Continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet non-stop printing device

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of special equipment manufacturing technology in the electronics industry, specifically to a continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment. It includes a frame, a tension wheel base, two C-shaped seats, a first support plate, a second support plate, a drive wheel base, a lower tension wheel, a tension wheel adjusting component, an upper tension wheel, a damper, multiple lower support bearings, an upper pressure bearing, multiple upper pressure rubber-coated wheels, multiple lower rubber-coated wheels, a fiber optic sensor, a drive wheel support wheel, a drive wheel adjusting component, a drive wheel ratchet, and two slides. The fully automated printing process is achieved through a servo motion module and a grating encoder assembly. It employs inkjet technology for fully digital production. Furthermore, it uses hot melt material as ink, which is a phase change material that cures rapidly after printing. Finally, a high-precision servo motor-driven X, Y, and Z axis system, along with a precision photoelectric sensor scale, ensures a high precision requirement of 50µm for the electroplating area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of special equipment manufacturing technology in the electronics industry, and in particular to a continuous tape precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In the electronics industry, to ensure the reliable performance of high-frequency, high-speed data transmission and precision electronic equipment, the pins of electronic connectors typically require electroplating with precious metals such as gold, silver, and palladium to prevent corrosion of the contact surfaces due to oxidation or chemical reactions. Traditional electroplating masking processes, such as manual application of adhesive tape, manual application of electroplating adhesive, or spot plating with plastic wheels, can achieve partial electroplating to a certain extent, thereby reducing the amount of precious metals used and lowering production costs. These processes are feasible and economical in simple application scenarios and can meet some basic requirements.

[0003] However, firstly, manual tape application or adhesive coating processes require a large amount of manual labor, resulting in low production efficiency and difficulty in guaranteeing precision; secondly, traditional processes require the fabrication of specialized photomasks, which not only increases production costs but also extends the production cycle; furthermore, photomask materials are not easy to remove, potentially causing damage or residual contamination to the product surface; finally, existing technologies struggle to achieve high-precision, high-efficiency production of continuous strips, especially in precision applications where electroplating areas are as small as 50 micrometers or less, where the limitations of traditional processes become even more apparent. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a continuous tape precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing device, aiming to solve the following problems in the existing technology: First, the manual tape application or adhesive coating process requires a large amount of manual labor, resulting in low production efficiency and difficulty in guaranteeing accuracy; second, traditional processes require the production of special mask plates, which not only increases production costs but also extends the production cycle; in addition, the mask material is not easy to remove, which may cause damage or residual pollution to the product surface; finally, the existing technology is unable to achieve high-precision and high-efficiency production of continuous tapes, especially in precision demand scenarios where the electroplating area is as small as 50 micrometers or less, where the limitations of traditional processes are even more obvious.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model employs a continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing device, comprising a frame. From left to right, the frame is sequentially arranged with a tension wheel base, two C-shaped seats, a first support plate, a second support plate, and a drive wheel base. A lower tension wheel is rotatably mounted below the tension wheel base, and an upper tension wheel is mounted above the tension wheel base via a tension wheel adjusting component. A damper is installed at the shaft end of the upper tension wheel. Multiple lower support bearings and upper pressure bearings are rotatably mounted on both the first and second support plates. The first support plate is also rotatably equipped with multiple upper pressure rubber-coated wheels and multiple lower rubber-coated wheels. An optical fiber sensor is provided on the outer side of the first support plate. An active wheel support wheel is rotatably provided below the active wheel base. An active wheel ratchet is provided above the active wheel base through an active wheel adjustment component. The active wheel ratchet is driven by a motor. Two slide blocks are slidably provided on each C-shaped seat. The first support plate is provided on two of the slide blocks arranged horizontally on the two C-shaped seats. The second support plate is provided on the other two slide blocks arranged horizontally on the two C-shaped seats.

[0006] The tension wheel adjusting component includes a tension wheel adjusting block and a tension wheel adjusting screw. The tension wheel base has a tension wheel adjusting groove. The tension wheel adjusting block is slidably connected to the tension wheel base and is located within the tension wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the wheel on the tension wheel is rotatably mounted in the tension wheel adjusting block via a bearing. The tension wheel adjusting screw is rotatably mounted on the tension wheel base via a bearing and is also threaded onto the tension wheel adjusting block.

[0007] Each of the C-shaped seats is provided with a dovetail block, each of the slides has a dovetail groove, and the dovetail block is slidably disposed in the dovetail groove. Each of the slides is threaded with a fastening screw on its outer side, and the fastening screw abuts against the outer side of the dovetail block.

[0008] The drive wheel adjusting component includes a drive wheel adjusting block and a drive wheel adjusting screw. The drive wheel base has a drive wheel adjusting groove. The drive wheel adjusting block is slidably connected to the drive wheel base and is located in the drive wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the drive wheel support wheel is rotatably mounted in the drive wheel adjusting block via a bearing. The drive wheel adjusting screw is rotatably mounted on the drive wheel base via a bearing and is also threaded onto the drive wheel adjusting block.

[0009] The first support plate and the second support plate have multiple bearing pressure roller mounting grooves, and each bearing pressure roller mounting groove is slidably arranged with a bearing pressure roller mounting slider. Each upper pressure bearing is rotatably arranged in the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider. The first support plate and the second support plate are also provided with multiple spring plungers, and each spring plunger abuts against the upper part of the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider.

[0010] The equipment frame is equipped with a servo motion module on one side, and a grating encoder assembly on the servo motion module. The equipment frame is equipped with a heated dual-circulation ink path assembly on the other side, and a printhead assembly on the heated dual-circulation ink path assembly. The equipment frame is also equipped with a positive and negative pressure air path assembly.

[0011] This utility model discloses a continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment. By employing a servo motion module in conjunction with a grating encoder assembly, it achieves a fully automated printing process, greatly reducing manual intervention and improving production efficiency and printing accuracy. Secondly, it adopts inkjet technology, enabling fully digital production without the need for a mask, thus reducing costs and shortening the production cycle. Furthermore, it uses hot melt material as ink, which is a phase change material that solidifies rapidly after printing, making it easy to remove without damaging the product surface. Finally, through a high-precision servo motor-driven X, Y, and Z axis system and a precision photoelectric sensor scale, it ensures high precision requirements for electroplating areas as small as 50µm, while supporting continuous strip production, meeting the high-standard requirements of precision electronic equipment manufacturing. Attached Figure Description

[0012] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0013] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional perspective view of the continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment of this utility model.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a front view of the continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment of this utility model.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a side view of the continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment of this utility model.

[0016] Figure 4This is a three-dimensional view of the tension wheel base, two C-shaped seats, first support plate, second support plate and drive wheel base in the continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment of this utility model.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a front view of the tension wheel base, two C-shaped seats, the first support plate, the second support plate, and the drive wheel base in the continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment of this utility model.

[0018] 1-Equipment frame, 2-Tensioning wheel base, 3-C-shaped seat, 4-First support plate, 5-Second support plate, 6-Drive wheel base, 7-Lower tensioning wheel, 8-Upper tensioning wheel, 9-Damper, 10-Lower support bearing, 11-Upper pressure bearing, 12-Upper pressure rubber-coated wheel, 13-Lower rubber-coated wheel, 14-Fiber optic sensor, 15-Drive wheel support wheel, 16-Drive wheel ratchet, 17-Motor, 18-Slide, 19-Tensioning wheel 20-Tension wheel adjusting block, 21-Dovetail block, 22-Dovetail groove, 23-Drive wheel adjusting block, 24-Drive wheel adjusting screw, 25-Bearing pressure wheel mounting groove, 26-Bearing pressure wheel mounting slider, 27-Spring plunger, 28-Servo motion module, 29-Raster encoder assembly, 30-Heated dual-circulation ink path assembly, 31-Printhead assembly, 32-Positive and negative pressure air path assembly, 33-Connector stamping strip product. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The embodiments of this utility model 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 intended to explain this utility model, and should not be construed as limiting this utility model.

[0020] Please see Figures 1 to 5This utility model provides a continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing device, including a frame 1. From left to right, the frame 1 is provided with a tension wheel base 2, two C-shaped seats 3, a first support plate 4, a second support plate 5, and a drive wheel base 6. A lower tension wheel 7 is rotatably mounted below the tension wheel base 2, and an upper tension wheel 8 is mounted above the tension wheel base 2 via a tension wheel adjustment component. A damper 9 is provided at the shaft end of the upper tension wheel 8. Multiple lower support bearings 10 and upper pressure bearings 11 are rotatably mounted on both the first support plate 4 and the second support plate 5. The upper part is rotatably equipped with multiple upper pressure rubber-coated wheels 12 and multiple lower rubber-coated wheels 13. An optical fiber sensor 14 is provided on the outer side of the first support plate 4. An active wheel support wheel 15 is rotatably provided below the active wheel base 6. An active wheel ratchet 16 is provided above the active wheel base 6 through an active wheel adjustment component. The active wheel ratchet 16 is driven by a motor 17. Two slide blocks 18 are slidably provided on each of the C-shaped seats 3. The first support plate 4 is provided on two of the slide blocks 18 arranged horizontally on the two C-shaped seats 3. The second support plate 5 is provided on the other two slide blocks 18 arranged horizontally on the two C-shaped seats 3.

[0021] In this embodiment, the tension wheel adjustment component enables dynamic adjustment of the distance between the upper and lower wheels. Combined with the design of the damper 9, the tension of the material belt is effectively controlled, avoiding printing offset or breakage caused by material belt slack. At the same time, the configuration of the damper 9 can buffer the instantaneous impact force during the material belt's movement, ensuring the stability of the continuous material belt under high-speed movement, and providing a basic guarantee for high-precision printing.

[0022] Furthermore, the tension wheel adjusting component includes a tension wheel adjusting block 19 and a tension wheel adjusting screw 20. The tension wheel base 2 has a tension wheel adjusting groove. The tension wheel adjusting block 19 is slidably connected to the tension wheel base 2 and is located in the tension wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the wheel 8 on the tension wheel is rotatably mounted in the tension wheel adjusting block 19 via a bearing. The tension wheel adjusting screw 20 is rotatably mounted on the tension wheel base 2 via a bearing, and the tension wheel adjusting screw 20 is also threaded onto the tension wheel adjusting block 19.

[0023] In this embodiment, the tension wheel adjusting screw 20 drives the adjusting block to move linearly along the groove through a threaded transmission mechanism, thereby achieving millimeter-level precise adjustment of the position of the wheel 8 on the tension wheel. This structure avoids the errors of traditional manual adjustment, while the screw's self-locking function ensures tension stability and reduces vibration during the operation of the material belt, providing a basic guarantee for high-precision inkjet masks.

[0024] Furthermore, each of the C-shaped seats 3 is provided with a dovetail block 21, each of the slide seats 18 has a dovetail groove 22, and the dovetail block 21 is slidably disposed in the dovetail groove 22. Each of the slide seats 18 has a fastening screw threaded on its outer side, and the fastening screw abuts against the outer side of the dovetail block 21.

[0025] In this embodiment, the dovetail groove 22 guide rail design enables the lateral displacement accuracy of the first / second support plate 5 to reach ±0.02mm. The fastening screw eliminates the gap of the slide 18 through mechanical locking, preventing the support plate from shifting during printing. This structure has both high rigidity and quick assembly / disassembly characteristics, supports quick switching between production modes of different specifications of material strips, and improves equipment utilization by more than 30%.

[0026] Furthermore, the drive wheel adjusting component includes a drive wheel adjusting block 23 and a drive wheel adjusting screw 24. The drive wheel base 6 has a drive wheel adjusting groove. The drive wheel adjusting block 23 is slidably connected to the drive wheel base 6 and is located in the drive wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the drive wheel support wheel 15 is rotatably mounted in the drive wheel adjusting block 23 via a bearing. The drive wheel adjusting screw 24 is rotatably mounted on the drive wheel base 6 via a bearing and is also threaded onto the drive wheel adjusting block 23.

[0027] In this embodiment, the active ratchet 16 achieves vertical fine-tuning in the 0.1mm range through the adjusting screw, and works in conjunction with the motor 17 to ensure that the conveying speed of the material belt is synchronized with the printing frequency. This design eliminates the backlash error in traditional mechanical transmission, and improves the positioning repeatability accuracy of continuous material belt printing to ±5μm, meeting the high-density electroplating requirements of 5G communication connectors and other products.

[0028] Furthermore, the first support plate 4 and the second support plate 5 have multiple bearing pressure roller mounting grooves 25, and each bearing pressure roller mounting groove 25 is slidably disposed in a bearing pressure roller mounting slider 26. Each upper pressure bearing 11 is rotatably disposed in the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider 26. The first support plate 4 and the second support plate 5 are also provided with multiple spring plungers 27, and each spring plunger 27 abuts against the upper part of the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider 26.

[0029] In this embodiment, the sliding block design within the groove allows the upper pressure bearing 11 to float automatically according to the thickness of the strip. The spring plunger 27 provides an adjustable pressure of 5-20N to ensure that the strip does not jump in the Z direction. This elastic clamping mechanism makes the device compatible with connector strips with a thickness of 0.1-2mm, while avoiding strip deformation caused by rigid compression and ensuring the integrity of the pattern in the electroplating area.

[0030] Furthermore, a servo motion module 28 is provided on one side of the equipment frame 1, and a grating encoder assembly 29 is provided on the servo motion module 28. A heated dual-circulation ink path assembly 30 is provided on the other side of the equipment frame 1, and a printhead assembly 31 is provided on the heated dual-circulation ink path assembly 30. A positive and negative pressure air path assembly 32 is provided inside the equipment frame 1.

[0031] In this embodiment, the servo module (X / Y / Z axes) in conjunction with the grating encoder achieves a printhead three-dimensional positioning accuracy of ±2μm. The heated dual-circulation ink path ensures that the phase change ink completes the liquid-to-solid transition within 0.5 seconds, preventing flow. The positive and negative pressure air path precisely controls the ink droplet ejection speed (8-15m / s), making the edge sharpness of the 50μm-level electroplating mask ≤3μm, which is 4 times more accurate than the traditional process.

[0032] In this utility model, the servo motion module 28, the grating encoder assembly 29, the heated dual-circulation ink path assembly 30, the printhead assembly 31, and the positive and negative pressure air path assembly 32 are all existing technologies, so their specific working principles and structures will not be described here.

[0033] In this invention, the distance between the upper wheel 8 and the lower wheel 7 of the tensioning wheel is first adjusted by the tensioning wheel adjusting screw 20 on the tensioning wheel base 2, and the initial tension of the material belt is stabilized by the damper 9. Then, the continuous material belt is sequentially passed through the first support plate 4 and the second support plate 5 on the C-shaped seat 3 (sliding and positioned within the dovetail groove 22 via the slide block 18). The material belt is flattened at the first support plate 4 by the upper pressure bearing 11 and the lower support bearing 10, while the upper pressure rubber-coated wheel 12 provides auxiliary guidance, and the fiber optic sensor 14 monitors the position of the material belt in real time. The material belt continues to travel to the drive wheel base 6, where the gap between the drive wheel ratchet 16 and the drive wheel support wheel 15 is adjusted by the drive wheel adjusting screw 24, and the motor 17 drives the belt. The system achieves precise material feeding. At this time, the servo motion module 28 (integrated grating encoder) drives the printhead assembly 31 (mounted on the Z-axis, which is mounted on the X-axis slide) to move along the three-dimensional coordinates according to the sensing signal of the active wheel base 6. The heated dual-circulation ink path assembly 30 heats the hot-melt phase change ink to a liquid state and then precisely sprays it onto the designated area of ​​the material strip through the printhead. After the ink droplets come into contact with the material strip, they quickly solidify to form a mask pattern. The positive and negative pressure air path assembly 32 synchronously adjusts the internal pressure of the printhead to ensure the stability of the ink droplet shape. During the production process, the spring plunger 27 of the second support plate 5 and the bearing pressure roller mounting slider 26 dynamically adapt to the changes in the thickness of the material strip to maintain a balanced printing pressure, ultimately achieving high-precision, maskless electroplating mask printing of continuous material strips.

[0034] The above-disclosed embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present utility model. Those skilled in the art can understand that implementing all or part of the above-described embodiments and making equivalent changes in accordance with the claims of the present utility model are still within the scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. A continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing device, characterized in that, The device includes a frame on which, from left to right, a tension wheel base, two C-shaped seats, a first support plate, a second support plate, and a drive wheel base are arranged sequentially. A lower tension wheel is rotatably mounted below the tension wheel base, and an upper tension wheel is mounted above the tension wheel base via a tension wheel adjusting mechanism. A damper is installed at the shaft end of the upper tension wheel. Multiple lower support bearings and upper pressure bearings are rotatably mounted on both the first and second support plates. Multiple upper pressure rubber-coated wheels and multiple lower rubber-coated wheels are also rotatably mounted on the first support plate. An optical fiber sensor is located on the outer side of the first support plate. A drive wheel support wheel is rotatably mounted below the drive wheel base, and a drive wheel ratchet is mounted above the drive wheel base via a drive wheel adjusting mechanism. The drive wheel ratchet is driven by a motor. Two slide blocks are slidably mounted on each C-shaped seat. The first support plate is mounted on two of the slide blocks arranged laterally on the two C-shaped seats, and the second support plate is mounted on the other two slide blocks arranged laterally on the two C-shaped seats.

2. The continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The tension wheel adjusting component includes a tension wheel adjusting block and a tension wheel adjusting screw. The tension wheel base has a tension wheel adjusting groove. The tension wheel adjusting block is slidably connected to the tension wheel base and is located within the tension wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the wheel on the tension wheel is rotatably mounted in the tension wheel adjusting block via a bearing. The tension wheel adjusting screw is rotatably mounted on the tension wheel base via a bearing and is also threaded onto the tension wheel adjusting block.

3. The continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the C-shaped seats is provided with a dovetail block, each of the slides has a dovetail groove, and the dovetail block is slidably disposed in the dovetail groove. Each of the slides is threaded with a fastening screw on its outer side, and the fastening screw abuts against the outer side of the dovetail block.

4. The continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The drive wheel adjusting component includes a drive wheel adjusting block and a drive wheel adjusting screw. The drive wheel base has a drive wheel adjusting groove. The drive wheel adjusting block is slidably connected to the drive wheel base and is located in the drive wheel adjusting groove. The shaft of the drive wheel support wheel is rotatably mounted in the drive wheel adjusting block via a bearing. The drive wheel adjusting screw is rotatably mounted on the drive wheel base via a bearing and is also threaded onto the drive wheel adjusting block.

5. The continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first support plate and the second support plate have multiple bearing pressure roller mounting grooves, and each bearing pressure roller mounting slider is slidably arranged in each bearing pressure roller mounting groove. Each upper pressure bearing is rotatably arranged in the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider. The first support plate and the second support plate are also provided with multiple spring plungers, and each spring plunger abuts against the upper part of the corresponding bearing pressure roller mounting slider.

6. The continuous strip precision electroplating mask hot melt inkjet uninterrupted printing equipment as described in claim 5, characterized in that, A servo motion module is provided on one side of the equipment frame, and a grating encoder assembly is provided on the servo motion module. A heated dual-circulation ink path assembly is provided on the other side of the equipment frame, and a printhead assembly is provided on the heated dual-circulation ink path assembly. A positive and negative pressure air path assembly is provided inside the equipment frame.

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