a stable and buffered state in a simple and effective way. In other specific embodiments, the buffer structure 109 can also use a hydraulic rod or a spring block.

[0051] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the clamping member 107 includes a fixing member fixed to both ends of the workpiece platform 110. The fixing member is provided with a fixing member through hole, and a screw is threadedly connected to the fixing member through hole. A clamping arm is provided at one end of the screw near the center of the workpiece platform 110. The screw is used to push the clamping arm to clamp and fix the workpiece.

[0052] The specific use of the clamping member 107 includes rotating the outer end of the screw, so that the screw connected by the thread can move relative to the fixed member during the rotation, pushing the top chuck, thereby clamping the workpiece on the workpiece platform 110. At the same time, the screw is fixed to the workpiece platform 110 through the screw base, thereby achieving stable fixation of the workpiece and preventing displacement or falling during the coating process.

[0053] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the power source includes a first motor and a second motor. The first motor is used to provide power to the rotating shaft 104, and the second motor is used to provide power to the swing shaft 105.

[0054] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the power source also includes a transmission assembly 103, specifically a reducer connected to the power output terminal of the stepper motor.

[0055] Since the torque provided by the stepper motor may be insufficient to drive the swing shaft 105 in some cases, a reducer is required. In this specific embodiment provided in this application, a planetary reducer is selected to increase the torque delivered to the swing shaft 105.

[0056] In some other embodiments, the transmission assembly 103 further includes a magnetic connector, the power input end of which is connected to the power output end of the power source; the power output end of the magnetic connector is connected to the swing shaft 105.

[0057] In certain specific situations, where a high-speed, high-torque motor is selected as the power source, a magnetic connector can be used for power transmission, which can effectively prevent air leakage.

[0058] In the specific implementation provided in this application, the AC motor drives the rotating shaft 104 through gear transmission or belt transmission.

[0059] During the process of AC motor driving the rotating shaft 104, the rotating shaft 104 can be directly driven by simple and efficient gear transmission or belt transmission, thereby simplifying the equipment structure, reducing the size, and facilitating miniaturization.

[0060] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, a vacuum pump is also included, which is used to evacuate the coating machine housing; a multi-arc target 102 is provided on the inner side wall of the cavity, and the multi-arc target 102 points to the workpiece platform 110.

[0061] The vacuum pump evacuates the coating machine housing, thereby providing a suitable environment for coating with multi-arc targets. The multi-arc target 102, as the target material for multi-arc ion plating, is adjusted to point towards the workpiece platform 110, so that the evaporation generated by the multi-arc target 102 through arc discharge can be deposited on the surface of the target workpiece for coating, thereby optimizing the coating efficiency to a certain extent.

[0062] In the specific embodiments provided in this application, the number of multi-arc targets 102 is 4, and in some other specific embodiments, the number of multi-arc targets 102 is 2-4.

[0063] A larger number of multi-arc targets 102 can effectively improve coating efficiency. In some specific cases, the number of multi-arc targets 102 can also be reduced in order to reduce the size of the equipment.

[0064] Although the description of this application has been quite detailed and particularly focused on specific embodiments, it is not intended to limit itself to any of these details or embodiments or any particular embodiment. Rather, it should be considered as providing a broad possible interpretation of the claims by referring to the appended claims and taking into account the prior art, thereby effectively covering the intended scope of this application. Furthermore, the foregoing description of this application with respect to embodiments foreseeable by the applicant is intended to provide a useful description, and non-substantial modifications to this application that have not yet been foreseen may still represent equivalent modifications.

Claims

1. A multi-arc ion plating equipment, characterized in that, include: A coating machine housing, wherein the coating machine housing has a cavity; A compound swing mechanism is located inside the cavity. The compound swing mechanism includes a shaft assembly and a swing structure. The lower end of the shaft assembly is connected to the bottom end of the cavity, and the upper end of the shaft assembly is connected to the swing structure. The shaft assembly is used to drive the swing structure to rotate eccentrically, and the swing structure is used to drive the workpiece to rotate and swing simultaneously. The workpiece fixing part has its bottom end connected to the upper end of the swing structure. The workpiece fixing part is used to fix the workpiece and moves under the drive of the swing structure. A power source is connected to the shaft assembly in a transmission manner, and the power source is used to drive the shaft assembly to rotate; The shaft assembly includes a rotating shaft and a swing shaft, which are respectively connected to the power source. The rotating shaft is hollow inside, and the swing shaft is nested inside the rotating shaft. The bottom end of the rotating shaft is supported on the lower surface of the cavity, and the top end of the rotating shaft is provided with a support platform. The upper end of the support platform is connected to the workpiece fixing part. The top end of the swing shaft is connected to the swing structure. The swing structure includes an inclined member, the bottom end of which is connected to the swing shaft. A swing arm is connected to the inclined surface of the inclined member. The swing arm is detachably connected to the workpiece fixing part. The swing shaft drives the swing arm to swing the workpiece fixing part. The swing structure also includes a connector, the top end of which is connected to the bottom end of the workpiece fixing part, and the top end of the swing arm is connected to the bottom end of the connector through a locking structure. The composite swing mechanism also includes a buffer structure, the lower end of which is connected to the support platform and the upper end of which is connected to the workpiece fixing part.

2. The multi-arc ion plating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The locking structure includes a locking cavity for accommodating the swing arm. The side wall of the locking cavity is provided with a locking through hole, and a locking bolt is threadedly connected to the locking through hole. The locking bolt is used to clamp the swing arm.

3. The multi-arc ion plating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The workpiece fixing part includes a workpiece platform, the bottom end of which is connected to the buffer structure and the connector; the workpiece platform is used to support the workpiece; the workpiece platform is provided with a clamping member for clamping the workpiece.

4. The multi-arc ion plating equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The clamping component includes a fixing component fixed to both ends of the workpiece platform. The fixing component has a fixing component through hole, and a screw is threadedly connected to the fixing component through hole. The screw has a clamping arm at one end near the center of the workpiece platform. The screw is used to push the clamping arm to clamp and fix the workpiece.

5. The multi-arc ion plating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power source includes a first motor and a second motor, wherein the first motor is connected to the rotating shaft via a transmission connection; and the second motor is connected to the swing shaft via a transmission connection.

6. The multi-arc ion plating equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, It also includes a vacuum pump connected to the cavity; the inner wall of the cavity is provided with a multi-arc target, which points towards the workpiece platform.

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