Gantry electroplating line high-flexibility full-automatic feeding and discharging system

Abstract

This invention discloses a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for a gantry electroplating line. This invention relates to the field of automated loading and unloading technology, and includes a pre-treatment mechanism, a transmission mechanism, a verification mechanism, a gripping mechanism, a matching mechanism for plating substrates, and a unloading mechanism. The transmission mechanism, gripping mechanism, and unloading mechanism are arranged in a U-shape, enabling the main production board to undergo U-shaped flow loading, electroplating, and unloading processes. This invention replaces manual labor with a fully automated loading and unloading system, eliminating occupational health risks and safety accidents, ensuring safe and stable production. It employs visual recognition and robotic arms to achieve high-precision positioning and stable clamping, improving electroplating uniformity, reducing quality problems, and increasing product qualification rate. Through integration with the MES system, it can quickly switch orders, intelligently match plating substrates, and improve production efficiency with a dual-robot design. It can also collect and analyze data in real time, achieving visualized management and data traceability, assisting in process optimization, and enhancing the core competitiveness of enterprises.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automated loading and unloading technology, specifically a highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines. Background Technology

[0002] In the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing industry, electroplating is one of the core processes to ensure the conductivity, corrosion resistance, and mechanical strength of PCBs. As a key piece of equipment in PCB production, gantry electroplating lines achieve uniform electroplating of the PCB surface by suspending the PCB material with a boom and immersing it in the electroplating solution. With the rapid development of the electronics industry, PCB products are showing the characteristics of market demand for multiple varieties, small batches, and high precision. The limitations of traditional manual and semi-automatic gantry electroplating production lines are becoming increasingly prominent, and they are no longer able to meet the requirements of high efficiency, precision, and flexibility in modern production.

[0003] The existing gantry electroplating loading and unloading systems may have the following shortcomings:

[0004] High occupational health and safety risks: Electroplating production widely uses electroplating solutions containing heavy metals and acid and alkali solutions and other chemicals. Workers who are exposed to such environments for a long time face multiple health threats such as chemical burns, heavy metal poisoning, and respiratory damage. At the same time, the continuous production mode requires workers to frequently change shifts. Long-term high-intensity physical labor not only aggravates physical fatigue, but may also cause safety accidents such as sheet falling and equipment collision due to operational errors, resulting in property damage and personal injury.

[0005] Insufficient production precision and stability: Manual material loading mainly relies on visual positioning. For boards with large size differences, it is difficult to ensure the consistency of the loading position, which can easily lead to uneven electroplating at the board boundary, resulting in quality problems such as coating thickness deviation and electric field distribution imbalance. In addition, the randomness and fatigue of manual operation further reduce the stability of the production process and increase the product defect rate.

[0006] Low production efficiency and flexibility: Traditional production lines may not be able to exchange information with upstream materials and downstream processing steps. When changing molds, the production line formula needs to be adjusted manually on a temporary basis, resulting in long downtime and difficulty in quickly responding to the market demand for multiple varieties and small batches. At the same time, the manual matching of main production plates and plating plates cannot accurately match the production needs of different sized plates, resulting in low utilization of fly rod space and serious waste of plating plates, which restricts the improvement of production efficiency.

[0007] Low level of intelligence: It may not be able to automatically adjust the production formula and feeding strategy according to parameters such as sheet size and weight. The production process relies on human experience, making it difficult to achieve real-time collection, analysis and traceability of production data, which is not conducive to the refinement and intelligent upgrading of production management. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to provide a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines, which solves the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for a gantry electroplating line, comprising:

[0010] Pre-processing unit: Used to acquire MES information data of production board material transmitted from the client terminal, and based on the acquired data, calculate the loading position of the main production board on the fly rod and fixture, and adjust the support height of the loading rack V-seat;

[0011] The transmission mechanism: Based on the board feeding machine and buffer machine, the main production board is transmitted to the horizontal conveyor line for feeding and then sent to the feeding clamping area;

[0012] Verification agency: Based on the barcode scanner, the product ID QR code on the main production board delivered to the loading and picking area is identified to bind the production task and perform matching degree authentication;

[0013] Gripping mechanism: The lifting mechanism raises the main production plate to the gripping height. The gripping robot automatically switches and executes the gripping scheme preset by the feeding control unit according to the thickness of the main production plate, so as to transport the main production plate to the feeding and transfer adjustment position preset by the pre-processing mechanism through its robotic arm.

[0014] The matching mechanism for the plating plate: Based on the pre-processing mechanism, the remaining space of the fly rod after the main production plate is loaded is determined to analyze the loading requirements of the plating plate. Then, the robot arm grabs and loads the plating plate in the plating plate elevator.

[0015] Material feeding mechanism: Based on the information bound by the fly stick QR code, the MES pushes the information of the main production board to be fed in advance. The gripping robot, based on the feeding control unit, calls up and executes the robotic arm gripping plan to feed the main production board to the feeding horizontal conveyor line, so as to transport it to the board receiving buffer machine. The plating board is fed to the waste box.

[0016] Optionally, the transmission mechanism, the gripping mechanism, and the unloading mechanism are designed in a U-shape, enabling the main production board to undergo U-shaped flow processes for loading, electroplating, and unloading.

[0017] Optionally, the number of gripping robots is two, and the two are symmetrically distributed. The two gripping robots share a vision system to cover the loading, unloading and boom areas.

[0018] Optionally, the feeding control unit selects and executes thin plate gripping and thick plate gripping based on a comparison between the thickness of the main production plate and 3mm.

[0019] Optionally, the thin plate gripping specifically involves:

[0020] When the thickness of the main production board is between 1-3mm, the left and right suction cup components of the robotic arm are used to pick up the main production board within 12mm of the edge, and then directly send it to the pre-calculated precise feeding position of the pre-processing mechanism.

[0021] The thick plate gripping process specifically involves:

[0022] When the thickness of the main production plate is greater than 3mm, the multi-module collaborative components of the robotic arm are used to grab the edge of the main production plate within 12mm, and then transport it to the loading position and transfer adjustment position pre-calculated by the pre-processing mechanism.

[0023] The multi-module collaborative component is specifically:

[0024] Left and right suction cup components are paired with multi-point locking devices on both sides;

[0025] If the main production board needs to be adjusted, the flat pushing mechanism extended by the robotic arm will push the board to the precise feeding position;

[0026] If the main production board does not need adjustment, the robot arm releases the locking device on one side, and the other locking device, in conjunction with the suction cup assembly, sends the main production board to the set loading position.

[0027] Optionally, the plate feeding machine buffer is located at the front end of the production line of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system and is connected to the loading horizontal transmission line to buffer and transport the main production plates in the plate feeding machine buffer.

[0028] The board feeding machine buffer includes a multi-station storage rack assembly for stacking multiple main production boards stored therein, and the board feeding machine buffer is equipped with multi-angle conveyor rollers for conveying the main production boards.

[0029] The plate feeding machine buffer includes a body, on which a control panel and a display screen are provided. Inside the body, a sensing and monitoring component is provided, including a buffer quantity detection unit and a plate arrival detection unit. The sensing and monitoring component monitors the buffer quantity of the main production plate in real time, and sends a replenishment prompt to the MES when it is lower than the threshold.

[0030] Optionally, the receiving machine buffer is located at the rear end of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system, and is used to connect the unloading horizontal conveyor line with subsequent processes;

[0031] The receiving machine buffer includes an upper shell, and a barcode scanning and identification component is provided inside the upper shell for scanning and identifying the product ID QR code on the main production board.

[0032] The plate receiving machine buffer includes a multi-station storage rack assembly and a plate sorting assembly. The plate sorting assembly positions and sorts the electroplated main production plates to ensure neat stacking.

[0033] The receiving machine buffer includes a base, and a full material alarm component is installed inside the base to trigger an audible and visual prompt when the material box is full, so as to remind the operator to replace it.

[0034] Optionally, the loading horizontal transmission line is used to connect the board feeding machine buffer and the loading gripping area, and the unloading horizontal transmission line is used to connect the gripping robot working area and the board collecting machine buffer.

[0035] Both the loading and unloading horizontal conveyor lines are equipped with sheet material conveying rollers for directional conveying of the main production sheets before and after electroplating.

[0036] Both the loading and unloading horizontal conveyor lines are equipped with position sensors. When the main production board is detected to have reached the predetermined position, a stop signal is triggered.

[0037] Optionally, the plate lifting machine is located to the side of the gripping robot's working area and close to the loading position of the boom;

[0038] The plate-to-plate elevator includes a plate storage bin, which is used to hold and stack plate-to-plates.

[0039] The plate lifting machine includes a vertical lifting guide rail located inside the plate storage bin. The vertical lifting guide rail is used to lift the stacked plates to the gripping height of the gripping robot.

[0040] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0041] I. This invention completely replaces manual operation with a fully automated loading and unloading system. Workers do not need to directly contact the electroplating production environment, which completely eliminates occupational health risks such as chemical damage and heavy metal poisoning. At the same time, the precise operation of the robot avoids safety accidents such as sheet falling and equipment collision caused by human fatigue or mistakes, thus ensuring the safety and stability of the production process.

[0042] Second, this invention combines a 3D vision camera with a pre-processing mechanism to achieve high-precision detection and positioning of the sheet material's size and position. The loading position error is controlled within a very small range. The customized gripping robot arm, through the cooperation of edge suction and locking mechanisms, ensures the stability of the sheet material during gripping and handling, avoiding deformation or displacement. The precise loading positioning and stable sheet material clamping effectively improve the uniformity of the electroplating process, reduce quality problems such as coating thickness deviation and electric field imbalance, and improve product qualification rate and consistency.

[0043] Third, through deep integration with the MES system, the production line can obtain production task information in advance, automatically adjust the production formula and feeding strategy, significantly shorten the mold changeover time, realize the rapid switching of multi-variety, small-batch orders, and intelligently match the specifications of the plating plates to maximize the use of the fly rod space, reduce the waste of plating plates, and increase the effective electroplating area. The symmetrical distribution design of the two robots further improves the loading and unloading cycle time, shortens the loading time of a single plate, and thus significantly improves the overall production efficiency.

[0044] Fourth, the fully automated production process of this invention realizes the real-time collection, transmission and analysis of production data. Managers can monitor production progress, equipment status and product quality in real time through the MES system, realize the visual management of the production process, and ensure the traceability of production data. This provides data support for quality problem analysis and process optimization, helps to continuously improve the production process and enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the mechanism operation of the highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system of this gantry electroplating line.

[0046] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system of this gantry electroplating line;

[0047] Figure 3 This is a partial structural diagram of the highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for this gantry electroplating line. Figure 1 ;

[0048] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the robotic arm, plating plate, and main production plate of the present invention on the fly rod;

[0049] Figure 5 This is a partial structural diagram of the highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for this gantry electroplating line. Figure 2 ;

[0050] Figure 6 For the present invention Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure at point A in the middle;

[0051] Figure 7 For the present invention Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure at point B in the middle;

[0052] Figure 8 For the present invention Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure at point C.

[0053] In the diagram: 1. Main production board; 2. Board feeding machine buffer; 3. Horizontal feeding conveyor line; 4. Feeding clamping area; 5. Gripping robot; 6. Robotic arm; 7. Plating board; 8. Plating board elevator; 9. Horizontal unloading conveyor line; 10. Board collecting machine buffer; 11. Scrap box; 21. Multi-station storage rack assembly one; 22. Multi-angle conveyor roller conveyor; 23. Machine body; 24. Control panel; 25. Display screen; 31. Board conveyor roller conveyor; 81. Board storage bin; 82. Vertical lifting guide rail; 101. Upper shell; 102. Multi-station storage rack assembly two; 103. Board sorting assembly; 104. Base. Detailed Implementation

[0054] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0055] Please see Figures 1 to 8 This implementation provides a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for a gantry electroplating line, including:

[0056] Pre-processing unit: used to acquire MES information data of production board material transmitted from the client terminal, and based on the acquired data, calculate the loading position of the main production board 1 on the fly rod and fixture, and adjust the support height of the loading rack V seat;

[0057] This pre-processing unit is used to acquire and analyze information about the board material. It uses efficient visual recognition and information acquisition calculation methods to obtain information data about the main production board, the secondary plating board, and the fly rod. Based on the thickness of the main production board and the specifications of the fly rod, it automatically calculates the layout and quantity of the main production board on the fly rod. The remaining space is configured based on the specifications and conditions of the secondary plating board to achieve precise loading and unloading of PCB boards. Furthermore, based on the weight of the board material, it analyzes and adjusts the size and sinking amount of the fly rod loading rack V-seat to ensure the stability of PCB board electroplating.

[0058] Transmission mechanism: Based on the plate feeding machine buffer machine 2, the main production board is transmitted to the feeding horizontal transmission line 3 and sent to the feeding clamping area 4;

[0059] It should be noted that:

[0060] The plate feeding machine buffer 2 is located at the front end of the production line of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system and is connected to the loading horizontal transmission line 3 to buffer and transport the main production plate 1 in the plate feeding machine buffer 2.

[0061] The board feeding machine buffer 2 includes a multi-station storage rack assembly 21 for stacking multiple main production boards 1 stored therein, and the board feeding machine buffer 2 is provided with a multi-angle conveyor roller 22 for conveying the main production boards 1.

[0062] The plate feeding machine buffer 2 includes a body 23, on which a control panel 24 and a display screen 25 are installed. The body 23 is equipped with a sensor monitoring component, which includes a buffer quantity detection unit and a plate material arrival detection unit. The sensor monitoring component monitors the buffer quantity of the main production plate 1 in real time, and sends a replenishment prompt to the MES when it is lower than the threshold.

[0063] Verification agency: Based on the barcode scanner, the product ID QR code on the main production board 1 delivered to the feeding and picking area 4 is identified to bind the production task and perform matching degree authentication, that is, the 2D camera takes a picture to confirm that the board size is consistent with the task. If they do not match, they are diverted to the abnormal material box.

[0064] Gripping mechanism: The lifting mechanism raises the main production plate 1 to the gripping height. The gripping robot 5 automatically switches and executes the gripping scheme preset by the feeding control unit according to the thickness of the main production plate, so as to transport the main production plate 1 to the feeding and transfer adjustment position preset by the pre-processing mechanism through its robotic arm 6.

[0065] The feeding control unit determines and executes thin plate gripping and thick plate gripping based on the comparison between the thickness of the main production board 1 and 3mm.

[0066] Thin plate gripping specifically involves:

[0067] When the thickness of the main production plate 1 is between 1 and 3 mm, the left and right suction cup components of the robotic arm 6 are used to pick up the main production plate 1 within 12 mm of its edge, and then directly send it to the precise feeding position pre-calculated by the pre-processing mechanism.

[0068] Based on the above, this gripping method for thin plates avoids contact damage to the main production board's circuit layout area and ensures the stability of plate gripping through precise edge picking, directly delivering the plate to the preset precise feeding position without additional adjustment. This effectively ensures the consistency of the feeding position and lays the foundation for the uniformity of subsequent electroplating processes.

[0069] The specific process for gripping thick plates is as follows:

[0070] When the thickness of the main production plate 1 is greater than 3mm, the multi-module collaborative components of the robotic arm 6 are used to grab the edge of the main production plate 1 within 12mm, and then transport it to the loading position and transfer adjustment position pre-calculated by the pre-processing mechanism.

[0071] Multi-module collaborative components, specifically:

[0072] Left and right suction cup components are paired with multi-point locking devices on both sides;

[0073] If the main production plate 1 needs to be adjusted, the flat pushing mechanism of the robot arm 6 will push the plate to the precise feeding position.

[0074] If the main production plate 1 does not need to be adjusted, the robot arm 6 will release the locking device on one side and use the other locking device in conjunction with the suction cup assembly to send the main production plate 1 to the set loading position.

[0075] Based on the above, the multi-module collaborative gripping solution for thick plates ensures the firmness of the gripping process by using suction cup components and locking devices to prevent the plate from slipping or shifting. The flat pushing mechanism allows for precise fine-tuning of the plate, further ensuring the accuracy of the loading position. The single-sided locking method with suction cups when no adjustment is needed balances gripping stability and operational efficiency, adapts to the loading requirements of different plate thicknesses, and improves the overall loading accuracy and flexibility.

[0076] The matching mechanism for the plating plate: Based on the pre-processing mechanism, the remaining space of the fly rod after the main production plate 1 is loaded is determined to analyze the loading requirements of the plating plate 7. Then, the robot arm 6 grabs and loads the plating plate 7 in the plating plate elevator 8.

[0077] It should be noted that:

[0078] The plate-coating elevator 8 is located to the side of the working area of ​​the gripping robot 5 and close to the loading position of the flying rod;

[0079] The plate-to-plate elevator 8 includes a plate storage bin 81, which is used to hold and stack the plate-to-plate 7.

[0080] The plate lifting machine 8 includes a vertical lifting guide rail 82, which is located inside the plate storage bin 81. The vertical lifting guide rail 82 is used to lift the stacked plates 7 to the gripping height of the gripping robot 5.

[0081] Specifically:

[0082] If there is a need for matching the feeding of the plating board, the best matching plating board size range will be calculated. The robot will first move to the plating board elevator on the side of the production line to take a picture to confirm whether the size of the plating board is correct. After confirming that it is correct, the grabbing robot will pick up the single board material from the plating board elevator and finally send it to the precise feeding position pre-calculated by the pre-processing mechanism.

[0083] Based on the above, by accurately judging the remaining space of the fly rod and analyzing the requirements of the plating plate by the pre-processing mechanism, the effective space of the fly rod can be maximized, and the optimal matching between the main production board and the plating plate can be achieved. The photo confirmation step before the robot grabs the plate effectively avoids process problems caused by incorrect plating plate size, ensures accurate matching between the plating plate and the main production board, increases the effective electroplating area, and reduces material waste and process defects caused by improper matching of plating plates.

[0084] Material feeding mechanism: Based on the flying rod QR code binding information, MES pushes the information of the main production board 1 to be fed in advance. The gripping robot 5, based on the feeding control unit, calls up and executes the gripping scheme of the robotic arm 6 to feed the main production board 1 to the feeding horizontal transmission line 9, so as to transport it to the board receiving buffer machine 10. The plating board is fed to the waste box 11.

[0085] It should be noted that:

[0086] The plate receiving machine buffer 10 is located at the rear end of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system, and is used to connect the unloading horizontal transmission line 9 with subsequent processes;

[0087] The receiving machine buffer 10 includes an upper shell 101, and a barcode scanning and identification component is provided inside the upper shell 101 for scanning and identifying the product ID QR code on the main production board 1.

[0088] The board receiving and buffering machine 10 includes a multi-station storage rack assembly 102 and a board sorting assembly 103. The board sorting assembly 103 positions and sorts the electroplated main production board 1 to ensure neat stacking.

[0089] The plate receiving machine buffer 10 includes a base 104, and a full material alarm component is installed in the base 104 to trigger an audible and visual prompt when the material box is full, so as to remind the operator to replace it;

[0090] It should be noted that:

[0091] The horizontal conveyor line 3 is used to connect the plate feeding machine buffer 2 and the plate feeding gripping area 4, and the horizontal conveyor line 9 is used to connect the gripping robot 5 and the plate collecting machine buffer 10.

[0092] Both the loading horizontal conveyor line 3 and the unloading horizontal conveyor line 9 are equipped with plate conveying rollers 31 for directional conveying of the main production plate 1 before and after electroplating.

[0093] Both the loading horizontal conveyor line 3 and the unloading horizontal conveyor line 9 are equipped with position sensing components. When the main production board 1 is detected to have reached the predetermined position, a stop signal is triggered.

[0094] Furthermore, the blanking process for the plating plate is explained as follows:

[0095] First, the fly rod QR code binding information provided by the main production line can obtain the size parameters of the plating plate 7 that needs to be unloaded in advance. Next, the robot 6 comes to the pre-calculated unloading position of the plating plate 7, uses the suction cup assembly to pick up a single plating plate 7, and finally sends it to the plating plate waste box 11 by the robot 6 to complete the unloading.

[0096] Based on the above, the information bound to the flying stick QR code is used for material preparation, enabling the gripping robot to accurately obtain the size parameters of the board to be cut, plan the gripping path in advance, improve the material cutting efficiency, and classify and cut the main production board and the plating board to ensure the orderliness of the production process and avoid confusion between different boards. At the same time, the automated material cutting method replaces manual operation, reduces human error, ensures the accuracy of the material cutting position, and provides support for the smooth progress of subsequent processes.

[0097] This gantry electroplating line features a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system. It employs a customized intelligent gripping solution that combines a robotic arm with a loading control unit, which differs from conventional systems. This system can mimic manual loading and unloading actions to the greatest extent possible while ensuring a highly efficient and precise production cycle.

[0098] The robotic arm is equipped with high-suction suction cup components on both the left and right edges, and also adopts a high-strength clamping mechanism on the rear edge of the main production board. The robotic arm operates in two modes to adapt to the robot's motion trajectory: high-speed locking mode and smooth feeding mode. In the smooth feeding mode, the locking mechanism on one side of the board is released, and the two adjacent main production boards are seamlessly connected and arranged by suction cup assistance. This saves the space of the fly rod to the greatest extent, increases the effective electroplating area, and reduces problems such as electric field imbalance caused by excessive spacing between adjacent boards, which helps to improve the quality and precision of electroplating.

[0099] The pre-processing unit collects data and analyzes and arranges the main production board and electroplating board, adapting to the entire loading and unloading system. After the system obtains the production task through MES, it can give the optimal number of production boards and the precise loading position of the fly rod loading position of the production line based on the board size characteristics. At the same time, it can automatically match the optimal specifications and quantity of the plating board. It can also analyze the workpiece self-weight based on the board thickness, predict the amount of sinking after the entire row of spring V seats of the loading rack base is subjected to force, and automatically generate the Z-axis dynamic compensation value to correct the loading height.

[0100] Furthermore, the transmission mechanism, gripping mechanism, and unloading mechanism are designed in a U-shape, enabling the main production board to undergo U-shaped flow processes for loading, electroplating, and unloading.

[0101] Based on the above, the U-shaped distribution design of the transmission, gripping and unloading mechanism optimizes the production line space layout, shortens the transmission distance of the sheet material between each process, and improves the production cycle. The U-shaped flow method makes the feeding, electroplating and unloading processes of the sheet material more closely connected, which facilitates the efficient operation of the gripping robot in each area, reduces the robot's movement path, and further improves the overall production efficiency.

[0102] Furthermore, there are two gripping robots 5, which are symmetrically distributed. The two gripping robots 5 share a vision system to cover the loading, unloading and boom areas.

[0103] Based on the above, the two symmetrically distributed grasping robots share a vision system, which expands the operation coverage and enables them to handle loading and unloading as well as tasks in the boom area simultaneously, greatly improving the efficiency of loading and unloading. The shared vision system not only reduces equipment costs but also ensures the consistency of the positioning information of the two robots, avoids errors that may be caused by repeated configuration of vision equipment, and improves the overall accuracy and coordination of the operation.

[0104] This invention provides a highly flexible, fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines. Compared to semi-automated or manually loaded and unloaded production lines, this invention minimizes the need for manual labor in such production lines.

[0105] It cleverly combines the similar movements of grasping robots and actual human operations, and the overall design has high compatibility. It can automatically and flexibly adjust the formula and smoothly realize the flexible loading and unloading commands of up to thousands of different sizes of circuit boards and full-size plating boards.

[0106] A full-line MES system was built to connect such production lines, enabling the sharing of all production information and process parameters with the front-end and back-end main production lines. The sharing of production status, maintenance, and fault alarm control are more precise and efficient.

[0107] The gripping robot is equipped with a vision system to assist in judging positioning and error. It uses a 3D vision camera to automatically establish coordinates between the loading rack and the fixture, which enables the gripping robot to accurately load the board to the designated position under the precise guidance of vision. The vision system can also perform secondary confirmation of multiple key parameters and equipment status. For example, the vision system takes multiple photos before loading to confirm whether the dimensions of the provided main board and the plating board are consistent with the required dimensions.

[0108] 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 gantry electroplating line high-flexibility full-automatic loading and unloading system, characterized in that, include: Pre-processing mechanism: used to acquire MES information data of production board material transmitted by customer terminal, and based on the acquired data, calculate the loading position of the main production board (1) on the fly rod and fixture, and adjust the support height of the loading rack V seat; Transmission mechanism: Based on the plate feeding machine buffer (2), the main production plate is transmitted to the loading horizontal transmission line (3) and sent to the loading clamping area (4); Verification agency: Based on the barcode scanner, the product ID QR code on the main production board (1) delivered to the loading and picking area (4) is identified to bind the production task and perform matching degree authentication; Gripping mechanism: The lifting mechanism raises the main production plate (1) to the gripping height. The gripping robot (5) automatically switches and executes the gripping scheme preset by the feeding control unit according to the thickness of the main production plate, so as to transport the main production plate (1) to the feeding and transfer adjustment position preset by the pre-processing mechanism through its robotic arm (6). Matching mechanism for plating plates: Based on the pre-processing mechanism, the remaining space of the fly rod after the main production plate (1) is loaded is determined to analyze the loading requirements of the plating plate (7). Then, the robot (6) grabs and loads the plating plate (7) in the plating plate elevator (8). Material feeding mechanism: Based on the flying rod QR code binding information, MES pushes the information of the main production board (1) to be fed in advance. The gripping robot (5) calls up and executes the gripping scheme of the robotic arm (6) based on the feeding control unit, and feeds the main production board (1) to the feeding horizontal transmission line (9) to be transported to the board receiving buffer (10). The plating board is fed to the waste box (11). The feeding control unit selects and executes thin plate gripping and thick plate gripping based on the comparison between the thickness of the main production plate (1) and 3mm. The thin plate gripping process specifically involves: When the thickness of the main production plate (1) is 1-3mm, the left and right suction cup components of the robot (6) are used to pick up the main production plate (1) within 12mm of the edge and then send it directly to the pre-calculated precise feeding position of the pre-processing mechanism. The thick plate gripping process specifically involves: When the thickness of the main production plate (1) is greater than 3mm, the multi-module collaborative component of the robot (6) is used to grab the main production plate (1) within 12mm of the edge and then transport it to the loading position and transfer adjustment position pre-calculated by the pre-processing mechanism. The multi-module collaborative component is specifically: Left and right suction cup components are paired with multi-point locking devices on both sides; If the main production board (1) needs to be adjusted, the flat pushing mechanism of the robot (6) will push the board to the precise feeding position; If the main production plate (1) does not need to be adjusted, the robot (6) will release the locking device on one side and use the other locking device in conjunction with the suction cup assembly to send the main production plate (1) to the set loading position. The plate receiving machine buffer (10) is located at the rear end of the production line of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system, and is used to connect the unloading horizontal transmission line (9) with subsequent processes; The receiving machine buffer (10) includes an upper shell (101), and a barcode scanning and identification component is provided inside the upper shell (101) for scanning and identifying the product ID QR code on the main production board (1). The plate receiving machine buffer (10) includes a multi-station storage rack assembly (102) and a plate sorting assembly (103). The plate sorting assembly (103) positions and sorts the electroplated main production plate (1) to ensure neat stacking. The plate receiving machine buffer (10) includes a base (104), and a full material alarm component is provided in the base (104) to trigger an audible and visual prompt when the material box is full, so as to remind the operator to replace it; The plate lifting machine (8) is located to the side of the working area of ​​the gripping robot (5) and close to the loading position of the flying rod; The plate lifting machine (8) includes a plate storage bin (81) for accommodating and stacking plated sheets (7). The plate lifting machine (8) includes a vertical lifting guide rail (82), which is located in the plate storage bin (81). The vertical lifting guide rail (82) is used to lift the stacked plates (7) to the gripping height of the gripping robot (5).

2. The highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism, the gripping mechanism, and the unloading mechanism are designed in a U-shape, enabling the main production board to undergo U-shaped feeding, electroplating, and unloading processes.

3. The highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of gripping robots (5) is two, and the two are symmetrically distributed. The two gripping robots (5) share a vision system to cover the loading and unloading and the boom area.

4. The highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system for gantry electroplating lines according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plate feeding machine buffer (2) is located at the front end of the production line of the gantry electroplating line's highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system and is connected to the loading horizontal transmission line (3) to buffer and transport the main production plate (1) in the plate feeding machine buffer (2); The board feeding machine buffer (2) includes a multi-station storage rack assembly (21) for stacking multiple main production boards (1) stored therein. The board feeding machine buffer (2) is provided with a multi-angle conveyor roller (22) for conveying the main production boards (1). The plate feeding machine buffer (2) includes a body (23), on which a control panel (24) and a display screen (25) are provided. A sensor monitoring component is provided inside the body (23). The sensor monitoring component includes a buffer quantity detection unit and a plate material arrival detection unit. The sensor monitoring component monitors the buffer quantity of the main production plate (1) in real time. When it is lower than the threshold, it sends a replenishment prompt to the MES.

5. The highly flexible fully automated loading and unloading system for a gantry electroplating line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The loading horizontal transmission line (3) is used to connect the board feeding machine buffer (2) and the loading clamping area (4), and the unloading horizontal transmission line (9) is used to connect the working area of ​​the gripping robot (5) and the board receiving machine buffer (10). Both the loading horizontal transmission line (3) and the unloading horizontal transmission line (9) are equipped with plate conveying rollers (31) for directional conveying of the main production plate (1) before and after electroplating; Both the loading horizontal transmission line (3) and the unloading horizontal transmission line (9) are equipped with positioning sensors. When the main production board (1) is detected to have reached the predetermined position, a stop signal is triggered.

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