Electroplating rack conductive system

Abstract

The utility model relates to electroplating equipment technical field discloses a kind of electroplating hanger conductive systems, comprising: input copper bar;Several conductive rollers, rolling setting on input copper bar;Hanger, and output copper bar is provided on hanger;Liquid metal conductive ring, the stator end of liquid metal conductive ring is fixedly arranged on hanger and is electrically connected between output copper bar, the rolling axle of conductive roller is transmission connection with the rotor end of liquid metal conductive ring;And the rolling axle of conductive roller is electrically connected with the rotor end of liquid metal conductive ring, the utility model can avoid the current fluctuation caused by electric spark, and then improve electroplating quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of electroplating equipment technology, and specifically to a conductive system for electroplating racks. Background Technology

[0002] In existing electroplating equipment, relative movement is required between the copper busbar and the rack. While the copper busbar and the rack are moving relative to each other, continuous current transmission must be ensured between them to guarantee the normal operation of the electroplating equipment. To achieve this, the existing electroplating rack conductive system achieves conductivity by having a copper brush (or carbon brush) fixed on the rack maintain relative sliding contact with the copper busbar fixed on the electroplating equipment frame.

[0003] In existing electroplating rack conductive systems, when the copper busbar and the rack move relative to each other, the copper brush fixed on the rack and the copper busbar slide and rub against each other. This process causes wear and vibration, resulting in poor contact and electric sparks, which in turn causes current fluctuations. This leads to a continuous increase in contact resistance and a decrease in conductivity, thus affecting the electroplating quality. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a conductive system for electroplating racks to solve the problem of wear and vibration affecting electroplating quality.

[0005] In a first aspect, this utility model provides a conductive system for electroplating hangers, comprising: Input copper busbar; Several conductive rollers are rotatably mounted on the input copper busbar; A mounting bracket, on which an output copper busbar is provided; A liquid metal conductive ring, wherein the stator end of the liquid metal conductive ring is fixedly mounted on the hanger and electrically connected to the output copper busbar, and the roller shaft of the conductive roller is drivenly connected to the rotor end of the liquid metal conductive ring; and the roller shaft of the conductive roller is electrically connected to the rotor end of the liquid metal conductive ring.

[0006] Beneficial effects: This utility model forms a complete current path from input copper busbar to conductive roller to roller shaft to rotor end to liquid metal to stator end to output copper busbar. Through the rolling friction between the conductive roller and the input copper busbar, and the zero-wear, low-resistance current path formed by the liquid metal in the liquid metal conductive ring, the current fluctuations caused by electric sparks are avoided, thereby improving the electroplating quality.

[0007] In one alternative embodiment, the conductive roller and the liquid metal conductive ring are coaxially arranged.

[0008] Beneficial effects: The conductive roller and the liquid metal conductive ring can ensure that the conductive roller and the rotor end of the liquid metal conductive ring maintain a stable transmission connection during the rolling process, avoiding wear and vibration, thereby avoiding sparks and arcs caused by poor contact, thus avoiding current fluctuations and ensuring electroplating quality.

[0009] A mounting frame is fixedly installed on the hanger, and the conductive roller is mounted on the mounting frame; The mounting bracket is equipped with a bearing, the inner ring of the bearing and the conductive roller are coaxially arranged, and the outer ring of the bearing is arranged on the mounting bracket.

[0010] Beneficial effects: The bearings ensure that the conductive rollers can roll smoothly on the input copper busbars and minimize vibration during the rolling motion, thereby preventing the generation of sparks and arcs.

[0011] In one optional embodiment, a spring clamping mechanism is provided between the mounting bracket and the outer ring of the bearing, with one side of the spring clamping mechanism fixedly connected to the mounting bracket and the other side fixedly connected to the outer ring of the bearing.

[0012] Beneficial effects: The spring clamping mechanism ensures that the pressure of the conductive roller on the input copper busbar is constant, so that the conductive roller always presses the input copper busbar tightly, and can adapt to the installation error and wear of the input copper busbar.

[0013] In one optional embodiment, the spring clamping mechanism includes a rotating plate and an adjusting spring. The rotating plate is rotatably mounted on the mounting frame, the bearing is fixedly mounted on the rotating plate, and the two ends of the adjusting spring are respectively fixedly mounted on the mounting frame and the bearing.

[0014] Beneficial effects: This provides a specific embodiment of the spring clamping mechanism, which uses a rotating plate to control the trajectory of the conductive roller relative to the mounting bracket, and uses an adjusting spring to filter the vibration generated during the movement of the conductive roller. This can stably filter out most of the vibration generated by the conductive roller during its movement, thereby ensuring the electroplating quality.

[0015] In one optional embodiment, a limiting part is provided on the mounting bracket, and the limiting part cooperates with the rotating plate to limit the rotation angle of the rotating plate; The limiting part is a limiting groove, the limiting groove is an arc-shaped groove, and the center of the limiting groove is located on the rotating shaft of the rotating plate; The rotating plate is provided with a limiting post, which is disposed in the limiting groove.

[0016] Beneficial effects: Since the rotating plate rotates with a point on the mounting bracket as the center, and the limiting post is fixedly set on the rotating plate, the movement trajectory of the limiting post is arc-shaped during the rotation. Therefore, the limiting groove must also be adapted to the rotation trajectory of the limiting post, so as to ensure that the limiting post is always in the limiting groove during the rotation of the rotating plate, so as to provide stable rotation conditions for the rotating plate and indirectly reduce the vibration and wear of the conductive roller during the movement.

[0017] In one alternative embodiment, the stator end of the liquid metal conductive ring is connected to the hanger via a cable.

[0018] Beneficial effects: The liquid metal conductive ring enables electrical connection between the rotor end and the stator end, and connects the stator end and the output copper busbar through cables. Since the stator end does not rotate, the cable tangling problem is perfectly avoided, and the problem of wire harness tangling and wear caused by the continuous movement of the electroplating rack is completely solved.

[0019] In one optional embodiment, the hanger is further provided with a hanger running roller, and the hanger running roller has a process groove. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of this utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a conductive system for an electroplating hanger according to an embodiment of the present utility model; Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of part A in the diagram; Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid metal conductive ring and conductive roller; Figure 4 for Figure 1 Front view of the liquid metal conductive ring and conductive roller; Figure 5 for Figure 4 Cross-sectional view of the liquid metal conductive ring and conductive roller along DD; Figure 6 for Figure 1 A first-view structural schematic diagram of the mounting bracket and conductive rollers; Figure 7 for Figure 6A magnified view of part B in the diagram; Figure 8 for Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of the mounting bracket and conductive rollers from a second-view perspective; Figure 9 for Figure 8 A magnified view of part C in the diagram.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Input copper busbar; 2. Conductive roller; 3. Hanger; 4. Output copper busbar; 5. Liquid metal conductive ring; 51. Stator end; 52. Rotor end; 6. Mounting bracket; 611. Bearing sleeve; 612. Bearing; 62. Spring clamping mechanism; 621. Rotating plate; 622. Adjusting spring; 63. Limiting part; 64. Limiting post; 7. Cable; 8. Hanger running roller; 9. Process groove. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this utility model clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this utility model, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this utility model.

[0024] In large-scale electroplating production lines, racks need to carry workpieces in the electroplating tank for continuous or intermittent movement to achieve processes such as continuous plating and barrel plating. This requires the conductive system supplying power to the racks to be able to adapt to this moving condition. In related technologies, copper or carbon brushes fixed to the racks are commonly used to maintain sliding contact with copper busbars fixed to the equipment frame to achieve conductivity. However, this sliding friction contact method has inherent and insurmountable drawbacks: First, the direct friction between the copper brushes and the copper busbars generates continuous mechanical wear, which not only shortens the service life of critical components but also contaminates the electroplating solution with wear debris. Second, friction inevitably involves vibration, especially when the racks start, stop, or change speed. Severe vibration can lead to momentary poor contact, generating intermittent arcs and sparks. These sparks not only further erode the contact surface, creating a vicious cycle, but more importantly, they cause drastic fluctuations in the current transmitted to the workpiece. Electroplating quality, especially the uniformity, density, and gloss of the plating layer, is closely related to the stability of the current. Therefore, the conductive system in related technologies has become a bottleneck restricting high-quality electroplating production.

[0025] The following is combined with Figures 1 to 9 The following describes embodiments of the present invention.

[0026] According to embodiments of the present invention, see the following: Figures 1 to 5 This invention provides a conductive system for electroplating racks designed to address issues of wear, vibration, electrical sparks, and current fluctuations caused by sliding friction between copper brushes and copper busbars in related technologies. The system includes an input copper busbar 1, a conductive roller 2, a rack 3, an output copper busbar 4, and a liquid metal conductive ring 5.

[0027] The input copper busbar 1 is fixedly installed on the frame of the electroplating equipment (not shown in the figure) and serves as the power input terminal of the system.

[0028] The hanger 3 is used to suspend the workpiece to be electroplated, and an output copper busbar 4 is fixedly installed on its upper part to conduct current to the workpiece.

[0029] Several conductive rollers 2 are provided, which are rolled on the input copper busbar 1. The term "rolling" here means that there is rolling friction between the conductive rollers 2 and the input copper busbar 1, which fundamentally replaces the sliding friction that causes wear in related technologies.

[0030] First, in this embodiment, changing sliding friction to rolling friction enables stable current transmission. In related technologies, the stick-slip effect and vibration of sliding friction cause continuous slight changes in the contact pressure between the copper brush and the copper busbar, resulting in drastic fluctuations in contact resistance. This leads to unstable current transmitted to the workpiece, a major cause of defects such as spots, scorching, and uneven thickness in the electroplated layer. In contrast, the rolling friction in this embodiment provides a smooth and constant contact, ensuring stable contact resistance and ultimately guaranteeing the stability of the electroplating current, directly improving electroplating quality and product yield.

[0031] Secondly, the rolling friction in this embodiment completely eliminates the root cause of electrical sparks: In related technologies, vibrations and wear caused by sliding friction can lead to momentary disconnections, both of which can trigger arcs and electrical sparks. Electrical sparks not only erode contact surfaces, creating a vicious cycle, but they are also a strong source of electromagnetic interference and sudden current changes. The rolling friction in this embodiment fundamentally eliminates the possibility of vibration and momentary disconnections, thereby preventing the generation of electrical sparks, ensuring clean current, and improving equipment safety.

[0032] Furthermore, this embodiment replaces sliding friction with rolling friction, significantly extending the maintenance cycle and equipment lifespan. By changing the frequently replaced "copper brushes" in related technologies to durable "conductive rollers" and "input copper busbars," the maintenance cycle is extended from weeks or months to years, significantly reducing downtime maintenance time and spare parts costs.

[0033] The driving force required to overcome rolling friction is much less than that required for sliding friction, which means that the motor driving the hanger consumes less power and achieves energy-saving operation.

[0034] The liquid metal conductive ring 5 is the core conductive conversion component of this system. In this embodiment, the liquid metal conductive ring includes, but is not limited to, a mercury conductive ring. The stator end 51 of the liquid metal conductive ring 5 is connected to the output copper busbar 4 via cable 7 and mounted on the hanger 3. Simultaneously, the stator end 51 of the liquid metal conductive ring 5 is electrically connected to the output copper busbar 4 via cable 7. Since the stator end 51 does not rotate, the cable 7 will not entangle.

[0035] More importantly, the roller of the conductive roller 2 is connected to the rotor end 52 of the liquid metal conductive ring 5.

[0036] In this embodiment, the conductive roller 2 and the liquid metal conductive ring 5 are preferably coaxially arranged, that is, their rotation center axes coincide, which ensures the smoothness and consistency of power transmission.

[0037] At the same time, the roller is electrically connected to the rotor end 52, which ensures that the current can be directly conducted from the roller to the rotor end 52 without interruption at the mechanical connection.

[0038] Thus, this utility model forms a complete current path: input copper busbar 1 → conductive roller 2 → roller → rotor end 52 of liquid metal conductive ring 5 → (through internal liquid metal) → stator end 51 of liquid metal conductive ring 5 → cable 7 → output copper busbar 4.

[0039] In this pathway, current transmission is accomplished collaboratively by two parts: first, through the rolling friction of the conductive roller 2; and second, through the zero-wear, low-resistance liquid electrical contact formed by the liquid metal (such as mercury or gallium indium tin alloy) inside the liquid metal conductive ring. These two factors work together to completely avoid poor contact, electrical sparks, and current fluctuations caused by wear and vibration in traditional sliding contacts, thereby greatly improving the stability of electroplating quality.

[0040] In other words, in this embodiment, the liquid metal conductive ring 5 is a high-performance mercury metal conductive ring. The introduction of this component brings several key performance improvements to this embodiment, specifically in the following aspects: First, the mercury conductive ring in this embodiment achieves a truly zero-wear rotating conductive interface: the mercury conductive ring uses high-purity liquid mercury as the conductive medium, and the current transmission between its stator end 51 and rotor end 52 is accomplished through liquid metal, completely eliminating mechanical sliding friction between solids. This characteristic theoretically makes the mercury conductive ring free from mechanical wear, thus ensuring its ultra-long service life and perpetually new conductive performance, fundamentally solving the problem of decreased system reliability caused by wear.

[0041] Secondly, the mercury conductive ring in this embodiment provides extremely low and highly stable contact resistance: liquid mercury can automatically fill and perfectly fit all the microscopic gaps between the stator end electrode 51 and the rotor end electrode 52, forming a seamless conductive channel with maximized contact area. This unique liquid contact method gives the mercury conductive ring extremely low (milliohm level) and nearly constant dynamic contact resistance. This characteristic ensures that the voltage drop is minimal and extremely stable when the current passes through the rotating interface, eliminating the minute current changes caused by contact resistance fluctuations at the source, providing a core guarantee for the current stability required for high-quality electroplating.

[0042] Furthermore, the mercury conductive ring in this embodiment can eliminate vibration and noise through frictionless operation: since there is no direct contact or friction between any solid parts during the rotation between the stator end 51 and the rotor end 52, the operation of the mercury conductive ring is extremely smooth, vibration-free, and quiet.

[0043] By eliminating mechanical vibration, transient contact problems caused by vibration are avoided, thus completely eliminating the possibility of microscopic electrical sparks during operation and further improving the quality of current output.

[0044] Finally, the mercury conductive ring of this embodiment can adapt to high-speed rotation conditions: unlike traditional brushes that rely on mechanical pressure contact, the performance of the mercury conductive ring is not affected by centrifugal force and can maintain a high degree of performance consistency at high speeds.

[0045] In summary, by integrating the aforementioned mercury conductive ring, the electroplating fixture conductive system of this embodiment achieves zero wear, low resistance, no vibration, and high stability in the critical electrical energy rotation transmission stage.

[0046] See Figures 4 to 7 A mounting bracket 6 is fixed to the hanger 3 by bolts. A bearing 612 is installed on the mounting bracket 6. The roller of the conductive roller 2 passes through the inner ring of the bearing 612 and is coaxially arranged with the bearing 612, thereby ensuring that the conductive roller 2 can rotate smoothly and stably.

[0047] Furthermore, a bearing sleeve 611 is fixedly installed on the mounting bracket, and the outer ring of the bearing 612 is coaxially installed inside the bearing sleeve 611. The bearing 612 is fixed to the mounting bracket 6 by means of the bearing 612.

[0048] To ensure that the conductive roller 2 always maintains stable contact with the input copper busbar 1 and can adapt to installation errors and wear, a spring clamping mechanism 62 is provided between the mounting bracket 6 and the outer ring of the bearing 612.

[0049] The spring clamping mechanism 62 includes a rotating plate 621 and an adjusting spring 622. The rotating plate 621 is rotatably mounted on the mounting bracket 6 via a rotating shaft. The outer ring of the bearing 612 is fixedly mounted on the rotating plate 621. The adjusting spring 622 is a compression spring, with its two ends fixedly mounted on the mounting bracket 6 and the outer ring of the bearing 612, respectively.

[0050] Specifically, one end of the adjusting spring 622 is fixedly mounted on the mounting bracket 6, and the other end is fixedly mounted on the outer ring of the bearing 612 via the bearing sleeve 611.

[0051] Its working principle is as follows: the elastic force of the adjusting spring 622 is transmitted through the rotating plate 621 and the bearing 612, and finally acts on the conductive roller 2, so that it constantly applies a clamping force to the input copper busbar 1. When the equipment generates slight vibration or the input copper busbar 1 is not installed evenly, the rotating plate 621 can swing around its axis at a small angle, while the adjusting spring 622 absorbs and filters most of the vibration, thereby ensuring that the contact pressure between the conductive roller 2 and the input copper busbar 1 is constant and without impact, further eliminating the generation of sparks.

[0052] See Figure 8 , Figure 9 Preferably, to prevent the system from becoming unstable due to excessive swing angle of the rotating plate 621, a limiting part 63 is provided on the mounting bracket 6. The limiting part 63 is an arc-shaped limiting groove, the center of which is located on the rotation axis of the rotating plate 621. Correspondingly, a limiting post 64 is provided on the rotating plate 621, and the limiting post 64 is disposed in the limiting groove.

[0053] During the swinging process of the rotating plate 621, the limiting post 64 slides within the arc-shaped limiting groove. The structure of the arc-shaped groove perfectly matches the movement trajectory of the limiting post 64, ensuring that the rotating plate 621 has the necessary degree of freedom of movement to provide a buffering effect, while also precisely limiting its rotation angle, providing stable rotation conditions for the conductive roller 2, and indirectly reducing vibration and wear during the movement.

[0054] See Figure 1 This embodiment describes the movement scheme of the hanger 3. The hanger 3 is also equipped with a hanger running roller 8, which runs on a specific track of the electroplating equipment, driving the entire hanger system to move. The hanger running roller 8 has a process groove 9.

[0055] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such modifications and variations all fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A conductive system for electroplating racks, characterized in that, include: Input copper busbar (1); Several conductive rollers (2) are rolled on the input copper busbar (1); Hanger (3), on which output copper busbar (4) is provided; A liquid metal conductive ring (5) is provided with its stator end (51) on the hanger (3) and electrically connected to the output copper busbar (4). The roller of the conductive roller (2) is connected to the rotor end (52) of the liquid metal conductive ring (5) and the roller of the conductive roller (2) is electrically connected to the rotor end (52) of the liquid metal conductive ring (5).

2. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conductive roller (2) and the liquid metal conductive ring (5) are coaxially arranged.

3. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (6) is fixedly installed on the hanger (3), and the conductive roller (2) is installed on the mounting bracket (6).

4. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (6) is provided with a bearing (612), the inner ring of the bearing (612) and the conductive roller (2) are coaxially arranged, and the outer ring of the bearing (612) is arranged on the mounting bracket (6).

5. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 4, characterized in that, A spring clamping mechanism (62) is provided between the mounting bracket (6) and the outer ring of the bearing (612). One side of the spring clamping mechanism (62) is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket (6), and the other side is fixedly connected to the outer ring of the bearing (612).

6. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The spring clamping mechanism (62) includes a rotating plate (621) and an adjusting spring (622). The rotating plate (621) is rotatably mounted on the mounting frame (6). The bearing (612) is fixedly mounted on the rotating plate (621). The two ends of the adjusting spring (622) are respectively fixedly mounted on the mounting frame (6) and the outer ring of the bearing (612).

7. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (6) has a limiting part (63), which cooperates with the rotating plate (621) to limit the rotation angle of the rotating plate (621).

8. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The limiting part (63) is a limiting groove, the limiting groove is an arc-shaped groove, and the center of the limiting groove is located on the rotating shaft of the rotating plate (621). The rotating plate (621) is provided with a limiting post (64), which is located in the limiting groove.

9. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The stator end (51) of the liquid metal conductive ring (5) is connected to the hanger (3) via a cable (7).

10. The electroplating rack conductive system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixture (3) is also provided with a fixture running roller (8), and the fixture running roller (8) is provided with a process groove (9).

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