Assistance system for printing processes

Abstract

An assistance system for printing processes is provided, which contributes to improving print quality.The printing process assistance system includes: a printing part that executes a printing process for printing a paste material onto a circuit board via openings in a mask and a cleaning process for cleaning a lower surface of the mask in a predetermined number of cleaning processes at a predetermined cleaning interval; a control part that controls one operation each in the printing process and the cleaning process; an inspection part that inspects a smear level of the paste material on the circuit board subjected to the printing process; and an information output part that, when a result of the inspection shows a continuous occurrence of smear level, outputs assistive information to reduce the smear level to a target location, which is the control part and / or a notification part configured to notify an operator.The information output part outputs information to increase the frequency of cleaning processes as supporting information.

Description

Technical FieldThe present invention relates to a printing process assistance system that assists in improving the qualities of a process for printing solders or other paste material on a board such as a printed circuit board.Background ArtA screen printing device is known as a printing device that prints creamy solder or other paste material on a board such as a printed circuit board. The screen printing apparatus includes a mask that overlays the board and a squeegee (spatula) that slides along an upper surface of the mask to move the paste material provided on an upper surface of the mask. The screen printing device accordingly prints the paste material on the board via pattern holes or openings in the mask.The screen printing apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as "printing apparatus") is faced with a problem of "smudge", which is one of the disadvantages that impair print quality. The "mold" (lubricator) is a phenomenon in which the paste material enters a gap between the mask and the board through a pattern hole, and the paste material is printed so as to run excessively in the periphery of a land. Such a "lubricator" is more likely to occur when the number of printing processes (the number of the boards) is increased, and may cause a bridging phenomenon in which the paste material extends over adjacent lands and the lands are electrically short-circuited depending on a degree of lubrication.In order to avoid the occurrence of such lubricators, printing apparatuses each having a cleaning mechanism that periodically cleanses the lower surface of a mask have been developed. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a printing apparatus that makes it possible to selectively perform between dry cleaning that means solventless cleaning and wet cleaning that means other solventless cleaning. The printing apparatus normally performs dry cleaning for a process and shifts to wet cleaning when no quality improvement is detected.It is assumed that the printing device enables a further reliable cleaning of the mask, which means that the accuracy of the one cleaning process is improved. However, in the case of continuous occurrence of lubricators, it may be difficult to improve only the accuracy of the one process in order to reduce or avoid the lubricators. In this respect, the printing device remains in need of improvement.List of ReferencesPatent LiteraturePatent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-16242SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention has been realized in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing process assistance system that contributes to improvement of print quality by reliably reducing occurrence of smear in a screen printing process.A printing process assistance system according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a printing part that performs a printing process of printing a paste material on a board supported by a plurality of support pins via openings in a mask by moving the paste material on the mask by a squeegee in a state where the mask overlays the board and a cleaning process of cleaning a bottom surface of the mask a predetermined number of times in a predetermined cleaning interval; a control part that respectively controls an operation in the printing process and the cleaning process; an inspection part that inspects a degree of smear of the paste material on the board subjected to the printing process; An information output part that, when a result of the inspection shows continuous occurrence of lubricators, outputs assist information to reduce the lubricators at a destination, which is the control part and / or a notification part configured to notify an operator of information. The information output part outputs information for increasing the frequency of cleaning processes to the target site as support information.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for manufacturing a circuit board. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary printing apparatus in the circuit board manufacturing system. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an apparatus main body of the printing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example management device in the system for manufacturing a board. Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing a first embodiment of the support in printing. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a positional relationship between printing areas on the board and support pins. FIG. 7 is a graph relating to the relationship between a tendency to lubricator and a cleaning process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment concerning the print assist. FIG. 9 is a graph relating to the relationship between a tendency to lubricator and a cleaning process.DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSHereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.Configuration of a Circuit Board Manufacturing SystemFIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary system for manufacturing a board including a print process assistance system according to the present invention. A system for manufacturing a board 1 manufactures a component mounting board by mounting a component on a board such as a circuit board. The circuit board manufacturing system 1 includes a printing apparatus 2, a print inspection apparatus 3, a component mounting apparatus 4, a reflow apparatus 5, and a management apparatus 6 that fully manages these apparatuses.The printing device 2 performs a printing process in which a cream solder serving as a paste material (hereinafter, simply referred to as "solder") is printed on a land of the board. The print inspection device 3 performs a process for inspecting a solder printed state of the board having undergone the printing process. The component mounting device 4 performs a process of mounting a component on the board subjected to the printing process. The reflow device 5 performs a reflow process in which the solder is melted by heating the board on which the component is placed, and the solder is solidified.The printing apparatus 2, the print inspection apparatus 3, the component mounting apparatus 4, and the reflow apparatus 5 are arranged in this order in a conveyance direction of the board into a production line. The board is conveyed in this order and subjected to the above processes in the devices 2 to 5, respectively. The printing apparatus 2, the print inspection apparatus 3, the component mounting apparatus 4, and the reflow apparatus 5 are communicatively connected to the management apparatus 6 by data communication.FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a printing apparatus 2. The printing apparatus 2 includes an apparatus main body 2A, a print control part 2B, a print communication part 30, a storage part 31, a display part 40, and an operation part 41.The device main body 2A performs a printing process for printing solders on a board P. The print communication part 30 has an interface for data communication with the management device 6, and is for transmitting and receiving various kinds of data and information to and from the management device 6. the print control part 2B controls an operation in the print process or another process in the device main body 2A, and controls the data communication through the print communication part 30.FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the device main body 2A. FIG. 3 shows XYZ rectangular coordinates defining horizontal directions as an X direction and a Y direction, and defining a vertical direction as a Z direction, for illustrating a directional relationship therebetween. The X direction represents a conveyance direction of the board P.The device main body 2A serves as a screen printing device. The screen printing device is a printing device configured to print solder on the board P by using a mask or a screen plate corresponding to a land of the board P and having pattern holes or openings. The apparatus main body 2A includes a board conveying unit 10, a mask holding unit 11, a board supporting unit 12, a squeegee unit 16, a cleaning unit 17, a camera unit 18, and a pen exchanging unit 19.The board conveying unit 10 serves to convey the board P in the apparatus main body 2A. The board conveying unit 10 includes a pair of conveyor belts for conveying the board P by supporting the opposite ends of the board, in the example. The board conveying unit 10 further includes three conveying means, namely, an introduction conveying means, a work conveying means 10a, and a release conveying means (only the work conveying means 10a is shown in FIG. 3). The introduction conveyor introduces the board P to be subjected to a printing process into the printing apparatus. The work conveyor 10a receives the board P from the introduction conveyor and aligns the board at a predetermined print work position and transfers the board P subjected to the printing process to the release conveyor. The release conveyor conveys the printed board P subjected to the printing process to the outside of the printing apparatus, i.e., the print inspection apparatus 3.The mask holding unit 11 is located above the board conveying unit 10. A frame 112 at a peripheral end of the mask 113 is clamped by the clamp member 111 to allow the mask to expand in parallel to an X-Y plane.The board supporting unit 12 is located below the mask holding unit 11 to determine a position of the board P relative to the mask 113. The board support unit 12 includes a board support part 13, a movable table 14, and a table drive mechanism 15.The board supporting member 13 is mounted on the movable table 14 together with the conveyor 10a. The board support part 13 includes an up-down movable table 131 on which a plurality of support pins 133 stand, and a slide bracket 132 that supports the up-down movable table 131 so as to be movable up and down relative to the movable table 14.The up-and-down movable table 131 is movable up and down relative to the movable table 14 with a driving force of a motor. The up and down movement of the up and down movable table 131 enables the board P to be placed between the conveyor 10 aand the support pins 133. For example, when the up-down and down-travel table 131 moves upward from an initial position, the board P is raised by the conveyor 10 athrough the support pins 133. In this manner, the board P is transferred from the conveyor 10a to the support pins 133.The board supporting part 13 has a pair of clamping plates 134. The pair of chuck plates 134 are spaced apart from each other in the Y direction above the conveyor 10 a, and each chuck plate is slidable between a near position and a far position with the driving force of an air cylinder. When the clamp plate 134 shifts to the close position, the board P lifted by the conveyor 10a through the support pins 133 is horizontally clamped from its opposite ends in the Y direction. In clamping, an upper surface of the board P and an upper surface of each clamping plate 134 are flush with each other.The table driving mechanism 15 includes a Y-axis table 151 on a base of the apparatus main body 2A, an X-axis table 152 on an upper surface of the Y-axis table 151, an R-axis table 153 on an upper surface of the X-axis table 152, and a slide holder 154 supporting the movable table 14 so as to be movable up and down relative to the R-axis table 153. The Y-axis table 151, the X-axis table 152, the R-axis table 153, and the movable table 14 are each movable in a predetermined direction with the driving force of a motor. Specifically, the Y-axis table 151 is movable in the Y direction relative to the base of the apparatus main body 2A, and the X-axis table 152 is movable in the X direction relative to the Y-axis table 151. In addition, the R-axis table 153 is movable in an R direction that means a rotational direction about an axis parallel to the Z direction relative to the X-axis table 152, and the movable table 14 is movable up and down relative to the R-axis table 153.In other words, the table driving mechanism 15 moves the conveyor 10 aand the board supporting part 13 mounted on the movable table 14 in X, Y, and R directions, respectively, to bring the board P supported by the board supporting part 13, i.e., the board P clamped by the clamp plates 134, into contact with a lower surface of the mask 113. In this way, the mask 113 can be overlaid on the board P.The squeegee unit 16 is located above the mask holding unit 11. the squeegee unit 16 has a squeegee head 161 and a squeegee 162 supported by the squeegee head.The squeegee head 161 is horizontally movable in the Y direction and movable up and down relative to the mask 113 (mask holding unit 11) with a driving force of a motor. The doctor blade 162 is a plate-shaped spatula extending in the X direction, which is mounted by the doctor head 161 such that it can be pivoted about an axis running in the X direction. The squeegee 162 swings relative to the squeegee head 161 with a driving force of a motor. The squeegee 162 comes into contact with an upper surface of the mask 113 under printing or pressing at a predetermined angle or angle of attack, and moves along the mask 113 together with the squeegee head 161 at a predetermined speed or squeegee speed. This results in the solder S being printed on the board P through pattern holes while the solder S is moved along the upper surface of the mask 113.The cleaning unit 17, the camera unit 18 and the pen replacement unit 19 are each located below the mask 113.The cleaning unit 17 is movable in the Y direction along the lower surface of the mask 113 with a driving force of a motor. The cleaning unit 17 has a cleaning head 171 and moves while pressing a gauze contained in the cleaning head 171 against the lower surface of the mask 113. The cleaning unit thus cleans the mask 113. The cleaning unit 17 may select the execution of cleaning between wet cleaning in which the mask 113 is cleaned by impregnating the gauze with a solvent and dry cleaning without impregnating the solvent.The camera unit 18 captures an image of a mark provided on the upper surface of the board P supported by the support pins 133 and an image of a mark on the lower surface of the mask 113. The position of the mask 113 and the position of the board P are respectively recognized based on the images of the marks. The camera unit 18 has a camera in each case both at the upper and at the lower position. The camera unit 18 is movable in the X and Y directions between the board P to be overlaid with the mask 113 and the lower surface of the mask 113 by the driving force of a motor. The camera unit thus captures the images of the markings.The pen exchanging unit 19 is movable in the X direction and the Y direction below the mask 113 with a driving force of a motor in the same manner as the camera unit 18. The pin exchange unit 19 changes an arrangement of the support pins 133 standing on the up-down traveling table 131 by transferring the support pins 133 between the up-down traveling table 131 and a pin storage 191. The up and down movable table 131 has a plate providing a plurality of pin holes in the form of a matrix for allowing the support pins 133 to stand therein. A pin hole at a position suitable for supporting the board P among the pin holes receives therein a corresponding support pin 133.Next, a basic flow of a process in the device main body 2A (printing device 2) will be described. First, a board P is inserted into the printing apparatus by the board conveying unit 10 to reach the printing work position in a state where the up-and-down movable table 131 is at a lower end position. Next, the ascending and descending table 131 moves upward to transfer the board P from the board conveying unit 10 (work conveyor 10 a) to the board supporting part 13 (support pins 133), and the board P is further clamped by the clamp plates 134.When the board P is chucked, the camera unit 18 moves from a predetermined retreat position to a predetermined position between the mask 113 and the board P to take images of the marks on the mask 113 and the board P, respectively. The position of the mask 113 and the position of the board P are respectively recognized based on the images of the marks.Thereafter, the camera unit 18 is reset to the retreat position, and the board P supported by the board support part 13 is superimposed on the lower surface of the mask 113 by an operation of the table driving mechanism 15. At this time, the position of the board supporting part 13 in the X, Y, and R directions is adjusted based on a result of position detection of the mask 113 and the board P. The adjustment means enables the board P to be superimposed on the mask 113 at a predetermined position without any deviation.When the board P is overlaid with the mask 113, the squeegee unit 16 comes to a predetermined movement start position. The squeegee head 161 moves downward at the start position to press the squeegee 162 against the upper surface of the mask 113 at a predetermined angle or angle of attack under a printing pressure or a pressing force. In this state, the squeegee 162 moves in conjunction with the squeegee head 161 at a predetermined moving speed or squeegee speed in the Y direction. The solder S is printed on the board P through the pattern hole in synchronism with the movement.When the squeegee unit 16 moves to an end position of movement, the board support member 13 is restored to an original position by an operation of the table drive mechanism 15. This allows the board P to leave the mask 113. Thereafter, the board P clamped by the clamp plates 134 is released, and the table 131 movable up and down moves down. As a result, the board P is transferred from the board supporting part 13 (supporting pins 133) to the board conveying unit 10 (work conveyor 10 a). The board conveying unit 10 conveys the board P to the outside of the apparatus to finish the flow of the printing process in the apparatus main body 2A.In a case where printing processes are performed for each preset number of boards P, the cleaning unit 17 reciprocates from the home position (corresponding to the position shown in FIG. 3 ) that is outside the printing areas of the mask 113 along the lower surface of the mask 113 at a time when each board P leaves the mask 113. In this way, a cleaning process for the mask 113 is performed.Referring back to FIG. 2, the display part 40 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various kinds of information about a printing process and a cleaning process by the device main body 2A. The display operation of the display part 40 is controlled by a display control portion 26 to be described later. The operation part 41 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch screen provided to the display part 40. The operation part 41 receives an input operation for each command to the pressure control part 2B from an operator.The pressure control part 2B includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) storing a control program, and a random access memory (RAM) for use as a work area of the CPU. The pressure control part 2B controls operations of the respective constituent elements of the apparatus main body 2A and controls a data communication operation of the pressure communication part 30 in response to the execution of the control program stored in the ROM by the CPU.The print control part 2B has, as main function configurations, a calculation section 20, a print process control section 21, a cleaning control section 22, a pen replacement control section 23, an image acquisition control section 24, a communication control section 25, and the display control section 26. That is, the pressure control part serves as each of the control sections 20 to 26 in response to the execution of the control program.The calculation section 20 performs various kinds of calculations and determinations relevant to the printing process and the cleaning process by the device main body 2A. The printing process control section 21 controls a process in the flow of the printing process in the device main body 2A. The cleaning control section 22 controls an operation of the cleaning process by the cleaning unit 17. the image acquisition control section 23 controls an operation by the camera unit 18 to acquire an image of each mark. The pen replacement control section 24 controls a process for replacing each support pen 133 by the pen replacement unit 19. the communication control section 25 controls the printing communication part 30 to control data communication between the printing apparatus 2 and the management apparatus 6. the display control section 26 controls the display by the display part 40 to display the various kinds of information and images about the printing process and the cleaning process by the apparatus main body 2A.The storage part 31 stores various kinds of information that can be referred to in controlling each part in the device main body 2A. The various kinds of information include board data D 11, print criteria data D 12, cleaning criteria data 13, and management data D 14.The board data D 11 includes information on a board P to be manufactured or a component to be mounted, and includes information on a type (ID) of the board P to be manufactured, a printing position (coordinates of a pad and a land) on the board P of the type, and a type (ID) of a mask 113 to be used in a printing process. In addition, the board data D 11 includes data on the type of a component to be mounted with the component mounting device 4 and a mounting coordinate.The printing criteria data D 12 includes information about criteria or reference values of the process including: a pitch angle, a printing print, a moving speed or squeegee speed of the squeegee 162; and an arrangement of the support pins 133 in the printing process. Such information including the pitch angle, the printing print, and the moving speed is stored in association with a type (ID) of the solder, and information on the arrangement of the support pins 133 is stored in association with the type (ID) of the board P.The cleaning criteria data D 13 includes information or reference values about criteria of the cleaning process, including: a criterion about the content of countermeasures (for the dry cleaning and the wet cleaning) of the cleaning process; a criterion about the cleaning frequency; and other criteria. The cleaning frequency includes a "cleaning interval" and "the number of times of cleaning".The cleaning interval is defined by the number of cleaning processes or the number of circuit boards P to be processed. In this example, for example, a reference value or a standard value is set to "10". In other words, a cleaning process is executed after ten printings as one cycle. The number of times is defined by the number of reciprocations of the cleaning head 171 in one process (cycle). Thus, in the example, a reference value or standard value is set to "1.". In other words, the reference value is set upon reciprocation of the cleaning head 171 from the home position (corresponding to the position shown in FIG. 3) along the lower surface of the mask 113.The management data D 14 includes a history of a printing process per board, and includes a result of the printing process, and a type of solder, a type of mask, and production criteria (including printing criteria and cleaning criteria) applied in the printing processes, respectively. The management data D 14 is accumulatively stored in the storage part 31 and sent to the management device 6 piece by piece via the print communication part 30. As described later, the production criteria (including the printing criteria and the cleaning criteria) are occasionally changed based on an inspection result by the printing inspection device 3. On such an occasion, the changed production criteria are stored as management data D 14.The configuration of the management device 6 will be described below. The management device 6 has, for example, a PC that is connected in a communication-capable manner to the printing device 2, the print inspection device 3, the component mounting device 4, and the reflow device 5 via data communication. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management device 6. The management device 6 includes a management control part 60, a management storage part 61, a management communication part 62, a display part 63, and an operation part 64.The management communication part 62 has an interface for data communication with the devices 2 to 5. The management communication part 62 acquires management data input from the print inspection device 3, the component mounting device 4, and the reflow device 5, in addition to the management data D 14 input from the printing device 2. For example, the management storage part 61 acquires, as management data, an inspection result of each board P by the print inspection device 3, a result of a process of mounting a component on each board P by the component mounting device 4, and a result of a reflow process on each board P by the reflow device 5.In the management storage part 61, production plan data D 21 and production history data D 22 are stored. The production plan data D 21 includes data on the number of boards P to be produced and a corresponding production order. The production history data D 22 includes production history data per board and includes management data input from each of the devices 2 to 5.The management control part 60 includes a CPU, a ROM and a RAM. The management control part 60 executes various kinds of processes to control the operations of the devices 2 to 5 of the system for manufacturing a board 1 by causing the CPU to execute the control program stored in the ROM and controlling the management communication part 62 to control the data communication between each of the devices 2 to 5 and the management device 6.The management control part 60 in this example executes the print assist as one of the various kinds of processes for controlling the operation. The print assist includes assist in improving print quality in the printing apparatus 2. In particular, the pressure assistance system has the assistance in reducing a lubricator on a circuit board P. The "lubricator" represents a phenomenon in which solder enters a gap between the mask 113 and the board P through a pattern hole and the solder is printed so as to run excessively to the periphery of a land. The print assist will be described in detail later.The display part 63 displays information on the data D 21, D 22 stored in the management storage part 61. The management control part 60 controls the operation of displaying the display part 63. the operation part 64 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch screen provided to the display part 63.First Embodiment concerning Support of PrintingFIG. 5 is a flowchart showing control in the print assist (first embodiment) by the management control part 60. The print assist is started before a print process for a board P is started by the printing apparatus 2. After the start of the flowchart, the management control part 60 determines whether a production target board P is of the same type as a type of a board produced in the past, and refers to the production plan data D 21 and the production history data D 22 in the management storage part 61 (step S 1).Here, when the determination is made as "No", the management control part 60 acquires print criteria data D 12 and cleaning criteria data D 13 from the printing apparatus 2 via the management communication part 62, and redefines production criteria for the board P based on the data D 12 and D 13 (steps S 3 and S 5). In this case, the management control part 60 resets reference values of the printing criteria data (about an angle of attack, printing, and pin arrangement) as defined in the printing criteria data D 12 and reference values of the cleaning criteria (about a content of countermeasures, a cleaning interval, and the number of times) as defined in the cleaning criteria data D 13 to initial values of the production criteria.Note that the management control part 60 may further acquire the board data D 11 from the printing device 2 and set the initial values of the production criteria by executing a predetermined simulation process based on a pattern layout of the production target board.In contrast, when the determination is made as "Yes" in step S 1, that is, when it is determined that the production target board P is of the same type as the type of the board produced in the past, the management control part 60 sets production criteria based on the production history data D 22. Specifically, for example, the production criteria registered in the latest management data D 14 among the past management data D 14 for the boards P are set to initial values.Also in this case, the management control part 60 may set the initial values of the production criteria by executing the predetermined simulation process based on past management data D 14.After setting the production criteria, the management control part 60 sends relevant production criteria data to the printing apparatus 2 via the management communication part 62 (step S7). The printing apparatus 2 or the printing control part 2B receives the production criteria data via the printing communication part 30 and starts the printing process for the board P based on the production criteria data.The management control part 60 waits for the execution of the printing process (Yes in step S9), and determines whether the printing processes for a scheduled number of (all) boards P have been completed (step S11) once the printing process has been executed. If the determination is "No", the management control part 60 obtains a print result for each board P from the print inspection device 3 via the management communication part 62 (step S 13).The print inspection device 3 includes a camera unit and causes the camera unit to capture an image of each board P subjected to the related printing process in a plan view, and inspects a print state of the solder based on relevant image data and sends a result of the inspection to the management device 6 as management data. The inspection points have a "smear degree inspection". A degree of lubrication is evaluable with a ratio R (%) from an actual pressing surface to a reference pressing surface=bear area for the solder. The lubrication degree control indicates the detection of a pressure failure when the area ratio R exceeds a preset upper limit value Rn. The management data sent to the management device 6 includes the image data and the data on the area ratio R.When the inspection result is acquired in step S 13, the management control part 60 determines whether the acquired inspection result shows a tendency of increase of lubricators or a tendency of increase of lubricators, which means an example of continuous occurrence of tendency of increase of lubricators (step S 15). For example, the management control part 60 compares an area ratio R in a currently detected inspection result with an area ratio R in a previously detected inspection result, that is, an inspection result for a preceding board, and makes the determination in step S 15 based on a difference between the area ratios. In this case, the management control part 60 may make the determination in step S 15 based on partial results including the currently acquired inspection result and a plurality of past continuous inspection results or area fractions R.When it is determined that a tendency of increase of lubricators is not seen in step S 15 (No in step S 15), the management control part 60 advances the process to step S 9. On the other hand, when it is determined that a tendency of increase of lubricators is seen (Yes in step S 15), the management control part 60 determines whether the inspection result acquired in step S 13 indicates an inspection result immediately before or substantially immediately before a cleaning process (hereinafter referred to as "inspection result immediately before the cleaning process" for convenience) (step S 17). In this example, the management control part 60 determines whether the acquired inspection result indicates an inspection result of a second-preceding printing process from the cleaning process. Specifically, when a specific cleaning criterion is set to the related reference value, which means that the cleaning process is to be executed after a cycle of ten printing processes, it is determined whether the detected inspection result indicates the ninth inspection result (the ninth board).When the acquired inspection result does not indicate the inspection result immediately before the cleaning process (No in step S 17), the management control part 60 executes the process to step S 9. On the other hand, if the inspection result indicates the inspection result immediately before the process (Yes in step S 17), the management control part 60 determines whether a cleaning interval under an associated cleaning criterion among the cleaning criteria is longer, that is, determines whether the cleaning interval is proper or improper (step S 19). Specifically, it is determined whether a value of the area ratio R in the inspection result acquired in step S 13 falls within a range between a warning value Rw and the upper limit value Rn. The range between the warning value Rw and the upper limit value Rn indicates a limit value for an acceptable lubrication degree.When it is determined that the cleaning interval is too long or improper (Yes in step S 19), the management control part 60 advances the process to step S 21 to change the production criteria set in steps S 5 and S 6, as described later.On the other hand, when it is determined that the cleaning interval is not long or appropriate (No in step S 19), the management control part 60 sets a region having a tendency of increase in lubricators (hereinafter, simply referred to as "lubricator increasing region") among the printing regions on the board P on the basis of image data in the inspection result, and determines whether a support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricator increasing region (step S 27). In other words, the convenience or inconvenience of a pen assembly is determined under an associated printing criterion among the printing criteria.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, assume that a board P has been subjected to a printing process in a plurality of regions Ar 1 to Ar 4. The management control part 60 sets a lubricant increasing region based on an area ratio R of each of the regions Ar 1 to Ar 4, and further determines whether a support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricant increasing region based on the arrangement of the pins under the pressure criterion.When it is determined that no support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricant increasing region (No in step S 27), the management control part 60 executes the process to step S 21 to change the production criteria as described later.When the determination in step S 27 is "Yes", that is, when it is determined that a support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricant increasing region, the management control part 60 determines whether the inspection result acquired in step S 13 indicates an inspection result showing a changed arrangement of the support pins 133 or reflects the resultant addition of a support pin 133 (step S 29). Here, if the determination is made as "No", the management control part 60 proceeds the process to step S 2 to change the production criteria as described later. In short, in a case where a support pin 133 is originally or initially disposed in the lubricant increasing area set in step S 27, the management device 6 determines "No" in step S 29.In contrast, when it is determined that the inspection result acquired in step S 13 indicates the inspection results showing a changed arrangement of the support pins 133 (Yes in step S 29), the management device 6 determines whether the tendency to lubricators in the lubricator increasing region decreases (step S 31). For example, the management control part 60 compares an actual inspection result with a previous inspection result, i.e., an inspection result for a preceding board P concerning the lubricator increasing region, and determines that the lubricator tendency decreases when the area ratio R is equal to or decreases.When it is determined that the tendency to lubricators decreases in step S 31 (Yes in step S 31), the management control part 60 executes the process to step S 9. On the other hand, when it is determined that the tendency to lubricators does not decrease (No in step S 31), the management control part 60 executes the process to step S 21 and changes the production criteria as described later.In step S 21, the management device 6 changes and updates the production criteria set in step S 5 or S 6. In this case, a certain criterion to be changed differs among steps S 19, S 27, S 29, and S 31 depending on a result of each step, as described below.First, if the determination in step S19 is "Yes", i.e., if it is determined that the cleaning interval is too long or improper, the management control part 60 shortens the cleaning interval under the associated cleaning criterion. For example, the management device 6 shortens the cleaning interval by a preset number of processes. Here, the number of processes to be shortened may be determined depending on a certain tendency of increase of lubricators (an increase rate of the area ratio R). Such an increase in lubricators is often attributed to a lack of cleaning of the mask 113. From this viewpoint, the cleaning interval is shortened when the area ratio R immediately before a cleaning process falls within the range between the warning value Rw and the upper limit value Rn.Next, when the determination is made as "No" in step S 27, that is, when no support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricant increasing region, the management control part 60 changes a pin arrangement under the associated pressure criterion to add a support pin 133 in the lubricant increasing region and / or around the region.If the cleaning interval is proper or not long, the increase in the contamination degree may be attributed to a deflection of the board P caused by a lack of support force of the individual support pins 133 or other reasons. Thus, if a tendency of increase of lubricators is determined and the cleaning interval is determined to be appropriate, a support pin 133 is added in the area with increase of lubricators and / or around the area. For example, if the region Ar 4 in FIG. 6 is to be a region with increasing lubricators, a support pin 133 is mounted in the region Ar 4 and / or around the region.Then, when the determination is made as "No" in step S 29, that is, when it is determined that the inspection result does not indicate an inspection result showing a changed arrangement of the support pins 133, the management control part 60 changes another printing criterion or other criteria on the angle of attack and / or the printing printing among the printing criteria except the printing criterion on the pin arrangement. In short, when a support pin 133 is originally or initially disposed in the lubricant increasing area set in step S27, the management control part 60 changes the angle of attack and / or the printing pressure of the squeegee 162 to reduce the degree of contamination. For example, the management device 6 increases the pitch angle and / or decreases the printing print only by a preset setting degree or amount. In this case, a certain degree or amount of the pitch angle and / or the printing printing may be determined depending on a certain tendency of increase of lubricators or an increase rate of the area ratio R.Subsequently, when the determination is made as "No" in step S 31, that is, when it is determined that the tendency to smear does not decrease, the management control part 60 changes another printing criterion or criteria regarding the pitch angle and / or the printing printing pressure among the printing criteria except the printing criterion regarding the pen arrangement. In particular, such a change is synonymous with a change in the printing criterion or the printing criteria with respect to the pitch angle and / or the printing print when determined as "No" in step S 29.The determination "No" in steps S29 and S31 means, respectively, briefly that the cleaning interval is determinable as appropriate and that the needle assembly is determinable as appropriate. An increase in the contamination can in this case be attributed to a pressure criterion different from the pressure criterion via the pin arrangement. Accordingly, the management control part 60 changes another printing criterion or criteria on the pitch angle and / or the printing except for the printing criterion on the needle assembly when the determination is made as "No" in each of steps S29 and S31.When production criteria are changed in step S21, the management control part 60 sends relevant production criteria data reflecting the resulting change to the printing apparatus 2 via the management communication part 62.The production criteria data reflecting the resulting change to be sent from the management control part 60 to the printing apparatus 2 corresponds to the "supporting information" in the present invention. Specifically, the production criteria data reflecting a change (shortening) of a cleaning interval corresponds to the "first assist information" of the present invention, and the production criteria data reflecting a resultant change in the arrangement of the support pins 133 corresponds to the "second assist information" of the present invention. In addition, production criteria data reflecting a change of a certain printing criterion except the criterion of the arrangement of the pens and the determination of "No" made in step S29 also corresponds to the "second supporting information" in the sense of the present invention. Further, print criteria data reflecting a resultant change of a certain print criterion except the print criterion via the pen arrangement determined as "No" in step S31 corresponds to the "third print information" of the present invention.The pressure control part 2B updates the production criteria based on the pressure criteria data acquired via the pressure communication part 30. In this case, when the acquired production criteria data includes a change in the pen arrangement, the pressure control part 2B controls the pen replacement unit 19 to add a support pen 133 to the up-and-down movable table 131.Next, the management control part 60 determines whether a change in production criteria in the printing apparatus 2 is completed based on the presence or absence of input of a completion signal from the printing apparatus 2 (step S 25). Here, when the determination is made as "Yes", the management control part 60 proceeds the process to step S 9. Then, when the determination "Yes" is made in step S 11, that is, when it is determined that the printing processes for the scheduled number of (all) boards P are completed, the management control part 60 ends the printing assist.Here, a relationship between the print assist and a process for changing the cleaning interval in the printing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.FIG. 7 is a graph relating to a relationship between a tendency to lubricator and a cleaning process. A vertical axis denotes an inspection result or area ratio R of the print inspection device 3, and a horizontal axis denotes the number of printing processes or the number of boards. When a certain cleaning criterion is set to the related reference value, that is, when one cycle includes ten printing operations and the cycle occurs in a cleaning interval Iv1 (the symbol "CL" denotes a cleaning process), a change in the area ratio R (tendency to smear) is shown by a solid line in the graph. Reference numerals "(1)" to "(4)" in the graph show the discrimination of the cycles of the printing process.As shown in FIG. 7, the tendency to lubricators immediately after a cleaning process is the least and gradually increases as the number of printing processes increases. When such a tendency of increase of lubricators is determined, it is determined in the print assist from the tendency of increase of lubricators immediately before each process whether the cleaning interval Ivl is appropriate or inappropriate. Specifically, as described above, it is determined whether the cleaning interval Iv1 is proper or improper based on the inspection result of the ninth printing process for the ninth board (in each of steps S17 and S19).For example, when the area ratio R in the ninth printing process falls within the range between the warning value Rw and the upper limit value Rn as indicated by a broken line in the graph in a tendency to lubricate in the third cycle, a cleaning interval in the fourth cycle and thereafter is shortened from Iv 1 to Iv 2. The example in the graph shows the shortening of the interval from the interval Iv1 of a cycle having the ten printing processes to the interval Iv2 of a cycle having seven printing processes. Shortening the cleaning interval in this manner may result in a decrease in the tendency for the increase of lubricators.In the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus 2 corresponds to the "printing part" in the present invention, and the print inspection apparatus 3 corresponds to the "inspection part" in the present invention. The management control part 60 or the management device 6 corresponds to the "information output part" in the present invention, and the print control part 2B corresponds to the "control part or destination" in the present invention. Accordingly, in the present invention, the printing apparatus 2, the print inspection apparatus 3, and the management control part 60 and the management apparatus 6 respectively correspond to the "printing process assistance system" in the embodiment. Moreover, in the embodiment, the management storage part 61 corresponds to the "storage part" of the present invention, and the management control part 60 corresponds to the "production criteria determination part" of the present invention.Operational EffectsIn the printed board manufacturing system or the printing process assistance system, the print inspection device 3 inspects the degree of smear after a printing process by the printing device 2. when a tendency of increase of smear is determined (Yes in step S 15) and it is determined that a cleaning interval is long based on a result of the inspection (Yes in step S 19), production criteria are changed to shorten the cleaning interval, and relevant production criteria data (first assist information) is sent to the printing device 2. In this way, the cleaning interval is shortened. Thus, if the lubricator is due to the inconvenience of the cleaning interval being too long, the cleaning interval is shortened to reduce the occurrence of such lubricator. This leads to an improvement in print quality.In contrast, when it is determined that the cleaning interval is not long or appropriate (No in step S 19), a lubricant increasing region is further set on the board P, and it is determined whether a support pin 133 is disposed in the lubricant increasing region. When it is determined that no support pin 133 is disposed (No in step S 27), the production criteria are changed to place a support pin 133 in the area having an increased degree of contamination and / or around the area, and relevant production data (second support information) is sent to the printing apparatus 2. In this way, a support pin 133 is added in the printing device 2, thereby correcting the shortage of support force for the board P. Accordingly, the addition of the support pin 133 results in a decrease in the occurrence of streaks when the streaks are due to the lack of support force for the board P. This results in the print qualities being improved.When it is determined that the support pin 133 is originally or initially disposed in the area that enhances the wiping quality (No in step S 29), a certain printing criterion such as a printing criterion about an angle of attack of the squeegee 162 or a printing criterion about a printing print thereof is changed, and relevant production criterion data (second support information) is sent to the printing apparatus 2. Similarly, when it is determined that the print qualities are not improved regardless of the addition of a support pen 133 (No in step S 31), a certain printing criterion such as a printing criterion on an angle of attack of the squeegee 162 or a printing criterion on a printing print thereof is changed, and relevant production criterion data (third support information) is sent to the printing apparatus 2. In this way, the pitch or printing pressure of the squeegee 162 in the printing apparatus 2 is varied. The change in pitch or printing pressure results in a reduction in the incidence of dirt smear when the dirt smear is due to the pitch or printing pressure of squeegee 162. This leads to an improvement in print quality.In a case where a production target board P is the same type of a type of a board produced in the past, the board production system or the printing process assistance system sets the production criteria in the past for the board P stored in the production history data D 22 to initial values. The printing apparatus 2 starts a printing process based on the production criteria. This means that such a blank P of the same type of a blank manufactured in the past can prevent occurrence of a lubricator from the beginning of a printing process.In the print assist, the management control part 60 determines the convenience or inconvenience of a cleaning interval based on an inspection result immediately before or substantially immediately before a cleaning process (in each of steps S 17 and S 19 in FIG. 5 ). Specifically, the convenience or inconvenience of the cleaning interval is determined based on an inspection result of the second-preceding printing process, i.e., the ninth printing process in one cycle. However, the determination may be made based on a tendency to smear (area ratio R) in a printing process performed at substantially a middle point or thereafter in the cleaning interval. Specifically, the determination may be made based on the inspection results of a plurality of printing processes including the fifth printing process and the subsequent processes in the one cycle.In the print assist, when the convenience or inconvenience of the cleaning interval is determined (step S 19 in FIG. 5 ) and the determination is supported as improper, production criteria data (first assist information) reflecting a change for shortening the cleaning interval is sent to the printing apparatus 2 (steps S 21 and S 23).In contrast, when the convenience or inconvenience of the number of times becomes and the determination is made improper, production criteria data reflecting a change to increase the number of times may be sent to the printing apparatus 2. In particular, production criteria data may be sent that reflect a change in the number of times from one round trip to two or more round trip. In this case, the determination of the convenience or inconvenience of the number of times may be adopted instead of the determination of the convenience or inconvenience of the cleaning interval. Alternatively, the determination of the convenience or inconvenience of the number of times may be adopted in addition to the determination of the convenience or inconvenience of the cleaning interval.Second Embodiment Concerning Control in Print AssistFIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the second embodiment concerning control in the print assist by the management control part 60. The contents of steps S 41 to S 53 in the flowchart correspond to the contents of steps S 1 to S 13 in the first embodiment (FIG. 5 ), so a detailed description of these steps will be omitted to avoid repetition. Next, step S 53 and the subsequent steps will be described.When an inspection result is detected in step S 53, the management control part 60 determines whether an irregular or abrupt lubricator occurs based on the detected inspection result (step S 55). For example, the management control part 60 determines that an irregular lubricator occurs when an area ratio R in the inspection result acquired in step S 53 increases from an area ratio R in a previously acquired inspection result by a predetermined value or more and exceeds a warning value Rw corresponding to the "threshold" in the present invention.When the determination in step S 55 is "No", the management control part 60 proceeds the process to step S 49. On the other hand, when the determination is made as "Yes", the management control part 60 increments a counter value n to count the occurrence of such an irregular lubricator (by +1), and transmits an execution instruction to forcibly execute a cleaning process via the management communication part 62 (step S59).The print control part 2B acquires the execution instruction via the print communication part 30. the print control part 2B that has received the execution instruction executes a cleaning process before the start of a printing process for a subsequent board P after the end of a current printing process. When such obligatory cleaning process is to take place simultaneously with a normal cleaning process based on cleaning criteria, the pressure control part 2B executes only one of the cleaning processes. The obligatory process is carried out under a certain cleaning criterion, with the exception of the cleaning interval defined in the production criteria.The management control part 60 determines whether the number of occurrences of irregular lubricators after the transmission of the execution instruction reaches a set value N (for example, N=2) (step S 61). Here, if the determination is "Yes", the management control part 60 shortens the cleaning interval under the corresponding cleaning criterion (step S63). For example, the management device 6 shortens the cleaning interval by a preset number of processes. If it is determined "No" in step S 61, the management control part 60 advances the process to step 49.When the cleaning interval is changed in step S63, the management control part 60 sends relevant production criteria data (corresponding to the "supporting information" in the present invention) reflecting a resultant change to the printing apparatus 2 via the management communication part 62 (step S65).Then, it is determined whether a change in setting of the cleaning criteria in the printing apparatus 2 based on the presence or absence of input of a completion signal from the printing apparatus 2 is completed (step S67). Here, when the determination is made as "Yes", the management control part 60 resets the counter value to "0" (step S69), and executes the process to step S49. Finally, when the determination in step S 51 is made "Yes", that is, when the printing processes for the scheduled number of (all) boards P are completed, the management control part 60 ends the printing assist.Here, a relationship between the print assist and the operations for executing the obligatory cleaning process and changing the cleaning interval by the printing apparatus 2 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9.FIG. 9 is a graph relating to a relationship between a tendency to lubricator and a cleaning process like the graph in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 shows the occurrence of an irregular lubricant in each of the fourth printing process for the fourth board in the first cycle and the third printing process for the third board in the fourth cycle. When such a tendency to smear is determined, a obligatory cleaning process (indicated by the character "FCL") is carried out after every fourth printing operation in the first cycle and after the third printing operation in the fourth cycle.In the case of the set value N=2 (step S 61 in FIG. 8 ), the purge interval is shortened in the fourth cycle and thereafter from the interval Iv 1 to the interval Iv 3. In the example of the graph, the cleaning interval is shortened from the interval Iv1 of a cycle having ten printing processes to the interval Iv3 of a cycle having seven printing processes. Such a shortening of the cleaning interval may result in a reduction in the irregular occurrence of dirt lubricants in the following time.In addition, by executing a obligatory cleaning process immediately after the occurrence of such an irregular lubricator, lubricators exceeding the warning value Rw are prevented from occurring again and again in subsequent printing processes after the occurrence of the irregular lubricator serving as an opportunity.ModificationsThe printed circuit board manufacturing system 1 described herein is an example of a preferred embodiment of a printed circuit board manufacturing system including the printing process assistance system of the present invention. The specific configuration of the printed board manufacturing system 1 and the specific configuration of the printing assistance system are suitably changeable in a range without departing from the gist of the present invention.For example, in the embodiment, the production criteria data reflecting the resulting change and corresponding to the "supporting information" in the present invention is sent from the management control part 60 to the printing apparatus 2, and the printing control part 2B changes the setting of the production criteria based on the relevant production criteria data. Alternatively, the print control part 2B or the display control portion 26 may control the display part 40 to display the production criteria reflecting the resulting change, so that an operator who has confirmed the display may change the setting by manipulation of the operation part 41. The operator may manually add a support pin 133 to change the pin arrangement. In this configuration, the display control portion 26 and the display part 40 correspond to the "notification part" in the sense of the present invention.Specifically, the operator may ultimately make a determination about the changed production criteria, and the operator may change the corresponding setting as appropriate. This configuration enables the setting of the production criteria to be changed in consideration of the operator's experience. In this case, the production criteria data reflecting the resulting change may be sent from the management device 6 to a mobile terminal or a notification part such as a tablet to be displayed thereon, and the operator may change the production criteria with reference to the display by manipulation of the operation part 41 of the printing device 2 or by manipulation of the mobile terminal.In the embodiment, the management control part 60 of the management device 6 that fully manages the circuit board manufacturing system 1 including the printing device 2, the print inspection device 3, the component mounting device 4, and the reflow device 5 performs the print assist. In other words, as described above, the management control part 60 corresponds to the "information output part" in the present invention. However, the information output part may be in the form of a special device independent of the management device 6 or the management control part 60.Invention Included in the EmbodimentA printing process assistance system according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a printing part that performs a printing process of printing a paste material on a board supported by a plurality of support pins via openings in a mask by moving the paste material on the mask by a squeegee in a state where the mask overlays the board and a cleaning process of cleaning a bottom surface of the mask a predetermined number of times in a predetermined cleaning interval; a control part that respectively controls an operation in the printing process and the cleaning process; an inspection part that inspects a degree of smear of the paste material on the board subjected to the printing process; An information output part that outputs, when a result of the inspection shows continuous occurrence of lubricators, assist information to reduce the lubricator at a destination, which is the control part and / or a notification part configured to notify an operator of information. The information output part outputs information for increasing the frequency of cleaning processes to the target site as support information.In the printing process assistance system, the inspection part inspects a lubricator after a printing process by the printing part. When a result of the inspection shows continuous occurrence of lubricators, the information output part outputs assistance information for reducing the lubricator to the destination (the control part and / or the notification part). Specifically, information for increasing the frequency of cleaning processes is output to the target site. The information for increasing the frequency of cleaning processes includes, for example, information for shortening the cleaning interval and information for increasing the number of times in a process. The frequency of the cleaning processes is increased in the printing part on the basis of the information. Alternatively, the frequency of the cleaning processes is increased by a manipulation from the operator to the printing part based on the notification information by the notification part. The configuration further reliably reduces occurrence of lubricant in a subsequent printing process. This results in an improvement in print qualities.In this configuration, the information output part is configured to determine convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to lubricators, and output the assist information to the target location when it determines that the frequency is improper.This configuration includes determining the convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on the tendency to lubricators, and outputs the assist information to the target location when it is determined that the frequency is improper. As a result, the frequency of cleaning processes is reasonably increased depending on a tendency toward lubricators.For example, the information output part outputs the assist information to the target location over a multiple occurrence of lubricators each having an extent exceeding a predetermined threshold within a predetermined number of cleaning cycles.This configuration can increase the frequency of cleaning processes after the occurrence of irregular or sudden lubricators, which serves as a cause. The configuration is therefore effective to reduce the occurrence of such irregular or abrupt lubricators.In this case, the information output part outputs information to the target location to forcibly execute a cleaning process upon occurrence of a lubricator having an extent exceeding the threshold value.This configuration performs a obligatory cleaning process in the printing part upon the occurrence of an irregular or abrupt lubricator. The configuration thus reduces or prevents the continuous occurrence of lubricators in a subsequent printing process after the occurrence of the irregular lubricator serving as a cause.Further, defining the support information as first support information, the information output part outputs, to the target location, second support information to reduce the lubricators and change criteria of the printing process when it is determined that the frequency of cleaning processes is appropriate.With this configuration, occurrence of smear due to inconvenience of printing criterion can be reduced or prevented, resulting in improvement of later print quality.In this configuration, the information output part is configured to further determine whether a support pin is disposed in an area showing a tendency of increase of lubricators on the board when it is determined that the frequency of cleaning processes is appropriate, and output to the target location information for disposing a support pin in the area and / or to output the area as second information when the support pin is not disposed in the area.This configuration can reduce or avoid the occurrence of lubricators due to lack of support force of the support pins for the board, that is, due to inconvenience of arranging the support pins under an associated criterion among the printing criteria.In this configuration, the information output part outputs information to the target location to change a certain criterion of the printing process except a criterion on the arrangement of the support pins when it is determined that the support pin is arranged in the area having the tendency of increase of lubricators.This configuration may reduce or avoid the occurrence of lubricators when the lubricator is due to a particular pressure criterion, except for a pressure criterion about the arrangement of the support pins.Moreover, the information output part may be configured to determine whether the tendency of increase of lubricators decreases as a result of the inspection after the positioning of the support pin based on the second assist information, and further output, to the target location, third assist information to change a certain criterion of the printing process except a criterion of the positioning of the support pins when it is determined that the tendency of increase of lubricators does not decrease.In this configuration, it is checked once whether the lubricator is due to the arrangement of the support pins. When it is determined that the smudge is not due to the arrangement of the support pins, information or third support information for changing a certain criterion of the printing process except the criterion about the support pins is given to the destination. The configuration thus reliably reduces or avoids the occurrence of lubricators.In the printing process assistance system, the information output part may be configured to determine the convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to smear in a printing process performed immediately before or substantially immediately before the cleaning process. The information output part may be further configured to determine the convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to smear in a printing process performed at substantially a middle point or thereafter in the cleaning interval.This configuration enables a relatively facilitated and proper determination of the convenience or inconvenience of the cleaning interval.The printing process assistance system may further include: a storage part that accumulatively stores production criteria for boards manufactured in the past, the production criteria including printing process criteria and cleaning process criteria; and a production criteria determination part that determines production criteria for a production target board before a start of a printing process for the production target board based on production criteria for a board of the same type as a type of the production target board among the production criteria stored in the storage part. The printing part may start the printing process for the production target board based on the production criteria determined by the production criteria determining part.In the configuration, the production criteria for a production target board are determined based on the production criteria for a board of the same type produced in the past as the type of the production target board. The configuration can thus effectively reduce the occurrence of lubricators from the beginning of the printing process of the production target board.The printing process assistance system may further include a production criteria determination part that determines, based on design information on boards, production criteria including printing process criteria and cleaning process criteria before a start of production of a production target board. The printing part may start the printing process for the production target board based on the production criteria determined by the production criteria determination part.With this configuration, occurrence of lubricators at the beginning of the printing process for a new blank can be effectively reduced.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedJP 2012-16242

[0006]

Claims

An assistance system for printing processes, comprising: a printing part that performs a printing process of printing a paste material on a board supported by a plurality of support pins via openings in a mask by moving the paste material on the mask by a squeegee in a state where the mask overlays the board and a cleaning process of cleaning a bottom surface of the mask a predetermined number of times at a predetermined cleaning interval; a control part that controls a process in each of the printing process and the cleaning process; an inspection part that inspects a degree of smear of the paste material on the board subjected to the printing process; An information output part that outputs, when a result of the inspection shows continuous occurrence of lubricators, assist information to reduce the lubricators at a target site, which is the control part and / or a notification part configured to notify an operator of information, wherein the information output part outputs information for increasing the frequency of cleaning processes as assist information to the target site.The printing process assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the information output part is configured to determine convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to smear, and outputs the assistance information to the target location when it determines that the frequency is improper.The printing process assistance system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information output part outputs the assistance information about multiple occurrences of lubricators each having an extent exceeding a predetermined threshold value within a predetermined number of cleaning cycles to the target site.The printing process assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the information output part outputs information to the target location to forcibly execute a cleaning process upon occurrence of a lubricator having an amount exceeding the threshold value.The printing process assistance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, defining the assistance information as the first assistance information, the information output part to the target location outputs second assistance information to reduce the lubricators and change criteria of the printing process when it is determined that the frequency of cleaning processes is appropriate.The printing process assistance system according to claim 5, wherein the information output part is configured to further determine whether a support pin is disposed in an area showing a tendency of increase of lubricators on the board when it is determined that the frequency of cleaning processes is appropriate, and output to the target location information for disposing a support pin in the area and / or around the area as second information when the support pin is not disposed in the area.The printing process assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the information output part outputs information to change a certain criterion of the printing process except a criterion of the arrangement of the support pins when it is determined that the support pin is arranged in the area showing the tendency of increase of lubricators.The printing process assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the information output part is configured to determine whether the tendency of increase of lubricators decreases as a result of the inspection after the positioning of the support pin based on the second assistance information, and further output, to the target location, third assistance information to change a specific criterion of the printing process except a criterion of the positioning of the support pins when it is determined that the tendency of increase of lubricators does not decrease.The printing process assistance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the information output part is configured to determine the convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to smear in a printing process performed immediately before or substantially immediately before the cleaning process.The printing process assistance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the information output part is configured to determine the convenience or inconvenience of the frequency of cleaning processes based on a tendency to smear in a printing process executed at substantially a middle point or thereafter in the cleaning interval.The printing process assistance system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: a storage part that accumulatively stores production criteria for boards produced in the past, the production criteria comprising printing process criteria and cleaning process criteria; and a production criteria determination part that determines production criteria for a production target board before a start of a printing process for the production target board based on production criteria for a board of the same type as a type of the production target board among the production criteria stored in the storage part, wherein the printing part starts the printing process for the production target board based on the production criteria determined by the production criteria determination part.The printing process assistance system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: a production criteria determination part that determines production criteria including printing process criteria and cleaning process criteria based on design information on boards, wherein the printing part starts a printing process for the production target board based on the production criteria determined by the production criteria determination part.

Images