Dressing method for cutting blade

Abstract

To provide a dressing method for a cutting blade that is able to perform desired dressing on a cutting edge of the cutting blade.SOLUTION: A dressing method for a cutting blade includes: a holding step 1001 of holding a conductive dresser board on a holding surface of a conductive holding table; a height detecting step 1006 of detecting, as a height at which the cutting blade is in contact with an upper surface of the dresser board, a height of the cutting blade when the cutting blade attached to a tip of a spindle is lowered with respect to the dresser board and the cutting blade and the dresser board are electrically connected; and a dressing step 1007 of positioning the cutting blade at a height lowered by a desired cutting depth from the height detected in the height detection step 1006, and cutting the dresser board to dress the cutting blade.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for sharpening a cutting blade. [Background technology]

[0002] In a cutting device, the cutting edge of a cutting blade is cut into a dresser board in order to sharpen the cutting edge of the cutting blade (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-069277 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The cutting device shown in Patent Document 1 does not have a measuring mechanism for measuring the height of the dressing board, so it is difficult to cut into the dressing board at an accurate depth. For this reason, the cutting device shown in Patent Document 1 sometimes has difficulty in sharpening the cutting edge of the cutting blade as desired.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a method for sharpening a cutting blade which makes it possible to sharpen the cutting edge of the cutting blade in a desired manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the cutting blade sharpening method of the present invention is a cutting blade sharpening method comprising: a holding step of holding a conductive dresser board on a holding surface of a conductive holding table; a height detection step of lowering a cutting blade attached to the tip of a spindle relative to the dresser board and detecting the height of the cutting blade when the cutting blade and the dresser board are electrically connected as the height at which the cutting blade contacts the upper surface of the dresser board; and a dressing step of positioning the cutting blade at a height lowered by the desired cutting depth from the height detected in the height detection step and cutting the dresser board to sharpen the cutting blade.

[0007] In the method for sharpening a cutting blade, the dresser board may comprise carbon.

[0008] In the method for sharpening a cutting blade, the dressing step may involve moving the cutting blade and the dresser board relatively along the axial direction of the spindle.

[0009] In the method for sharpening a cutting blade, the dressing step may cut with a cutting depth that does not completely divide the dresser board.

[0010] In the method for sharpening a cutting blade, the dresser board may be held in direct contact with the holding surface, and the holding table may be conductive at least in an area of ​​the holding surface that contacts the dresser board. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present invention has an effect of making it possible to sharpen the cutting edge of the cutting blade as desired. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a cutting device for carrying out the cutting blade sharpening method according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view, partially in section, showing a schematic configuration of a height detection unit and the like of the cutting device shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a perspective view of a sub-chuck table of the cutting machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the cutting blade sharpening method according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a front view, partially in section, typically showing the height detection step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic front view, partially in cross section, showing a state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade is positioned on the outer periphery side of the outer edge of the dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade has been cut into a dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a front view, partially in cross section, showing a schematic state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade is cut into the dresser board and positioned more inward than the inner edge of the dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in Figure 4. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the cutting blade and the dresser board illustrated in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. 4 has been repeated a number of times. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a front view, partially in section, that typically shows a dressing step of a cutting blade sharpening method according to a modified example of the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] The form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiment. Furthermore, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0014] [Embodiment 1] A method for sharpening a cutting blade according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a cutting device for carrying out the method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view, partially in cross section, showing a schematic configuration of a height detection unit and the like of the cutting device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sub-chuck table of the cutting device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment.

[0015] (cutting equipment) The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment is carried out by a cutting device 1 shown in Fig. 1. The cutting device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a processing device that cuts a workpiece 200. In the first embodiment, the workpiece 200 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, whose base material is silicon, sapphire, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, or the like. The workpiece 200 has devices formed in areas partitioned in a lattice pattern by a plurality of planned division lines formed in a lattice pattern on a surface 201.

[0016] The device is, for example, an integrated circuit such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) or an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or a memory (semiconductor memory device).

[0017] The workpiece 200 of the present invention may be a so-called TAIKO (registered trademark) wafer in which the central portion is thinned and a thick portion is formed on the outer periphery, or may be a rectangular package substrate having a plurality of devices sealed with resin, a ceramic substrate, a ferrite substrate, or a substrate containing at least one of nickel and iron, etc. In the first embodiment, the back surface 204 of the workpiece 200 is attached to an adhesive tape 206 having an annular frame 205 attached to the outer periphery, and is supported by the annular frame 205.

[0018] The cutting device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a processing device that holds a workpiece 200 on a holding table 10 and cuts (corresponding to processing) the workpiece 200 along a planned division line with a cutting blade 21 to divide the workpiece into individual devices. As shown in Fig. 1, the cutting device 1 includes a holding table 10 that suction-holds the workpiece 200 on a holding surface 11, a cutting unit 20 that cuts the workpiece 200 held by the holding table 10 with the cutting blade 21, an imaging unit 30 that photographs the workpiece 200 held by the holding table 10, and a control unit 100. As shown in Fig. 1, the cutting device 1 according to the first embodiment is a so-called facing dual type cutting device that includes two cutting units 20, that is, a two-spindle dicer.

[0019] 1, the cutting device 1 includes a moving unit 40 that moves the holding table 10 and the cutting unit 20 relatively. The moving unit 40 includes an X-axis moving unit 41 that processes and feeds the holding table 10 in the X-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction, a Y-axis moving unit 42 that indexes and feeds the cutting unit 20 in the Y-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the X-axis direction, a Z-axis moving unit 43 that cuts and feeds the cutting unit 20 in the Z-axis direction parallel to the vertical direction perpendicular to both the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and a rotational moving unit 44 that rotates the holding table 10 around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction.

[0020] The X-axis moving unit 41 moves the holding table 10 in the X-axis direction, which is the processing feed direction, to relatively feed the holding table 10 and the cutting unit 20 along the X-axis direction. The X-axis moving unit 41 is installed in the device body 2.

[0021] The Y-axis moving unit 42 moves the cutting unit 20 in the Y-axis direction, which is the indexing feed direction, to index and feed the holding table 10 and the cutting unit 20 relatively along the Y-axis. The Y-axis moving unit 42 is installed on a gate-shaped support frame 3 that stands upright on the device main body 2.

[0022] The Z-axis moving unit 43 moves the cutting unit 20 in the Z-axis direction, which is the cutting feed direction, to relatively feed the holding table 10 and the cutting unit 20 along the Z-axis direction. The Z-axis moving unit 43 is installed on a moving frame 4 that is moved in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis moving unit 42. The rotational moving unit 44 is supported by the X-axis moving unit 41, supports the holding table 10, and is disposed so as to be freely movable in the X-axis direction together with the holding table 10.

[0023] The X-axis moving unit 41, the Y-axis moving unit 42 and the Z-axis moving unit 43 each include a well-known ball screw rotatably provided about its axis, a well-known motor for rotating the ball screw about its axis, and a well-known guide rail for supporting the holding table 10 or the cutting unit 20 movably in the X-axis, Y-axis or Z-axis direction. The rotational movement unit 44 includes a motor for rotating the holding table 10 about its axis.

[0024] The holding table 10 is disk-shaped, and a holding surface 11 for holding the workpiece 200 is formed from porous ceramics or the like. The holding table 10 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by an X-axis moving unit 41 across a processing area below the cutting unit 20 and a carry-in / out area spaced from below the cutting unit 20 for carrying in and out the workpiece 200, and is provided so as to be rotatable around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction by a rotary moving unit 44.

[0025] The holding table 10 is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown), and is sucked by the vacuum suction source to suck and hold the workpiece 200 placed on the holding surface 11. In the first embodiment, the holding table 10 sucks and holds the back surface 204 side of the workpiece 200 via an adhesive tape 206. In addition, a plurality of clamp units 12 that clamp an annular frame 205 are provided around the periphery of the holding table 10, as shown in FIG.

[0026] The cutting unit 20 is a cutting means having a spindle 23 to which a cutting blade 21 for cutting a workpiece 200 held by the holding table 10 is detachably attached. The cutting units 20 are each provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis moving unit 42, and movable in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis moving unit 43, relative to the workpiece 200 held by the holding table 10.

[0027] The cutting units 20 are provided on a gate-shaped support frame 3 erected from the device body 2 via a Y-axis moving unit 42, a Z-axis moving unit 43, etc. The cutting units 20 are capable of positioning the cutting blade 21 at any position on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 by the Y-axis moving unit 42 and the Z-axis moving unit 43, respectively.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cutting unit 20 includes a cutting blade 21, a spindle housing 22 movable in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions by a Y-axis moving unit 42 and a Z-axis moving unit 43, a spindle 23 rotatably mounted on the spindle housing 22 around its axis, a spindle motor (not shown) that rotates the spindle 23 around its axis, and a cutting water supply nozzle 24 that supplies cutting water to the cutting blade 21, etc.

[0029] The cutting blade 21 is an extremely thin cutting grindstone having a substantially ring shape. In the first embodiment, the cutting blade 21 includes an annular cutting blade 25 for cutting the workpiece 200, and an annular base 26 for supporting the cutting blade 25 at its outer edge and detachably attached to the spindle 23. The cutting blade 25 is made of abrasive grains such as diamond or CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride), a bond material such as metal or resin, and conductive particles such as carbon contained in the bond material, and is formed to a predetermined thickness and has conductivity. In the present invention, the cutting blade 21 may be a so-called washer blade consisting of only the cutting blade 25.

[0030] The spindle housing 22 is supported by a Z-axis moving unit 43 so as to be freely movable in the Z-axis direction, and is supported by a Y-axis moving unit 42 via the Z-axis moving unit 43 so as to be freely movable in the Y-axis direction. The spindle housing 22 accommodates a portion of the spindle 23 excluding the tip end thereof, as well as a spindle motor (not shown), and supports the spindle 23 so as to be rotatable about its axis.

[0031] The spindle 23 has the cutting blade 21 fixed to its tip. The spindle 23 is rotated by a spindle motor (not shown), and its tip protrudes from the tip surface of the spindle housing 22. The tip of the spindle 23 is gradually tapered toward the tip, and the cutting blade 21 is attached to it. The cutting water supply nozzle 24 supplies cutting water to the cutting blade 21 during cutting.

[0032] The axes of the spindle 23 and cutting blade 21 of the cutting unit 20 are set parallel to the Y-axis direction.

[0033] The imaging unit 30 is fixed to the cutting unit 20 so as to move integrally with the cutting unit 20. The imaging unit 30 includes an imaging element that captures an image of an area to be divided of the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 10 before cutting. The imaging element is, for example, a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) imaging element or a CMOS (Complementary MOS) imaging element. The imaging unit 30 captures an image of the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 10 to obtain an image for performing alignment between the workpiece 200 and the cutting blade 21, and outputs the obtained image to the control unit 100.

[0034] The cutting device 1 also includes an X-axis position detection unit (not shown) for detecting the position of the holding table 10 in the X-axis direction, a Y-axis position detection unit (not shown) for detecting the position of the cutting unit 20 in the Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis position detection unit 50 (shown in FIG. 2) for detecting the position of the cutting unit 20 in the Z-axis direction. The X-axis position detection unit and the Y-axis position detection unit can be configured with a linear scale parallel to the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction, and a reading head. As shown in FIG. 2, the Z-axis position detection unit 50 can be configured with a linear scale 51 parallel to the Z-axis direction, and a reading head 52 that is provided so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction together with the cutting unit 20 and reads the memory of the linear scale.

[0035] The Z-axis position detection unit 50 may detect the Z-axis position of the cutting unit 20 by the pulse of the motor of the Z-axis moving unit 43. The X-axis position detection unit, the Y-axis position detection unit, and the Z-axis position detection unit detect the X-axis position of the holding table 10 and the Y-axis or Z-axis position of the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 of the cutting unit 20, and output the detection result to the control unit 100. In the first embodiment, the positions of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of each component of the cutting device 1 are determined based on a predetermined reference position (not shown). The reference position in the Z-axis is the position of the cutting unit 20 where the lower end of the cutting edge of the cutting blade 21 is located on the same plane as the holding surface 11.

[0036] The cutting device 1 also includes a cassette elevator 60 on which a cassette 61 containing the workpiece 200 before and after cutting is placed and which moves the cassette 61 in the Z-axis direction, a cleaning unit 70 which cleans the workpiece 200 after cutting with cleaning water, an loading / unloading unit 80 which loads and unloads the workpiece 200 from the cassette 61, and a transport unit not shown.

[0037] The cassette 61 is a storage container capable of storing a plurality of workpieces 200 at intervals in the Z-axis direction. The loading / unloading unit 80 includes a pair of temporary placement rails 81 on which the workpieces 200 unloaded from the cassette 61 and the workpieces 200 before being stored in the cassette 61 are placed, and a loading / unloading means (not shown) for loading / unloading the workpieces 200 from the cassette 61. The transport unit transports the workpieces 200 between the temporary placement cassette 61, the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10, and the cleaning unit 70.

[0038] 2, the cutting device 1 includes a sub-chuck table 90 and a height detection unit 95. In the first embodiment, two sub-chuck tables 90 are provided, each of which corresponds to a cutting unit 20 on a one-to-one basis. The sub-chuck table 90 is installed on the device body 2 and disposed below the corresponding cutting unit 20. In the first embodiment, the sub-chuck table 90 is formed in a disk shape and rotated by a rotational movement unit (not shown) about an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction at predetermined angles. The sub-chuck table 90 suction-holds the dresser board 210 on a flat holding surface 91 along the horizontal direction.

[0039] The dresser board 210 sharpens the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21, which has become clogged or worn out due to cutting by the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21 and has reduced cutting ability, and removes cutting chips attached to the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21, thereby recovering the cutting ability of the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21. In the first embodiment, the dresser board is used for so-called flat dressing, in which the cutting blade 21 moves relatively in the Y-axis direction while the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts, thereby forming the tip of the cutting blade 25 of the cutting blade 21 into a flat shape with a sparse edge in the Y-axis direction.

[0040] In the first embodiment, the dresser board 210 is formed in a circular ring shape with an outer diameter equal to that of the sub-chuck table 90. The dresser board 210 is made by bonding abrasive grains such as white alundum (WA), green carbon (GC), diamond, and CBN with a bonding material such as resin, ceramics (vitrified), and metal, and has electrical conductivity by including carbon particles in the bonding material. The level of electrical conductivity of the dresser board 210 can be appropriately adjusted by adjusting the carbon content.

[0041] The sub-chuck table 90 is made of a conductive metal, has a horizontally flat upper surface, and serves as a holding surface 91 on which the dresser board 210 is placed. That is, the dresser board 210 is directly held in contact with the holding surface 91. Since the sub-chuck table 90 is made of a conductive metal, at least the area of ​​the holding surface 91 that contacts the dresser board 210 is conductive. In the dressing step 1007, the cutting depth of the cutting blade 21 into the dresser board 210 is a depth that does not completely divide the dresser board 210, so there is no need to hold the dresser board 210 on the holding surface 91 with a dicing tape attached thereto. If a dicing tape with low conductivity is interposed between the dresser board 210 and the holding surface 91, it is not possible to accurately detect that the cutting blade 21 has come into contact with the dresser board 210. However, in embodiment 1, by holding the dresser board 210 in direct contact with the holding surface 91, the dresser board 210 and the holding surface 91 become conductive, making it possible to accurately detect that the cutting blade 21 has come into contact with the upper surface of the dresser board 210.

[0042] The sub-chuck table 90 has a suction groove (not shown) formed on the holding surface 91, which is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown), and the suction groove is sucked by the vacuum suction source, thereby sucking and holding the dresser board 210 placed on the holding surface 91. With the dresser board 210 held on the holding surface 91, the sub-chuck table 90 is moved by the Y-axis moving unit 42 along the Y-axis direction, i.e., the axial direction of the spindle 23, while the cutting blade 21 rotated by the spindle 23 is cut into the dresser board 210, thereby flat-dressing the cutting blade 21.

[0043] In the first embodiment, during flat dressing, the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the dresser board 210 held by suction on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90 from the central through-hole 211 to the outer edge, forming a cut groove 212 shown by a dashed line in Fig. 3. The sub-chuck table 90 is rotated by a predetermined angle about its axis by the rotary movement unit every time the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the dresser board 210 held by suction on the holding surface 91 to form a cut groove 212.

[0044] The height detection unit 95 detects the height (position in the Z-axis direction) of the upper surface of the dresser board 210 held by suction on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90. The height detection unit 95 is electrically connected to the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 via the spindle 23, and is also electrically connected to the dresser board 210 via the sub-chuck table 90, and supplies current thereto.

[0045] The height detection unit 95 detects a current flowing between the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 and the upper surface of the dresser board 210, and outputs a signal indicating that a current has flowed to the control unit 100. By detecting a current flowing between the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 and the upper surface of the dresser board 210, the height detection unit 95 detects contact between the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 and the upper surface of the dresser board 210, and detects the height (position in the Z-axis direction) of the upper surface of the dresser board 210 sucked and held on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90.

[0046] The control unit 100 controls each component of the cutting device 1 to cause the cutting device 1 to perform a machining operation on the workpiece 200. That is, the control unit 100 controls at least the cutting unit 20. The control unit 100 is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a storage device having a memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), and an input / output interface device. The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 100 performs arithmetic processing according to a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs a control signal for controlling the cutting device 1 to each component of the cutting device 1 via the input / output interface device.

[0047] The control unit 100 is connected to a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device that displays the status and images of the machining operation, an input unit used by the operator to register machining content information, and a notification unit. The input unit is composed of at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit and an external input device such as a keyboard. The notification unit emits at least one of sound and light to notify the operator.

[0048] Next, a method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment is also a processing operation for cutting the workpiece 200 along the planned division lines and dividing the workpiece 200 into individual devices. The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment is a method for flat-dressing the cutting blade 21.

[0049] In the cutting device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, the machining conditions are registered in the control unit 100 by an operator or the like, a cassette 61 containing a workpiece 200 before cutting is placed in the cassette elevator 60, and a dresser board 210 is placed on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90. When the control unit 100 receives an instruction to start the machining operation from the operator, the cutting device 1 starts the machining operation, i.e., the method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment.

[0050] The processing conditions include the thickness of the dresser board 210 and the cutting depth 213 (shown in FIG. 7) of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 into the dresser board 210 when flat-dressing. The cutting depth 213 is the distance between the upper surface of the dresser board 210 when flat-dressing and the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 when cutting into the dresser board 210, and is shorter than the thickness of the dresser board 210 before flat-dressing.

[0051] The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to the first embodiment includes a holding step 1001, a height detection step 1006, and a dressing step 1007, as shown in FIG.

[0052] (holding step) The holding step 1001 is a step of holding the conductive dresser board 210 on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90, which is a conductive holding table. In the embodiment 1, in the holding step 1001, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 suction-holds the dresser board 210 on the holding surface 91 of the sub-chuck table 90.

[0053] Also, in the holding step 1001 in the embodiment 1, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the loading / unloading unit 80 to take out the workpiece 200 from the cassette 61 and place it on the temporary placement rail 81, and controls the transport unit to place the workpiece 200 from the temporary placement rail 81 on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10. In the embodiment 1, in the holding step 1001, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 suction-holds the back surface 204 side on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 via the adhesive tape 206, and clamps the annular frame 205 with the clamp section 12, thereby starting cutting (step 1002).

[0054] In addition, in the first embodiment, when cutting processing is started, in the cutting device 1, the control unit 100 rotates the spindle 23 about its axis and supplies cutting water to the cutting blade 21 through the cutting water supply nozzle 24. In the first embodiment, in cutting processing, the control unit 100 controls the moving unit 40 to move the holding table 10 toward the processing area, the imaging unit 30 captures an image of the workpiece 200, and performs alignment based on the image captured by the imaging unit 30.

[0055] In the first embodiment, in the cutting process, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 and the cutting unit 20, etc., to relatively move the workpiece 200 and the cutting unit 20 along the planned division lines, while cutting the cutting blade 21 into each planned division line to divide the workpiece 200 into individual devices. When the cutting device 1 cuts all the planned division lines of the workpiece 200, the control unit 100 controls the moving unit 40 to move the holding table 10 to the carry-in / out area, the control unit 100 controls the transport unit to transport the workpiece 200 after the cutting process from the holding table 10 to the cleaning unit 70, controls the cleaning unit 70 to clean the workpiece 200, and stores the cleaned workpiece 200 in the cassette 61. In the first embodiment, the cutting device 1 cuts the workpieces 200 in the cassette 61 in order.

[0056] In the first embodiment, the cutting device 1 determines whether or not the control unit 100 reaches a predetermined timing during cutting (step 1003). The predetermined timing is the timing to flat-dress the cutting blade 21, for example, every time a predetermined number of workpieces 200 are cut, every time a predetermined number of planned division lines are cut, every time the amount of wear of the cutting blade 21 exceeds a predetermined amount, or every time it is determined from the shape of the cutting marks of the cutting blade 21 that the tip shape of the cutting edge 25 is unevenly worn.

[0057] In the first embodiment, when the control unit 100 judges that it is a predetermined timing during cutting (step 1003: Yes), the cutting device 1 judges whether flat dressing is possible (step 1004). In the first embodiment, when the control unit 100 judges that the distance from the top surface of the dresser board 210, which is next to the top surface of the dresser board 210 and the bottom of the cutting groove 212 that the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 contacts, to the lower surface of the dresser board 210 is shorter than the cutting depth 213 of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 of the flat dress, the cutting device 1 judges that flat dressing is not possible (step 1004: No), causes the notification unit to notify the operator, and stops the cutting (step 1005).

[0058] In embodiment 1, during cutting processing, when the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 determines that flat dressing is possible (step 1004: Yes) if the distance from one of the upper surface of the dresser board 210 that the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 contacts next to the dresser board 210 and the bottom of the cutting groove 212, which is closer to the lower surface of the dresser board 210, to the lower surface of the dresser board 210 is longer than the cutting depth 213 of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 of the flat dressing, the cutting device 1 proceeds to the height detection step 1006.

[0059] (Height detection step) Fig. 5 is a front view, partially in section, showing a schematic diagram of the height detection step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in Fig. 4. The height detection step 1006 is a step in which the cutting blade 21 attached to the tip of the spindle 23 is lowered relative to the dresser board 210, and the height of the cutting blade 21 when the cutting blade 21 and the dresser board 210 are electrically connected is detected as the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210.

[0060] In the first embodiment, in the height detection step 1006, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to position the cutting blade 21 above the dresser board 210 that is suction-held on the sub-chuck table 90. In the first embodiment, in the height detection step 1006, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to move the cutting blade 21 downward. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 comes into contact with the upper surface of the dresser board 210.

[0061] In embodiment 1, in the height detection step 1006, the control unit 100 detects that the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 has contacted the upper surface of the dresser board 210 based on a signal from the height detection unit 95, and detects the Z-axis position of the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 as the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210 based on the detection result of the Z-axis position detection unit 50 when the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210, temporarily stores this, and proceeds to the dressing step 1007.

[0062] (Dress Step) FIG. 6 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade is positioned on the outer periphery side of the outer edge of the dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade is cut into the dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the cutting edge of the cutting blade is cut into the dresser board and positioned on the inner periphery side of the inner edge of the dresser board in the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 9 is a perspective view, partially in section, showing a cutting blade and a dresser board shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a front view, partially in section, showing a state in which the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method shown in FIG. 4 is repeated multiple times.

[0063] The dressing step 1007 is a step of positioning the cutting blade 21 at a height lowered by a desired cutting depth 213 from the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210 detected in the height detection step 1006, and cutting the dresser board 210 to sharpen the cutting blade 21. In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 1007, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to position the dresser board 210 and the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 sucked and held on the sub-chuck table 90 in a position along the radial direction of the sub-chuck table 90, and positions the Z-axis position of the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 at a cutting depth 213 lower than the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210 detected by the height detection unit 95, as shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the cutting device 1 positions the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 on the outer periphery side of the outer edge of the dresser board 210 as shown in FIG.

[0064] In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 1007, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to relatively move the cutting blade 21 and the dresser board 210 along the axial direction of the spindle 23, and as shown in FIG. 7, the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the dresser board 210 to form the cut groove 212. In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 1007, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to move the cutting unit 20 along the Y-axis direction toward the radial inner side of the dresser board 210 sucked and held by the sub-chuck table 90. In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 1007, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, when the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 is positioned on the inner side of the inner edge of the dresser board 210, the control unit 100 controls the moving unit 40 to raise the cutting unit 20, and the process returns to step 1002.

[0065] In the dressing step 1007, a cutting groove 212 is formed in the dresser board 210, and after the dressing step 1007, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the rotary movement unit to rotate the sub chuck table 90 by a predetermined angle around the axis. Thus, in the dressing step 1007 in the first embodiment, the dresser board 210 is cut with a cutting depth 213 that does not completely divide the dresser board 210.

[0066] In this way, when the cutting device 1 repeats the cutting blade sharpening method according to the first embodiment, that is, the dressing step 1007, the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the bottom of the cutting groove 212 of the dresser board 210, and the distance from the bottom of the cutting groove 212 of the dresser board 210 to the lower surface of the dresser board 210 gradually shortens, as shown in Fig. 10. Also, in the dressing step 1007, in a height detection step 1006 before the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 cuts into the bottom of the cutting groove 212, the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 is brought into contact with the bottom of the cutting groove 212, and the position in the Z-axis direction of the lower end of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 that contacts the bottom of the cutting groove 212 is detected as the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210.

[0067] In the first embodiment, when the control unit 100 determines that it is not the predetermined timing during cutting (step 1003: No), the cutting device 1 determines whether or not the cutting has ended (step 1008). In the first embodiment, when the control unit 100 has not cut all of the workpieces 200 in the cassette 61, the cutting device 1 determines that the cutting has not ended (step 1008: No) and returns to step 1002. In the first embodiment, when the control unit 100 has cut all of the workpieces 200 in the cassette 61, the cutting device 1 determines that the cutting has ended (step 1008: Yes) and ends the method of sharpening the cutting blade, i.e., the processing operation.

[0068] As described above, in the cutting blade sharpening method of embodiment 1, in the height detection step 1006, the position of the cutting blade 21 in the Z-axis direction when the cutting blade 21 and the dresser board 210 are electrically connected is detected as the height at which the cutting blade 21 contacts the upper surface of the dresser board 210, and in the dressing step 1007, the cutting blade 21 is positioned at a height that is lower by the cutting depth 213 than the height detected in the height detection step 1006 and flat-dressed, so that the cutting blade 21 can be cut into the dresser board 210 by the cutting depth 213.

[0069] As a result, the cutting blade sharpening method according to the first embodiment has the effect of enabling the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 to be sharpened as desired.

[0070] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 11, in the dressing step 1007, the control unit 100 of the cutting device 1 controls the moving unit 40 to relatively move the cutting blade 21 and the dresser board 210 along both surfaces of the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21, i.e., along the X-axis direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the spindle 23, to cut the cutting edge 25 of the cutting blade 21 into the dresser board 210, thereby sharpening the cutting blade 21. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a schematic partial cross section of the dressing step of the cutting blade sharpening method according to a modified example of the first embodiment. In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 21 Cutting blade 23 Spindle 90 Sub chuck table (holding table) 91 Holding surface 210 Dresser Board 213 Cutting depth 1001 Retention Step 1006 Height detection step 1007 Dress Step

Claims

1. 1. A method for sharpening a cutting blade, comprising the steps of: A holding step of holding a conductive dresser board on a holding surface of a conductive holding table; a height detection step of lowering a cutting blade attached to a tip of a spindle relative to the dresser board and detecting the height of the cutting blade when the cutting blade and the dresser board are electrically connected as the height at which the cutting blade contacts the upper surface of the dresser board; a dressing step of positioning the cutting blade at a height lowered by a desired cutting depth from the height detected in the height detection step, cutting the dresser board, and sharpening the cutting blade; A method for sharpening a cutting blade comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dresser board comprises carbon.

3. 2. The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to claim 1, wherein the dressing step comprises moving the cutting blade and the dresser board relatively along the axial direction of the spindle.

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dressing step cuts the dresser board to a depth that does not completely divide the dresser board.

5. the dresser board is held directly in contact with the holding surface; 5. The method for sharpening a cutting blade according to claim 1, wherein at least an area of ​​the holding surface of the holding table that comes into contact with the dresser board is conductive.

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