Processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a processing apparatus that is capable of smoothly flowing and discharging processing waste water in a drain pipe by preventing deposition of processed waste or the like inside the drain pipe.SOLUTION: A cutting apparatus (processing apparatus) 1 includes a drain pipe 81 for discharging cutting waste water (processing waste water) containing cut waste (processed waste) produced when processing a wafer (workpiece) W while supplying cutting water (processing water). The drain pipe comprises an injection part 83 for injecting a mixed fluid of air and water to the inside so as to flow from a flowing direction upstream side of processing waste water toward a downstream side. Here, a branch pipe 88 is branched from the flowing direction downstream side of cutting waste water of the drain pipe 81, and the branch pipe 88 may be connected to a suction source 89.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus having a drain pipe for discharging processing wastewater containing processing waste generated during processing of a workpiece. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor chips, the surface of a thin, disk-shaped semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "wafer") is divided into many rectangular regions by planned division lines called streets that are arranged in a grid pattern, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each rectangular region. Then, the wafer on which many devices are thus formed is cut along the planned division lines with a cutting blade of a cutting device called a dicer, thereby obtaining multiple semiconductor chips.

[0003] By the way, the cutting of the wafer by the cutting device is performed by rotating the cutting blade at high speed while supplying cutting water, which is a processing fluid, to the cutting blade, and the cutting water (hereinafter referred to as "wastewater") scattered around by the high speed rotation of the cutting blade contains cutting chips and scraps of the wafer. The wastewater containing such cutting chips and scraps falls into a container-shaped water case and is collected, and is discharged from the drain of the water case through a drain pipe to the outside of the water case.

[0004] However, within the water case, the flow of cutting water alone is not enough to smoothly drain the cutting chips and scraps to the drain outlet, causing the chips and scraps to accumulate on the bottom surface of the water case.

[0005] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a cutting device that sprays water from a flow nozzle toward the drain of a water case to smoothly flow cutting chips and scraps toward the drain. Patent Document 2 proposes a processing device that installs a net basket that covers the drain of a water case, collects scraps, etc., in the net basket, and sprays air toward the net basket from below. Patent Document 3 proposes a cutting device that sprays high-pressure water from a fluid oscillation nozzle toward the drain to smoothly flow cutting chips and scraps toward the discharge port of the water case. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-134475 A [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2022-020289 [Patent Document 3] JP 2023-038865 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, even if the methods proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are used to drain cutting chips and scraps into the drain of the water case, if the inclination (gradient) of the drain pipe extending from the drain is small, the cutting chips and scraps will not flow through the drain pipe but will accumulate, causing a problem of obstructing the flow of cutting wastewater containing these cutting chips and scraps.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a processing device that can prevent the accumulation of processing debris and the like in the drainage pipe and allow processing wastewater to flow smoothly through the drainage pipe and be discharged. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a processing device equipped with a drain pipe for draining processing waste liquid including processing chips generated by processing a workpiece while supplying processing water, characterized in that the drain pipe is equipped with an injection part for injecting a mixed fluid of air and water into the inside from upstream to downstream in the flow direction of the processing waste liquid.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, a branch pipe is branched off from the downstream side of the flow direction of the processing wastewater from the drainage pipe, and the branch pipe is open to the atmosphere or connected to a suction source.

[0011] Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, it further comprises an air supply source which supplies air to the spray portion and a water supply source which supplies water to the spray portion, an air valve provided in an air supply path from the air supply source to the spray portion, a water valve provided in a water supply path from the water supply source to the spray portion, and a control unit which opens the air valve and the water valve only when a workpiece is being processed, thereby spraying the mixed fluid from the spray portion. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the invention described in claim 1, the processing wastewater containing processing waste and the like flows downstream along the inclination (gradient) of the exhaust pipe in the drain pipe, and the downstream flow of the processing waste liquid is promoted by the injection of the mixed fluid from the injection part installed in the drain pipe. Therefore, the processing waste liquid flows smoothly downstream in the drain pipe, and the processing waste liquid does not stagnate and accumulate in the drain pipe, and the processing waste liquid is efficiently discharged.

[0013] In the invention described in claim 2, if the branch pipe branching off from the downstream side of the drain pipe is opened to the atmosphere, the pressure in the downstream and upstream parts of the drain pipe becomes equal to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the machining waste liquid containing machining debris flows downstream along the slope of the drain pipe, and this flow is promoted by the injection of the mixed fluid from the injection part into the drain pipe. In addition, if the branch pipe is connected to a suction source, the downstream side of the drain pipe is sucked by the suction source, and the machining waste liquid containing machining debris and the like flows more smoothly through the exhaust pipe. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 2, the accumulation of machining debris and the like in the drain pipe is more reliably prevented, and the machining waste liquid is efficiently discharged.

[0014] According to the invention described in claim 3, the air valve and water valve are opened only when the workpiece is being processed, so that the mixed fluid is sprayed from the spray section into the drain pipe. This makes it possible to keep the amount of air and water supplied to the spray section to a minimum, which is economical. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device as one embodiment of a processing device according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wafer and a ring frame. [Diagram 3] 2 is a front view of a cutting blade portion of the cutting device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a perspective view of a water case and an expandable cover of the cutting machine shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 2 is an exploded perspective view of a water case and an expandable cover of the cutting machine shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part A in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an upstream portion of a drainage pipe, showing another embodiment 1 of the jet portion. FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] This is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upstream part of the drainage pipe, showing another embodiment 2 of the injection part. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the drainage mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] [Overall configuration of cutting equipment] First, the overall configuration of a cutting device as one embodiment of a processing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. In the following description, the front-rear direction in Fig. 1 is defined as the X-axis direction, the left-right direction as the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction as the Z-axis direction.

[0018] FIG. 1 is an oblique view of a cutting device. The illustrated cutting device 1 is called a dicer and has a base 2 that supports each component. A column 3 is vertically installed in the rear corner of the base 2.

[0019] The cutting device 1 is equipped with, as its main components, a chuck table 10 that holds and rotates a wafer W, which is a workpiece, together with a ring frame F; a cutting feed mechanism 20 that reciprocates the chuck table 10 together with the wafer W along the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction); a cutting unit 30 that cuts the wafer W held on the holding surface of the chuck table 10; a cutting feed mechanism 40 that raises and lowers the cutting unit 30 along the Z-axis direction (cutting direction); an indexing feed mechanism 50 that reciprocates the cutting unit 30 along the Y-axis direction (indexing direction); a cutting water supply unit 60 that supplies grinding water, which is processing water, toward the cutting blade 35 of the cutting unit 30 (see Figure 3) during cutting processing; a water case 70 that receives and collects cutting waste water scattered around by the high-speed rotation of the cutting blade 35; a drainage mechanism 80 that discharges the cutting waste water from the water case 70; and a control unit 100. In FIG. 1, the stretchable covers 5 and 6 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are omitted.

[0020] Below, we will explain the configurations of the main components of the cutting device 1, namely the chuck table 10, the cutting feed mechanism 20, the cutting unit 30, the infeed feed mechanism 40, the indexing feed mechanism 50, the cutting water supply unit 60, the water case 70, the drainage mechanism 80 and the control unit 100.

[0021] (Chuck table) The chuck table 10 is a disk-shaped member rotatably disposed in the approximate center of the base 2, and its upper surface constitutes a holding surface for holding the wafer W together with a ring frame F (see FIG. 2). Four clamps 11 for fixing the ring frame F from all four sides are disposed around the periphery of the chuck table 10 at equal angular pitches (90° pitches) in the circumferential direction.

[0022] In addition, the chuck table 10 is rotatably supported on a slider 22 (described later) of a cutting feed mechanism 20 via a rotation mechanism 12 arranged below it, and is rotated around a vertical axis by the rotation mechanism 12, and can be moved back and forth along the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction) by the cutting feed mechanism 20 arranged below it.

[0023] Here, the wafer W, which is the workpiece, is, for example, a thin, disk-shaped member made of single crystal silicon (Si), and as shown in Fig. 2, its surface (upper surface in Fig. 2) is divided into a plurality of rectangular regions by mutually orthogonal lattice-like division lines (streets) L1, L2, and devices D such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each rectangular region. The wafer W with a large number of devices D thus formed on its surface is supported by a ring frame F via a dicing tape T attached to its rear surface (lower surface in Fig. 2) and the lower surface of the ring frame F. Note that, in addition to silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), glass, ceramics, sapphire, etc. may be used as the material of the wafer W.

[0024] (Cutting feed mechanism) The cutting feed mechanism 20 is a mechanism for reciprocating the chuck table 10 together with the wafer W along the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction), and is configured to include a pair of left and right X-axis guide rails 21 arranged on the base 2, a rectangular plate-shaped slider 22 slidably installed along the X-axis direction along these X-axis guide rails 21, a reversible X-axis ball screw 23 arranged along the X-axis direction between the left and right X-axis guide rails 21, and an X-axis servo motor 24 which is a rotation drive source for rotating the X-axis ball screw 23 forward and backward. The chuck table 10 is supported on the slider 22 via the rotation mechanism 12 so as to be rotatable around a vertical central axis. Although not shown, a nut member is provided to protrude downward from the center of the width direction of the lower surface of the slider 22, and the X-axis ball screw 23 is screwed into the nut member.

[0025] Therefore, when the X-axis servo motor 24 is started to rotate the X-axis ball screw 23 forward or backward, the slider 22 having a protruding nut member (not shown) that screws into the X-axis ball screw 23 slides in the X-axis direction along a pair of left and right X-axis guide rails 21, and the chuck table 10 moves back and forth together with the slider 22 and the rotation mechanism 12 in the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction).

[0026] (Cutting unit) The cutting unit 30 includes a spindle unit 31 and an imaging unit 32 attached to the lower part of a lift plate 42 of the incision feed mechanism 40, which will be described later. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the spindle unit 31 includes a rectangular block-shaped spindle housing 33 arranged horizontally along the left-right direction (Y-axis direction), a spindle motor (not shown) that is a rotation drive source housed in the spindle housing 33, a spindle 34 that is rotated by the spindle motor, and a thin disk-shaped cutting blade 35 attached to the tip of the spindle 34. Here, the cutting blade 35 is configured by forming a cutting edge 35b on the outer periphery of an annular base 35a, and the cutting edge 35b is formed by fixing diamond abrasive grains or the like with a resin bond, a metal bond, a vitrified bond, or the like.

[0027] In addition, the imaging unit 32 captures an image of the surface of the wafer W held on the holding surface of the chuck table 10 to detect the positions of the planned dividing lines L1, L2 (see Figure 2), and is equipped with an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS.

[0028] (Insertion feed mechanism) The incision feed mechanism 40 is a mechanism for moving the cutting unit 30 up and down along the Z-axis direction (incision direction), and is configured to include a pair of Z-axis guide rails 41 arranged vertically and parallel to each other on the left and right of a rectangular plate-shaped slider 51, a lift plate 42 that can move up and down along these Z-axis guide rails 41, a rotatable Z-axis ball screw shaft 43 that is arranged vertically between the pair of Z-axis guide rails 41, and a Z-axis servo motor 44 that can rotate forward and backward and drives the Z-axis ball screw shaft 43. The cutting unit 30 is attached to the lower part of the lift plate 42. A nut member (not shown) is provided on the back surface of the lift plate 42, and the Z-axis ball screw shaft 43 is screwed and inserted into the nut member.

[0029] In the cutting feed mechanism 40 configured as described above, when the Z-axis servo motor 44 is started and the Z-axis ball screw shaft 43 rotates forward and backward, the lifting plate 42, which has a protruding nut member (not shown) that screws into the Z-axis ball screw shaft 43, moves up and down along a pair of Z-axis guide rails 41, and the cutting unit 30 attached to the lifting plate 42 also moves up and down along the Z-axis direction (cutting feed direction).

[0030] (Indexing feed mechanism) The indexing feed mechanism 50 is a mechanism for reciprocating the cutting unit 30 along the Y-axis direction (indexing direction), and includes a slidable slider 51. Here, the slider 51 is movable along the Y-axis direction along a pair of upper and lower Y-axis guide rails 52 that are arranged parallel to each other along the Y-axis direction in front of the column 3 that is vertically erected on the base 2.

[0031] The indexing feed mechanism 50 includes a Y-axis ball screw shaft 53 that is rotatable in both directions and disposed along the Y-axis between a pair of upper and lower Y-axis guide rails 52, and this Y-axis ball screw shaft 53 is screwed into a nut member (not shown) that protrudes from the rear surface of the slider 51. One axial end of the Y-axis ball screw shaft 53 is connected to a Y-axis servo motor (not shown) that serves as a rotation drive source.

[0032] Therefore, in the indexing feed mechanism 50, when the Y-axis servo motor (not shown) is started to rotate the Y-axis ball screw shaft 53 forward and backward, the slider 51 on which a nut member (not shown) that screws onto the Y-axis ball screw shaft 53 is protruding can move in the Y-axis direction (indexing feed direction) along the Y-axis guide rail 52 together with the lifting plate 42. Therefore, the cutting unit 30 attached to the lifting plate 42 can move in the Y-axis direction (indexing feed direction) along the Y-axis guide rail 52.

[0033] In the cutting device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are movable along the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction), and the cutting unit 30 is movable along the Y-axis direction (indexing direction) and the Z-axis direction (cutting direction).

[0034] (Cutting water supply section) The cutting water supply unit 60 shown in FIG. 3 supplies cutting water to the cutting blade 35 rotating at high speed during cutting of the wafer W, and includes a shower nozzle 61 opening toward the cutting edge 35b of the cutting blade 35 and a cutting water supply source 63 that supplies cutting water to a pair of cooler nozzles 62 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 3) arranged on the outer and inner sides of the cutting blade 35. Pipes 64, 65 extending from the cutting water supply source 63 are connected to the shower nozzle 61 and the pair of cooler nozzles 62, respectively, and electromagnetic opening and closing valves V1, V2 are provided on each of the pipes 64, 65. The opening and closing valves V1, V2 are electrically connected to the control unit 100, and their opening and closing operations are controlled by the control unit 100. Pure water is preferably used as the cutting water.

[0035] (Water case) The water case 70 receives, collects, and then discharges waste grinding water containing cutting chips generated by cutting the wafers W. That is, the cutting of the wafers W is performed by the cutting blade 35 which rotates at high speed while receiving a supply of cutting water from the cutting water supply unit 60, and the water case 70 receives and discharges the waste cutting water scattered around during the cutting of the wafers W together with the cutting chips contained therein, and is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the movement path in the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction) of the chuck table 10 above the cutting feed mechanism 20 as shown in FIG.

[0036] More specifically, the water case 70 is configured as a rectangular frame-shaped container that opens upward, and a rectangular opening 70a is formed in the center of the water case 70 to allow the chuck table 10 and the rotating mechanism 12 to move in the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction). Here, the water case 70 includes a low rectangular cylindrical inner wall 71 that stands vertically along the opening 70a, a rectangular cylindrical outer wall 72 that stands vertically outside the inner wall 71, and a rectangular frame-shaped bottom wall 73 that connects the lower ends of the inner wall 71 and the outer wall 72, and is configured as a rectangular frame-shaped container as described above by the inner wall 71, the outer wall 72, and the bottom wall 73. Therefore, the water case 70 has a function as a gutter that receives and drains cutting wastewater containing cutting chips, and a circular hole-shaped drain port 74 is opened at a corner of the bottom wall 73, as shown in FIG. 1. It is preferable that the bottom wall 73 of the water case 70 is inclined downward toward the drain port 74.

[0037] 4 and 5, the opening 70a formed in the center of the water case 70 is covered by a rectangular plate-shaped cover 4 disposed above the opening 70a and bellows-shaped expandable covers 5 and 6 extending from both ends of the cover 4 in the X-axis direction and having their outer ends attached to the outer wall 72 of the water case 70. The cover 4 is movable in the same direction as the chuck table 10 and the rotating mechanism 12 move in the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction), and the pair of expandable covers 5 and 6 expand and contract with each other as the cover 4 moves, and the opening 70a of the water case 70 is covered from above by the cover 4 and the expandable covers 5 and 6. Therefore, the cover 4 and the expandable covers 5 and 6 prevent cutting wastewater containing cutting chips and the like from entering the opening 70a of the water case 70.

[0038] (Drainage mechanism) The drainage mechanism 80 shown in Fig. 1 is a mechanism for discharging cutting wastewater received and collected by the water case 70 to the outside of the water case 70, and includes a drain pipe 81 having one end connected to a drain port 74 opening in the bottom wall 73 of the water case 70, a drain pipe 82 connected to the other end of the drain pipe 81 extending to the outside of the base 2, a jet unit 83 provided on a vertical portion 81A of the drain pipe 81 extending vertically downward from the water case 70, an air supply source 84 for supplying air to the jet unit 83, and a water supply source 85 for supplying water to the jet unit 83. An electromagnetic air valve V3 is provided on an air pipe 86 extending from the air supply source 84 to be connected to the jet unit 83, and an electromagnetic water valve V4 is provided on a water pipe 87 extending from the water supply source 85 to be connected to the jet unit 83. The air valve V3 and the water valve V4 are electrically connected to the control unit 100, and their opening and closing operations are controlled by the control unit 100.

[0039] 1, the drain pipe 81 is bent from the lower end of the vertical portion 81A and extends obliquely downward in the +Y-axis direction inside the base 2, and a drain pipe 82 is connected to the downstream end of the drain pipe 81 extending to the outside of the base 2. Therefore, the inside of the water case 70 is connected to a wastewater treatment facility (not shown) via the drain outlet 74 and the drain pipe 81 and drain pipe 82 connected thereto.

[0040] 1, a branch pipe (exhaust pipe) 88 branches off from a portion near the downstream end of the drain pipe 81, and this branch pipe 88 is connected to a suction source 89 such as a vacuum pump. Therefore, the portion near the downstream end of the drain pipe 81 is connected to the suction source 89 by the branch pipe 88 and is evacuated by the suction source 89.

[0041] Here, the details of the configuration of the jetting portion 83 provided on the vertical portion 81A of the drain pipe 81 will be described below with reference to Figs.

[0042] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, a mixing section 83A having an arc shape in plan view is formed in a vertical section 81A near the water case 70 of the drain pipe 81, and an air supply source 84 and a water supply source 85 are connected to the mixing section 83A by air piping 86 and water piping 87 through communication holes 83a formed at two circumferential positions above and below, and plugs 90, 91 connected to these communication holes 83a. An injection nozzle 92 is formed obliquely downward toward the inside of the drain pipe 81 from the circumferential middle part of the mixing section 83A formed in the vertical section 81A of the drain pipe 81, and a circular inlet 92a of the injection nozzle 92 opens to the bottom surface of the mixing section 83A, and an elliptical injection port 92b long in the vertical direction opens to the inner peripheral surface of the drain pipe 81.

[0043] (Control unit) The control unit 100 controls each of the components constituting the cutting device 1, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing according to a control program, and memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). In particular, in this embodiment, as described later, the control unit 100 performs the function of controlling the opening and closing of an air valve V3 provided in an air pipe 86 which is a supply path of an air supply source 84 that supplies air to a spray unit 83 provided in a drain pipe 81 constituting a drain mechanism 80, and a water valve V4 provided in a water pipe 87 which is a supply path of a water supply source 85 that supplies water to the spray unit 83.

[0044] [Action of cutting device] Next, the operation of the cutting device 1 configured as above will be described.

[0045] When the cutting device 1 cuts the wafer W, which is the workpiece, the wafer W is placed on the holding surface of the chuck table 10 shown in Fig. 1 together with the ring frame F that holds the wafer W, and the ring frame F is fixed on the holding surface of the chuck table 10 together with the wafer W by four clamps 11. From this state, the cutting feed mechanism 20 moves the chuck table 10 along the X-axis direction and positions it below the cutting unit 30, and the imaging unit 32 of the cutting unit 30 images the surface of the wafer W. When an image is obtained by imaging the surface of the wafer W by the imaging unit 32, a planned division line L1 (see Fig. 2) to be cut is detected by pattern matching processing based on the image.

[0046] As described above, when the planned dividing line L1 of the wafer W is detected, the position of the cutting blade 35 (see Figure 3) of the cutting unit 30 in the Y-axis direction (indexing direction) is indexed by the indexing feed mechanism 50, and the position of the cutting blade 35 in the Y-axis direction is aligned with the position of the planned dividing line L1 to be cut.

[0047] Then, while the cutting blade 35 of the cutting unit 30 is rotated at high speed from the above state, it is lowered by a predetermined cutting amount by the cutting feed mechanism 40, and the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are moved in the X-axis direction (cutting feed direction) by the cutting feed mechanism 20. Then, the wafer W is cut along the planned dividing lines L1 by the cutting blade 35 of the cutting unit 30, and when such an operation is performed for all the planned dividing lines L1 in one direction, the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are rotated by 90° by the rotation mechanism 12, and the wafer W is similarly cut along the planned dividing lines L2 (see FIG. 2) in the other direction perpendicular to the planned dividing lines L1 where cutting has been completed.

[0048] In the cutting process of the wafer W by the cutting blade 35, the cutting water supplied from the cutting water supply source 63 of the cutting water supply unit 60 shown in Fig. 3 to the shower nozzle 61 and the cooler nozzle 62 is sprayed toward the cutting blade 35, but the cutting water sprayed toward the cutting blade 35 is scattered around due to the high speed rotation of the cutting blade 35. The cutting water that is scattered around contains cutting chips generated by cutting the wafer W, and the cutting waste water containing the cutting chips falls onto the cover 4 and the expandable covers 5 and 6 shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, and falls into the water case 70 from both ends in the Y-axis direction of the cover 4 and the expandable covers 5 and 6 and is received.

[0049] Thus, the control unit 100 opens the air valve V3 and the water valve V4 only when the wafer W is being cut. Then, air is supplied from the air supply source 84 shown in Figures 6 and 7 through the air piping 86 to the mixing unit 83A formed in the injection unit 83 of the drain pipe 81, and water is supplied from the water supply source 85 through the water piping 87 to the mixing unit 83A. Then, the air and water are mixed in the mixing unit 83A to generate a mixed fluid, which is forcefully injected obliquely downward from the injection port 92b of the injection nozzle 92 into the drain pipe 81 as shown by the arrow a in Figure 6.

[0050] Furthermore, the cutting waste fluid received by the water case 70 flows downstream along the incline (gradient) of the drain pipe 81, but this flow of the cutting waste water is promoted by the mixed fluid sprayed from the spray nozzle 92, and the cutting waste water is efficiently and smoothly swept downstream through the drain pipe 81. In this case, the cutting waste water is stirred up within the drain pipe 81 by the mixed fluid sprayed into the drain pipe 81, so that the accumulation of cutting chips within the drain pipe 81 is prevented.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a portion near the downstream end of the drain pipe 81 is connected to the suction source 89 by a branch pipe (exhaust pipe) 88, so that the air of the mixed fluid sprayed into the drain pipe 81 is sucked by the suction source 89, and the mixed fluid and the cutting wastewater are prevented from flowing back from the drain outlet 74 to the water case 70. As a result, the cutting wastewater containing the cutting chips flows more efficiently and smoothly toward the downstream side in the drain pipe 81, and the cutting chips and the like contained in the cutting wastewater do not remain and accumulate in the drain pipe 81. Therefore, the cutting wastewater received and collected by the water case 70 is efficiently and reliably discharged outside the water case 70 by the drain pipe 81. The cutting wastewater containing the cutting chips is sent from the drain pipe 81 through the drain pipe 82 to a wastewater treatment facility (not shown) where the wastewater is treated, such as by removing the cutting chips.

[0052] In this embodiment, the control unit 100 opens the air valve V3 and the water valve V4 to inject the mixed fluid from the injection nozzle 92 of the injection unit 83 into the drain pipe 81 only when the wafer W is being cut, which has the effect of minimizing the amount of air and water supplied to the injection unit 83, thus providing an economical effect. Note that, by injecting a mixed fluid of air and water from the injection nozzle 92 of the injection unit 83 as in this embodiment, a stronger cleaning power can be obtained than when only air or only water is injected.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the injection portion 83 is disposed on the vertical portion 81A of the drain pipe 81 as shown in Figures 6 and 7, but it may be disposed on both the left and right sides (left and right in Figure 9) of the downstream portion of the vertical portion 81A of the drain pipe 81 as shown in Figures 8 and 9. In Figures 8 and 9, the same elements as those shown in Figures 6 and 7 are denoted by the same reference symbols, and further explanation of these elements will be omitted below.

[0054] That is, as shown in Fig. 9, each of the jetting sections 83 arranged on both the left and right sides (left and right in Fig. 9) of the drain pipe 81 has an arc-shaped mixing section 83A, and each mixing section 83A is connected to an air supply source 84 via a communication hole 83a, a plug 90, an air pipe 86 and an air valve V3, and is connected to a water supply source 85 via a communication hole 83a, a plug 91, a water pipe 87 and a water valve V4. A jet nozzle 92 is formed obliquely downward toward the inside and downstream side of the drain pipe 81 from the circumferential middle part of each mixing section 83A, and the circular inlet 92a of each jet nozzle 92 opens to the side of the mixing section 83A, and the elliptical jet port 92b opens to the inner circumferential surface of the drain pipe 81.

[0055] Therefore, when the air valve V3 and the water valve V4 are opened during cutting of the wafer W, air is supplied from the air supply source 84 through the air pipe 86 to the mixing sections 83A formed in each jetting section 83 on both the left and right sides of the drain pipe 81, and water is supplied from the water supply source 85 through the water pipe 87 to the left and right mixing sections 83A. Then, air and water are mixed in each mixing section 83A to generate a mixed fluid, and this mixed fluid is jetted vigorously from the jetting port 92b of each jet nozzle 92 obliquely downward into the drain pipe 81 as shown by the arrow a in Fig. 9, so that the flow of the cutting wastewater in the drain pipe 81 is promoted by the mixed fluid, and the cutting wastewater is efficiently and smoothly swept downstream in the drain pipe 81.

[0056] Alternatively, the injection section 83 may be disposed at the bottom of the downstream portion of the vertical section 81A of the drain pipe 81 as shown in Figures 10 and 11. In Figures 10 and 11, the same elements as those shown in Figures 6 and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and further description of them will be omitted below.

[0057] That is, each jetting section 83 arranged at the bottom of the drain pipe 81 has an arc-shaped mixing section 83A, to which an air supply source 84 is connected via a communication hole 83a, a plug 90, an air pipe 86 and an air valve V3, and which is also connected to a water supply source 85 via a communication hole 83a, a plug 91, a water pipe 87 and a water valve V4. A jet nozzle 92 is formed from the circumferential middle part of the mixing section 83A obliquely upward toward the inside and downstream side of the drain pipe 81, and a circular inlet 92a of the jet nozzle 92 opens to the side of the mixing section 83A, and an elliptical jetting port 92b opens to the inner circumferential surface of the drain pipe 81 obliquely upward toward the downstream side.

[0058] Therefore, when the air valve V3 and the water valve V4 are opened during cutting of the wafer W, air is supplied from the air supply source 84 through the air pipe 86 to the mixing section 83A formed in the injection section 83 of the drain pipe 81, and water is supplied from the water supply source 85 through the water pipe 87 to the mixing section 83A. Then, the air and the water are mixed in the mixing section 83A to generate a mixed fluid, and this mixed fluid is forcefully injected from the injection port 92b of the injection nozzle 92 into the drain pipe 81 obliquely upward toward the downstream side as shown by the arrow a in Fig. 10, so that the flow of the cutting wastewater in the drain pipe 81 is promoted by the mixed fluid, and the cutting wastewater is efficiently and smoothly swept away in the drain pipe 81 toward the downstream side.

[0059] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a branch pipe 88 is branched from the downstream end of the drain pipe 81, and the branch pipe 88 is connected to the suction source 89. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the branch pipe 88 may be connected to the water case 70. Here, since the pressure inside the water case 70 is kept at atmospheric pressure, the downstream part of the drain pipe 81 where the branch pipe 88 branches also becomes atmospheric pressure and has the same pressure. Therefore, the cutting wastewater containing the cutting chips flows downstream in the drain pipe 81 along the gradient of the drain pipe 81, and this flow is promoted by the injection of the mixed fluid from the injection part 83 into the drain pipe 81. As a result, the accumulation of the cutting chips and the like in the drain pipe 81 is more reliably prevented, and the cutting wastewater is efficiently discharged from the water case 70. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the branch pipe 88 is connected to the water case 70, but the branch pipe 88 may be directly opened to the atmosphere.

[0060] Although the present invention has been described above as being applied to the cutting device 1, the present invention can be similarly applied to any other processing devices such as grinding devices and polishing devices other than the cutting device 1.

[0061] In addition, in this embodiment, the mixed fluid is sprayed into the drain pipe 81 only when the wafer W is being ground, but the mixed fluid may be sprayed into the drain pipe 81 at all times.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the wafer W is cut as the workpiece has been described as an example, but any workpiece other than the wafer W can be used as the workpiece.

[0063] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the application of the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1: cutting device, 2: base, 3: column, 4: cover, 5, 6: telescopic cover, 10: chuck table, 11: clamp, 12: rotation mechanism, 20: cutting feed mechanism, 21: X-axis guide rail, 22: slider, 23: X-axis ball screw, 24: X-axis servo motor, 30: cutting unit, 31: spindle unit, 32: imaging unit, 33: spindle housing, 34: spindle, 35: cutting blade, 35a: base, 35b: cutting edge, 40: infeed mechanism, 41: Z-axis guide rail, 42: lift plate, 43: Z-axis ball screw, 44: Z-axis servo motor, 50: indexing feed mechanism, 51: slider, 52: Y-axis guide rail, 53: Y-axis ball screw, 60: grinding water supply unit, 61: shower nozzle, 62: cooler nozzle, 63: cutting water supply unit, 64, 65: piping, 70: water case, 70a: opening, 71: inner wall, 72: outer wall, 73: bottom wall, 74: drain port, 80: drain mechanism, 81: drain pipe, 81A: vertical part of drain pipe, 82: drain pipe, 83: injection part, 83A: mixing part, 83a: communication hole, 84: air supply source, 85: water supply source, 86: air piping (air supply path), 87: water piping (water supply path), 88: branch pipe, 89: suction source, 90, 91: plug, 92: injection nozzle; 92a: inlet of the injection nozzle; 92b: outlet of the injection nozzle; 100: control unit, D: device, F: ring frame, L1, L2: division lines, T: dicing tape, V1, V2: opening and closing valves, V3: air valve, V4: water valve, W: wafer (workpiece)

Claims

1. A processing apparatus including a drain pipe for draining processing wastewater containing processing wastewater generated by processing a workpiece while supplying processing water, The processing device is characterized in that the drain pipe is provided with an injection part that injects a mixed fluid of air and water into the drain pipe from upstream to downstream in the flow direction of the processing wastewater.

2. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a branch pipe branched off from said drain pipe on the downstream side in the direction of flow of said processing wastewater, said branch pipe being open to the atmosphere or connected to a suction source.

3. an air supply source for supplying air to the jetting portion and a water supply source for supplying water to the jetting portion; an air valve provided in an air supply path from the air supply source to the ejection unit; a water valve provided in a water supply path from the water supply source to the jetting unit; a control unit that opens the air valve and the water valve to inject the mixed fluid from the injection unit only when a workpiece is being processed; 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

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