Grinding device

Abstract

To bring a holding surface of a holding table after shaping into a clean state in which machining chips are reduced.SOLUTION: A grinding device 1 includes: a holding table 6 configured to hold a workpiece on a holding surface; a grinding unit 10, 20 configured to grind the workpiece held by the holding table 6 by rotating a grinding wheel having grinding stones arranged in an annular shape; a grinding feed unit 30 configured to move the grinding unit 10, 20 in a grinding feed direction perpendicular to the holding surface; a turntable 5 configured to move the holding table 6 between a carrying-in / -out area for carrying in / out the workpiece to / from the holding table 6 and a grinding area for grinding the workpiece by means of the grinding mechanism; and a washing mechanism 71 configured to wash the workpiece held by the holding table 6 in the carrying-in / -out area. When a holding surface of the holding table 6 is ground and shaped by the grinding unit 10, 20, the grinding device 1 moves the holding table 6, the holding surface of which has been ground and shaped, to the carry-in / -out area by means of the turntable 5 and washes the holding surface of the holding table 6 by means of the washing mechanism 71.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a grinding device. [Background technology]

[0002] Prior to grinding the workpiece, a grinding device may perform grinding (self-grinding) on ​​the surface side of the holding table in order to shape the surface (holding surface) of the holding table that holds the workpiece (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-114336 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When performing self-grinding, grinding is performed while supplying a grinding fluid such as water to the area where the grinding wheel that grinds the holding surface contacts the holding surface. This allows the grinding chips to be discharged and the grinding wheel to be cooled, but chips may remain on the holding surface after self-grinding. If the workpiece is held by the holding surface with chips remaining on the holding surface, there is a problem that the workpiece may crack. For this reason, it is possible to wash the holding surface after shaping it by grinding, but there is a problem that a sufficient washing mechanism cannot be installed in the processing area where the holding surface is ground because there is a grinding mechanism for mounting a grinding wheel, etc. For this reason, in conventional grinding devices, when the holding surface of the holding table that holds the workpiece is ground and shaped by the grinding mechanism, there is a problem that the holding surface of the holding table after shaping should be in a clean state with reduced chips.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a grinding device that, when using a grinding mechanism to grind and shape the holding surface of a holding table that holds a workpiece, can leave the holding surface of the holding table after shaping in a clean state with reduced machining debris. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the grinding apparatus of the present invention includes a holding table that holds a workpiece on a holding surface, a grinding mechanism that rotates a grinding wheel having grinding wheels arranged in a circular ring shape to grind the workpiece held by the holding table, a grinding feed mechanism that moves the grinding mechanism in a grinding feed direction perpendicular to the holding surface, a holding table moving mechanism that moves the holding table between a load / unload area where the workpiece is loaded and unloaded from the holding table and a grinding area where the workpiece is ground by the grinding mechanism, and a cleaning mechanism that cleans the workpiece held by the holding table in the load / unload area, wherein when the holding surface of the holding table is ground and shaped by the grinding mechanism, the holding table whose holding surface has been ground and shaped by the grinding mechanism is moved to the load / unload area by the holding table moving mechanism, and the holding surface of the holding table is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism.

[0007] In the grinding device, the holding table may have a communication passage communicating with the holding surface, a blow fluid supply source connected to the communication passage via a blow fluid supply passage and supplying blow fluid, and an electromagnetic on-off valve disposed in the blow fluid supply passage, and when the holding surface of the holding table is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism, the electromagnetic on-off valve may be opened to supply the blow fluid to the holding surface of the holding table and blow the blow fluid out from the holding surface.

[0008] In the grinding apparatus, the cleaning mechanism may have a cleaning nozzle that supplies a mixed liquid of air and water to the holding surface. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The present invention has an effect of making it possible to make the holding surface of the holding table after shaping clean with reduced processing debris. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a grinding device including a cleaning device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a model of a workpiece to be processed by the grinding device shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the holding table shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the cleaning mechanism shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure related to the self-grinding of the grinding device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view for explaining the shaping step shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] 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.

[0012] [Embodiment] A cleaning device according to an 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 grinding device equipped with a cleaning device according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a workpiece to be processed by the grinding device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the holding table shown in Fig. 3.

[0013] (Workpiece) As shown in Fig. 1, a grinding apparatus 1 according to an embodiment is a processing apparatus that includes a cleaning unit 70 and grinds a workpiece 200. The workpiece 200 to be processed by the grinding apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, the substrate of which is made of silicon, sapphire, gallium, or the like. The workpiece 200 has devices (not shown) formed in each region partitioned by planned division lines set in a grid pattern on a surface 201 of the substrate shown in Fig. 2.

[0014] 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), a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) or a semiconductor memory (storage device).

[0015] In addition, in the embodiment, the workpiece 200 is thinned to a predetermined finishing thickness by grinding the back surface 202 behind the front surface 201 by the grinding device 1, and then divided into individual devices along the planned division lines.

[0016] 2, the workpiece 200 has a surface protection tape 210 for protecting a device attached to the surface 201. Note that in the present invention, the workpiece 200 does not necessarily have to have a device formed on the surface 201, and the surface protection tape 210 does not necessarily have to be attached to the surface 201.

[0017] (Grinding Equipment) The grinding device 1 is a processing device that grinds a back surface 202 of a workpiece 200 to thin the workpiece 200 to a predetermined finishing thickness. As shown in Fig. 1, the grinding device 1 includes an apparatus base 2, a turntable 5, a plurality of holding tables 6 (three in the embodiment) installed on the turntable 5, a rough grinding unit 10, a finish grinding unit 20, a grinding feed unit 30, a cassette 7, an alignment unit 40, a transport unit 50, a cleaning unit 60, and a control unit 100 that serves as a controller.

[0018] The turntable 5 is a disk-shaped table provided on the upper surface of the device base 2, and is provided so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction in a horizontal plane, and is rotationally driven at a predetermined timing. The Z-axis direction is parallel to the vertical direction. On the turntable 5, for example, three holding tables 6 are arranged at equal intervals, for example, at a phase angle of 120 degrees.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, each of the three holding tables 6 includes a porous plate 61, the upper surface of which is a holding surface 611 for suction-holding the workpiece 200, and a circular base 62 having a circular recess 63 surrounding the outer edge of the porous plate 61 formed in the center of the upper surface. The porous plate 61 is made of a porous material such as porous ceramics. As shown in Fig. 4, the porous plate 61 is formed in a conical shape with a slightly lower outer periphery and a vertex at the center 612 of the holding surface 611. Note that the holding surface 611 is not limited to this in the present invention, and may be formed flat.

[0020] The circular base 62 is made of a non-permeable metal such as stainless steel, and the porous plate 61 is fitted in the recess 63. A suction source 310 (see FIG. 4) is connected to the bottom of the recess 63 of the circular base 62. The circular base 62 has a rotation mechanism 630 attached to the turntable 5, the rotation mechanism 630 rotating around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction and perpendicular to the holding surface 611. In this embodiment, the circular base 62 is fixed to the rotation mechanism 630 with bolts 64.

[0021] 4, the circular base 62 is connected to the suction source 310 via a communication passage 65, and suction at the porous plate 61 can be controlled by an electromagnetic on-off valve 641 provided in the communication passage 65. A blow fluid supply path 66 that communicates with the blow fluid supply source 320 is connected to the communication passage 65, and the supply of fluid to the porous plate 61 can be controlled by an electromagnetic on-off valve 642.

[0022] The holding table 6 is placed on the holding surface 611 with the front surface 201 side of the workpiece 200 being interposed between the surface protective tape 210, and the holding surface 611 is sucked by the suction source 310 to hold the workpiece 200 on the holding surface 611 by suction. During grinding, the holding table 6 is rotated around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction by the rotation mechanism 630. The holding table 6 is moved sequentially to the carry-in / out area 301, the rough grinding area 302, the finish grinding area 303, and the carry-in / out area 301 by the rotation of the turntable 5. That is, the turntable 5 corresponds to a holding table moving mechanism that moves the holding table 6 between the carry-in / out area 301 where the workpiece 200 is carried in and out of the holding table 6 and the grinding area where the workpiece 200 is ground by the grinding mechanism.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, the loading / unloading area 301 is an area where the workpiece 200 is loaded and unloaded onto the holding table 6, the rough grinding area 302 is an area where the rough grinding unit 10 performs rough grinding (corresponding to grinding) on ​​the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 6, and the finish grinding area 303 is an area where the finish grinding unit 20 performs finish grinding (corresponding to grinding) on ​​the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 6.

[0024] The rough grinding unit 10 is a grinding mechanism that roughly grinds the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 in the rough grinding region 302 by mounting a rough grinding wheel 11 having grinding stones for rough grinding arranged in an annular shape for roughly grinding the back surface 202 exposed above the workpiece 200 held by the holding table 6. The finish grinding unit 20 is a grinding mechanism that finish grinds the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 in the finish grinding region 303 by mounting a finish grinding wheel 21 having grinding stones for finish grinding arranged in an annular shape for finish grinding the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held by the holding table 6. Hereinafter, the rough grinding unit 10 and the finish grinding unit 20 may be referred to as grinding units 10 and 20.

[0025] In the grinding units 10 and 20, the grinding wheels 11 and 21 are attached to the lower ends (corresponding to the tips) of the spindles 14 and 24 that are rotated by the motors 13 and 23 about an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction, and the grinding stones of the grinding wheels 11 and 21 are disposed opposite to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6. In the grinding units 10 and 20, the spindles 14 and 24 and the grinding wheels 11 and 21 are rotated by the motors 13 and 23 about their axes, and grinding water is supplied to the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 6 in the rough grinding region 302 and the finish grinding region 303, while the grinding feed unit 30 moves the grinding stone closer to the holding table 6 at a predetermined feed speed, thereby roughly grinding or finish grinding the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200.

[0026] The grinding feed unit 30 moves the grinding units 10, 20 in the Z-axis direction to move the grinding units 10, 20 and the holding table 6 relatively closer to or farther apart from each other. That is, the grinding feed unit 30 is a grinding feed mechanism that moves the grinding mechanism in a grinding feed direction perpendicular to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6. In the embodiment, the grinding feed unit 30 is provided on a standing plate 3 that stands from one end of the device base 2 in the Y-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction. The grinding feed unit 30 includes a well-known ball screw that is provided rotatably around its axis, a well-known motor that rotates the ball screw around its axis, and a well-known guide rail that supports the spindle housings 15, 25 of the grinding units 10, 20 movably in the Z-axis direction.

[0027] In the embodiment, the rough grinding unit 10 and the finish grinding unit 20 are arranged in parallel with a horizontal gap between the axis that is the center of rotation of the grinding wheels 11, 21 and the axis that is the center of rotation of the holding table 6, and the grinding wheel passes over the center of the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding table 6.

[0028] The cassette 7 is a container having a plurality of slots for accommodating a plurality of workpieces 200. The cassette 7 accommodates a plurality of workpieces 200 before and after grinding. In the embodiment, a pair of cassettes 7 is provided, each of which is installed on a cassette mounting table 8. The alignment unit 40 is a table on which the workpieces 200 removed from the cassette 7 are temporarily placed and their center alignment is performed.

[0029] The transport unit 50 transports the workpiece 200. The transport unit 50 includes a carry-in unit 51, a carry-out unit 52, and a carry-in / out unit 53.

[0030] The carry-in unit 51 has a suction pad 511 at its tip for suctioning the workpiece 200, and is formed in the shape of an arm that is provided on the device base 2 so as to be able to swing about its base end. The carry-in unit 51 suction-holds the workpiece 200 before grinding, which has been aligned by the alignment unit 40, onto the holding table 6 located in the carry-in / out area 301.

[0031] The unloading unit 52 has a suction pad 521 at its tip for suctioning the workpiece 200, and is formed in the shape of an arm that is provided on the device base 2 so as to be able to swing about its base end. The unloading unit 52 suctions and holds the ground workpiece 200 on the holding table 6 located in the carry-in / out area 301 to the suction pad 521, and carries it out to the cleaning unit 60.

[0032] The carry-in / out unit 53 takes out the workpiece 200 before grinding from the cassette 7 and transports it to the alignment unit 40, and also takes out the workpiece 200 after grinding from the cleaning unit 60 and transports it to the cassette 7. The carry-in / out unit 53 is, for example, a robot pick equipped with a U-shaped hand 531, which adsorbs and holds the workpiece 200 and transports it.

[0033] The cleaning unit 60 cleans the workpiece 200 after grinding, and removes contamination such as grinding debris adhering to the ground back surface 202.

[0034] The grinding device 1 further includes a cleaning unit 70 according to the embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3. Next, the cleaning unit 70 will be described. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the cleaning mechanism shown in Fig. 3.

[0035] The cleaning unit 70 is a device that cleans the workpiece 200 after grinding, and the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 located in the carry-in / out area 301. In this embodiment, the cleaning unit 70 includes the above-mentioned holding table 6, a cleaning mechanism 71, and a moving mechanism 80, as shown in FIG.

[0036] The cleaning mechanism 71 cleans the workpiece 200 after grinding that is sucked and held on the holding table 6 located in the carry-in / out area 301, and the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 located in the carry-in / out area 301. As shown in Fig. 3, the cleaning mechanism 71 extends linearly, has a base end supported by the moving mechanism 80, and includes a hollow arm 72, a sponge material 73 attached to the tip of the arm 72, and a cleaning nozzle 74 (see Fig. 5) housed in the sponge material 73. The arm 72 is disposed such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the horizontal direction.

[0037] The sponge material 73 is made of a porous soft (elastically deformable) sponge having pores inside at least some of which are interconnected. In this embodiment, the sponge material 73 is formed by foaming a resin such as polyurethane, PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol), or rubber mixed with a foaming agent. In this embodiment, the sponge material 73 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a through hole in the extension direction. The sponge material 73 is attached to the underside of the tip of the arm 72.

[0038] 5, the cleaning nozzle 74 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a flow path for passing the cleaning liquid on the inside. The cleaning nozzle 74 is disposed in a through hole of the sponge material 73 and attached to the tip of the arm 72. The flow path of the cleaning nozzle 74 is connected at its base end on the tip side of the arm 72 to a water supply source 76 via a pipe 761 disposed in the arm 72 or the like, and is connected to an air supply source 77 via a pipe 771 disposed in the arm 72 or the like.

[0039] The water supply source 76 supplies water (in this embodiment, pure water) to the flow path 741 of the cleaning nozzle 74 via a pipe 761. The air supply source 77 supplies air (in this embodiment, pressurized air) to the flow path 741 of the cleaning nozzle 74 via a pipe 771. In addition, the tip of the flow path 741 of the cleaning nozzle 74 can face the holding table 6 and the workpiece 200 held by suction on the holding table 6.

[0040] The cleaning nozzle 74 mixes water supplied from a water supply source 76 with air supplied from an air supply source 77, and can supply the mixture of water and air as a cleaning liquid through an injection port 742 at the tip side of the flow path 741 to the workpiece 200 held by suction on the holding table 6 located in the loading / unloading area 301, and to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 located in the loading / unloading area 301.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3, the moving mechanism 80 supports the base end of the arm 72 and moves the holding table 6 and the cleaning mechanism 71 relatively in the horizontal direction parallel to the holding surface 611. The moving mechanism 80 includes a first moving mechanism 81 that swings around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction with the base end of the arm 72 as the center, and a second moving mechanism 82 that is swung together with the arm 72 by the first moving mechanism 81 and raises and lowers the arm 72 along the Z-axis direction. The moving mechanism 80 moves the holding table 6 and the cleaning mechanism 71 relatively in the horizontal direction by the first moving mechanism 81 swinging the arm 72. The first moving mechanism 81 retracts the cleaning mechanism 71 from above the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 located in the loading / unloading area 301 and swings the arm 72 above the holding surface 611.

[0042] 1, the control unit 100 controls each of the above-mentioned constituent units constituting the grinding apparatus 1. That is, the control unit 100 controls the operation of at least the holding table 6 and the grinding units 10, 20, and causes the grinding apparatus 1 to execute a machining operation on the workpiece 200. The control unit 100 is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (central processing unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) or a RAM (random access memory), and an input / output interface device.

[0043] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 100 performs arithmetic processing in accordance with a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs control signals for controlling the grinding device 1 to the above-mentioned components of the grinding device 1 via the input / output interface device. The control unit 100 is also connected to a display unit configured with a liquid crystal display device or the like for displaying the status and images of the machining operation, an input unit used by the operator to register information on the machining contents, and a notification unit for notifying the operator.

[0044] The input unit is composed of at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit, a keyboard, etc. The notification unit notifies the operator by emitting at least one of sound, light, and a message on the touch panel.

[0045] (Self-grinding of grinding equipment) Next, the self-grinding of the holding table 6 in the grinding device 1 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure related to the self-grinding of the grinding device 1. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view for explaining the shaping step shown in FIG. 6. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control unit 100 of the grinding device 1, and shows a processing procedure for implementing the self-grinding according to the present embodiment. The grinding device 1 may execute the processing procedure shown in FIG. 6 for each of the multiple holding tables 6, or may execute it for a specific holding table 6.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 6, the grinding device 1 shapes the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 by the grinding mechanism (step 1001). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the grinding device 1 grinds the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 by the grinding wheels 11 and 21 by the above-mentioned grinding units 10 and 20 to form a desired shape of the holding surface 611. Step 1001 may be performed by using only one of the grinding units 10 and 20. In step 1001, the turntable 5 is rotated to position the holding table 6 in the rough grinding region 302 in a state in which nothing, including the workpiece 200, is suction-held on the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6. Then, in step 1001, while rotating the grinding wheel 11, the grinding feed unit 30 presses the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 rotated by the rotation mechanism 630 along the grinding feed direction to roughly grind the holding surface 611. In step 1001, the turntable 5 is rotated to position the holding table 6 in the finish grinding area 303 in a state where nothing, including the workpiece 200, is suction-held on the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6. In step 1001, while rotating the grinding wheel 21, the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 rotated by the rotation mechanism 630 is pressed in the grinding feed direction by the grinding feed unit 30, thereby finish-grinding the holding surface 611. In step 1001, the holding surface 611 may be finish-ground after rough grinding, or only one of rough grinding and finish grinding may be performed on the holding surface 611.

[0047] In step 1001, the holding table 6 of the grinding apparatus 1 may perform grinding while supplying a blow fluid (grinding fluid) such as water from the blow fluid supply source 320 via the blow fluid supply path 66 to an area where the grinding stone of the grinding wheels 11, 21 that grind the holding surface 611 contacts the holding surface 611. Even if the grinding chips are discharged and the grinding stone is cooled in this manner, processing chips may remain on the holding surface 611 after step 1001. When the grinding apparatus 1 finishes shaping the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 in step 1001, the processing proceeds to step 1002 shown in FIG.

[0048] The grinding apparatus 1 moves the shaped holding table 6 to the carry-in / out area 301 (step 1002). For example, the grinding apparatus 1 moves the shaped holding table 6 to the carry-in / out area 301 by rotating the turntable 5. After moving the holding table 6 to the carry-in / out area 301, the grinding apparatus 1 advances the process to step 1003.

[0049] The grinding device 1 cleans the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 with the cleaning mechanism 71 (step 1003). For example, when cleaning the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 with the cleaning mechanism 71, the grinding device 1 opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 642, supplies a blow fluid to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6, and blows the blow fluid from the holding surface 611, thereby cleaning the holding surface 611. Furthermore, the grinding device 1 cleans the holding surface 611 by supplying a mixed liquid (cleaning liquid) obtained by mixing water supplied from the water supply source 76 and air supplied from the air supply source 77 from the cleaning nozzle 74 of the cleaning mechanism 71 to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6. Note that, when cleaning the holding surface 611, the grinding device 1 may be configured to clean the holding surface 611 by simply supplying the mixed liquid (cleaning liquid) from the cleaning nozzle 74 of the cleaning mechanism 71 to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 without blowing the blow fluid from the holding surface 611. When cleaning of the holding surface 611 is completed, the grinding apparatus 1 ends the processing procedure shown in FIG.

[0050] (Example of grinding device operation) Next, an example of the operation of the grinding device 1 will be described. Prior to grinding the workpiece 200, the grinding device 1 performs so-called self-grinding, in which the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 that holds the workpiece 200 is ground by the grinding units 10 and 20 to form a desired shape of the holding surface 611. Then, the grinding device 1 moves the shaped holding table 6 to the carry-in / out area 301 by rotating the turntable 5. Then, the grinding device 1 supplies a cleaning liquid from the cleaning mechanism 71 to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6, and also supplies a blow fluid from the blow fluid supply source 320 to blow the blow fluid from the holding surface 611, thereby cleaning the holding surface 611.

[0051] As described above, when the grinding device 1 grinds and shapes the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 with the grinding units 10, 20 (grinding mechanisms), the holding table 6 whose holding surface 611 has been ground and shaped by the grinding mechanism can be moved to the carry-in / out area 301 by the turntable 5 (holding table moving mechanism), and the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 can be washed by the cleaning mechanism 71. As a result, after the grinding device 1 grinds and shapes the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 with the grinding mechanism, the grinding device 1 cleans the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 using the cleaning mechanism 71 that cleans the workpiece 200, so that the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 after shaping can be made clean with reduced processing debris.

[0052] For example, in a conventional grinding machine, after self-grinding, the operator must leave the table blower on and use a hand shower and a brush to wash away machining powder and the like adhering to the table. In contrast, the grinding machine 1 according to the embodiment eliminates the need to prompt the operator to wash the holding table 6 after self-grinding, improving work efficiency.

[0053] When the cleaning mechanism 71 cleans the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6, the grinding device 1 opens the electromagnetic on-off valve 642 to supply blow fluid to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 and blow the blow fluid out from the holding surface 611. This allows the grinding device 1 to efficiently and reliably remove machining debris from the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 after shaping, thereby contributing to improved work efficiency.

[0054] The grinding device 1 has a cleaning mechanism 71 having a cleaning nozzle 74 that supplies a mixed liquid of air and water to the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6, so that machining debris can be efficiently and reliably removed from the holding surface 611 of the holding table 6 after shaping with the mixed liquid.

[0055] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be practiced in various modified forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0056] In the embodiment, the cleaning liquid of the cleaning mechanism 71 is a mixed liquid of air and water, but in the present invention, the cleaning liquid is not limited to a mixed liquid, and air alone or water alone may be used. Also, in the embodiment, the cleaning mechanism of the grinding device 1 may be brush cleaning, which cleans by scrubbing with a soft roll brush or pen-shaped brush. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1 Grinding equipment 2 Equipment base 5. Turntable 6 Holding table 7 Cassette 10 Rough grinding unit 20 Finish grinding unit 30 Grinding feed unit 40 Alignment unit 50 Transport Unit 60 Cleaning Unit 65 Communication path 70 Cleaning Unit 71 Cleaning mechanism 72 Arm 74 Cleaning nozzle 80 Moving mechanism 100 Control Unit 200 Workpiece 301 Loading / unloading area 302 Rough grinding area 303 Finish grinding area 320 Blow fluid supply source 611 Holding surface 642 Solenoid valve

Claims

1. a grinding mechanism for rotating a grinding wheel having grinding stones arranged in an annular shape to grind the workpiece held by the holding table; a grinding feed mechanism for moving the grinding mechanism in a grinding feed direction perpendicular to the holding surface; a holding table moving mechanism for moving the holding table between a load / unload area where the workpiece is loaded and unloaded onto the holding table and a grinding area where the workpiece is ground by the grinding mechanism; and a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the workpiece held by the holding table in the load / unload area, a holding table moving mechanism for moving the holding table having been ground and having its holding surface shaped to the loading / unloading area, and a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the holding surface of the holding table.

2. the holding table has a communication passage communicating with the holding surface, a blow fluid supply source connected to the communication passage via a blow fluid supply passage and supplying blow fluid, and an electromagnetic opening / closing valve disposed in the blow fluid supply passage, 2. The grinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the holding surface of the holding table is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism, the electromagnetic on-off valve is opened to supply the blow fluid to the holding surface of the holding table and blow the blow fluid out from the holding surface.

3. 3. The grinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning mechanism has a cleaning nozzle for supplying a mixture of air and water to the holding surface.

Images