Attachment / detachment method of grinding wheel

Abstract

To provide an attachment / detachment method of a grinding wheel which can prevent dust attached to the grinding wheel from dropping to a chuck table, at the time of attachment / detachment of the grinding wheel.SOLUTION: An attachment / detachment method of a grinding wheel using a grinding device which includes a plurality of chuck tables, a turn table which arranges and rotates the plurality of chuck tables at an equal angle in a circumferential direction, and thereby positions the respective chuck tables at a predetermined grinding position, and a grinding unit capable of being mounted with a grinding wheel which is arranged with a grinding stone for grinding workpiece that is arranged at the grinding position and is held by the chuck table includes: a preparation step 401 for rotating the turn table, and thereby positioning the chuck tables at positions deviated from a position immediately under a spindle; and a grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402 of mounting or removing the grinding wheel on or from a mount part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for mounting and dismounting a grinding wheel. [Background technology]

[0002] In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, the surface of a wafer is ground to form the wafer into a predetermined thickness. A grinding apparatus for grinding the surface of such a wafer includes a plurality of chuck tables for holding the wafers as workpieces, a turntable on which the plurality of chuck tables are arranged and which positions each chuck table at a predetermined grinding position, and a grinding unit provided with a grinding wheel arranged at the grinding position and for grinding the wafers held on the chuck tables (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-354962 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Grinding wheels use grinding stones while wearing them down, stabilizing the condition of the grinding stones. Therefore, grinding wheels are consumables and must be replaced when the remaining cutting edge of the grinding stone falls below a certain length.

[0005] Normally, when replacing the grinding wheel in a grinding device, the chuck table is positioned in the grinding position, so there is a risk that debris adhering to the grinding wheel will fall onto the chuck table when the grinding wheel is attached or detached.

[0006] Therefore, a problem to be solved in the grinding apparatus is to establish a method for preventing debris adhering to the grinding wheel from falling onto the chuck table when the grinding wheel is attached or detached.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel that can prevent debris adhering to the grinding wheel from falling onto the chuck table when the grinding wheel is attached or detached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the method of attaching and detaching a grinding wheel of the present invention uses a grinding device including at least a plurality of chuck tables having a holding surface for holding a workpiece, a turntable which arranges the plurality of chuck tables at equal angles in the circumferential direction and rotates to position each chuck table at a predetermined grinding position, and a grinding unit capable of mounting a grinding wheel having a grinding wheel for grinding the workpiece held on the chuck table at the grinding position to a mount portion at the tip of a spindle, and the method of attaching or detaching the grinding wheel to or from the mount portion is characterized in that the method includes a preparation step of rotating the turntable to position the chuck table at a position away from directly below the spindle, and a grinding wheel attaching and detaching step of attaching or detaching the grinding wheel to or from the mount portion.

[0009] In the above-described method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel, the preparation step may include moving the chuck table to a position that is moved from the grinding position by an angle that is half the equal angle.

[0010] The method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel may further include a dressing step of dressing the grinding wheel when the grinding wheel is attached in the grinding wheel attaching and detaching step. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present invention has an advantage in that it is possible to prevent debris adhering to the grinding wheel from falling onto the chuck table when the grinding wheel is attached or detached. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view that illustrates a schematic configuration example of a grinding device used in the method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view that typically illustrates the grinding apparatus illustrated in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a model of a workpiece to be processed by the grinding device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of a rough grinding unit and a finish grinding unit of the grinding apparatus shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the method for attaching and detaching the grinding wheel according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view that shows a schematic view of a main part of the grinding apparatus before the preparation step shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view that illustrates a schematic view of a main part of the grinding apparatus illustrated in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus after the preparation step shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a plan view that illustrates a schematic view of a main part of the grinding apparatus illustrated in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the grinding wheel has been removed from any one of the grinding units in the grinding wheel mounting / removal step shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a grinding wheel is attached to any one of the grinding units in the grinding wheel attaching / detaching step shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a schematic view of a main part of the grinding apparatus before the finishing step shown in FIG. [Figure 13]FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus after the finishing step shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view that typically shows a state in which the dressing board held on the chuck table and the grinding wheel face each other in the dressing step shown in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a side view showing a schematic partial cross-section of the dressing board and grinding wheel shown in FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a perspective view that typically shows a state in which the grinding wheel is dressed by a dressing board held on the chuck table in the dressing step shown in FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a side view showing a schematic partial cross-section of the dressing board and grinding wheel shown in FIG. 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 attaching and detaching a grinding wheel 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 typical configuration example of a grinding device used in the method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a typical configuration of the grinding device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a typical configuration of a workpiece to be machined by the grinding device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a rough grinding unit and a finish grinding unit of the grinding device shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] (workpiece) The method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment is carried out using a grinding device 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The grinding device 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 is a processing device that grinds a workpiece 200 shown in Fig. 3. The workpiece 200 to be processed by the grinding device 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, the substrate of which is 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. 3.

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

[0017] In addition, in embodiment 1, the workpiece 200 has the back surface 202 behind the front surface 201 ground by the grinding device 1 to be thinned to a predetermined finish thickness, and then is divided into individual devices along the planned division lines.

[0018] In the first embodiment, the workpiece 200 has a surface protection tape 210 for protecting a device adhered to the surface 201 as shown in Fig. 3. 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 adhered to the surface 201.

[0019] (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 and Fig. 2, the grinding device 1 includes an apparatus base 2, a turntable 5, a plurality of chuck tables 6 (three in the first embodiment) installed on the turntable 5, a rough grinding unit 10, a finish grinding unit 20, a grinding feed unit 30, a cassette mounting table 8, an alignment unit 40, a transport unit 50, a cleaning unit 60, and a control unit 100.

[0020] The turntable 5 is a disk-shaped table provided on the upper surface of the device base 2, and is provided rotatably 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 chuck tables 6 are arranged at equal intervals, for example, at a phase angle of 120 degrees. That is, the turntable 5 has multiple chuck tables 6 arranged at equal angles (120 degrees in the first embodiment) in the circumferential direction.

[0021] The upper surfaces of these three chuck tables 6 are made of a porous material such as porous ceramics, and serve as holding surfaces 61 on which the workpiece 200 is placed via a surface protection tape 210. That is, the chuck tables 6 have the holding surfaces 61. The holding surfaces 61 of the chuck tables 6 are connected to a suction source (not shown), and the holding surfaces 61 are sucked by the suction source, whereby the workpiece 200 placed on the holding surfaces 61 is sucked and held to the holding surfaces 61 via the surface protection tape 210.

[0022] During grinding, the chuck table 6 is rotated by a rotation mechanism about an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction. By the rotation of the turntable 5, the chuck table 6 is moved in sequence to a carry-in / out position 301, a rough grinding position 302, a finish grinding position 303, and again to the carry-in / out position 301. That is, the turntable 5 rotates about its axis to position each chuck table 6 at a predetermined grinding position 302, 303.

[0023] The loading / unloading position 301 is an area where the workpiece 200 is loaded and unloaded onto the chuck table 6, the rough grinding position 302 is an area where the rough grinding unit 10 rough-grinds (corresponding to grinding) the workpiece 200 held on the chuck table 6, and the finish grinding position 303 is an area where the finish grinding unit 20 finish-grinds (corresponding to grinding) the workpiece 200 held on the chuck table 6.

[0024] The rough grinding unit 10 is a processing unit that is disposed above the chuck table 6 positioned at the rough grinding position 302, and is equipped with a grinding wheel 11 for rough grinding on which grinding stones 15 for rough grinding are arranged in an annular shape for roughly grinding the back surface 202 exposed above the workpiece 200 held by the chuck table 6, and roughly grinds the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 at the rough grinding position 302. The finish grinding unit 20 is disposed above the chuck table 6 positioned at the rough grinding position 302, and is equipped with a grinding wheel 21 for finish grinding on which grinding stones 25 for finish grinding are arranged in an annular shape for finish grinding the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held by the chuck table 6, and finish grinds the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 at the finish grinding position 303.

[0025] In the grinding units 10, 20, the grinding wheels 11, 21 can be attached to disk-shaped mounts 14, 24 provided at the lower ends of spindles 13, 23 shown in Fig. 4, which are rotated around axes parallel to the Z-axis direction by motors 12, 22. In the grinding units 10, 20, the grinding wheels 11, 21 are attached to the mounts 14, 24 provided at the lower ends of the spindles 13, 23, and the grinding stones 15, 25 of the grinding wheels 11, 21 are disposed opposite the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6.

[0026] In the grinding units 10, 20, the spindles 13, 23 and the grinding wheels 11, 21 are rotated about their axes by the motors 12, 22, and grinding water is supplied to the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the chuck table 6 at the grinding positions 302, 303 while the grinding feed unit 30 moves the grinding wheels 15, 25 closer to the chuck table 6 at a predetermined feed speed, thereby roughly grinding or finish grinding the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200. In the grinding units 10, 20 in the first embodiment, the grinding wheels 11, 21 can be attached to the mounts 14, 24 using bolts or the like. The grinding wheels 11, 21 are provided with a plurality of grinding stones 15, 25 arranged in a ring shape for rough grinding or finish grinding the workpiece 200 held on the chuck table 6, and a wheel base 16, 26 on which the grinding stones 15, 25 are arranged in a ring shape and which can be attached to the mounting portions 14, 24 by bolts or the like.

[0027] The grinding feed unit 30 moves the grinding units 10, 20 in the Z-axis direction to move the grinding units 10, 20 closer to or farther away from the chuck table 6. In the first embodiment, the grinding feed unit 30 is provided on a standing plate 3 erected 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 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 spindle housings 17, 27 of the grinding units 10, 20 movably in the Z-axis direction.

[0028] In addition, in embodiment 1, the rough grinding unit 10 and the finish grinding unit 20 are arranged so that the axis which is the center of rotation of the grinding wheels 11, 21 and the axis which is the center of rotation of the chuck table 6 are parallel to each other with a horizontal gap between them, and the grinding wheels 15, 25 pass over the center of the back surface 202 of the workpiece 200 held on the chuck table 6.

[0029] The cassette 7 is placed on the cassette mounting table 8. 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 first embodiment, a pair of cassettes 7 are provided, each of which is installed on the cassette mounting table 8. The cassette mounting table 8 supports the cassette 7 so that it can be raised and lowered along the Z-axis direction. The alignment unit 40 is a table on which the workpiece 200 removed from the cassette 7 is temporarily placed and its center is aligned.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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 carries the workpiece 200 before grinding, which has been aligned by the alignment unit 40, onto the chuck table 6 located at the carry-in / out position 301 while holding it by suction to the suction pad 511.

[0032] 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 chuck table 6 located at the carry-in / out position 301 to the suction pad 521, and unloads the ground workpiece 200 to the cleaning unit 60.

[0033] 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.

[0034] The cleaning unit 60 cleans the workpiece 200 after grinding, and removes contamination such as grinding debris adhering to the ground back surface 202.

[0035] The control unit 100 controls each of the above-mentioned constituent units constituting the grinding apparatus 1, 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] Next, a description will be given of the processing operation of the grinding device 1. In the first embodiment, the operator places the cassette 7 containing the workpiece 200 with the back surface 202 facing upward on the cassette placement table 8 of the device base 2 of the grinding device 1. The grinding device 1 starts the processing operation when the processing conditions are registered in the control unit 100 and the control unit 100 receives a command to start the processing operation from the operator.

[0039] In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding device 1 rotates the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20 about their axes at rotation speeds determined by the processing conditions. In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the grinding device 1 causes the carry-in / out unit 53 to take out one workpiece 200 from one of the cassettes 7, carry it into the alignment unit 40, and causes the alignment unit 40 to align the center of the workpiece 200.

[0040] In the first embodiment, in the machining operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding device 1 suction-holds the aligned workpiece 200 on the suction pad 511 of the carry-in unit 51, and causes the carry-in unit 51 to carry it onto the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 located at the carry-in / out position 301. In the first embodiment, in the machining operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding device 1 suction-holds the workpiece 200 on the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 located at the carry-in / out position 301 via the surface protection tape 210.

[0041] In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding apparatus 1 rotates the turntable 5 to move the chuck table 6 holding the workpiece 200 at the carry-in / out position 301 to the rough grinding position 302. In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding apparatus 1 rotates the chuck table 6 about its axis, supplies grinding water, and roughly grinds the workpiece 200 by the rough grinding unit 10. In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding apparatus 1 roughly grinds the workpiece 200, and then rotates the turntable 5 to move the chuck table 6 holding the workpiece 200 after rough grinding to the finish grinding position 303.

[0042] In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the grinding device 1 causes the control unit 100 to supply grinding water and finish-grinds the workpiece 200 by the finish grinding unit 20. In the first embodiment, in the processing operation, the grinding device 1 causes the control unit 100 to finish-grind the workpiece 200, and then rotates the turntable 5 to move the chuck table 6, which holds the workpiece 200 after the finish grinding and whose rotation around its axis has stopped, to the carry-in / out position 301.

[0043] In the first embodiment, in the machining operation, the grinding device 1 stops the rotation and suction holding of the chuck table 6 located at the carry-in / out position 301. In the first embodiment, in the machining operation, the control unit 100 of the grinding device 1 causes the carry-out unit 52 to transport the workpiece 200 after finish grinding from the chuck table 6 at the carry-in / out position 301 to the cleaning unit 60, where it is washed and dried, and then the carry-in / out unit 53 causes the workpiece 200 to be stored in the cassette 7.

[0044] In addition, each time the control unit 100 rotates the turntable 5 by 120 degrees, the grinding apparatus 1 transports the workpiece 200 from the chuck table 6 at the loading / unloading position 301 holding the workpiece 200 after finish grinding to the cleaning unit 60, loads the workpiece 200 before grinding onto the chuck table 6 positioned at the loading / unloading position 301, roughly grinds the workpiece 200 before grinding held on the chuck table 6 at the rough grinding position 302, and finish grinds the workpiece 200 after rough grinding held on the chuck table 6 at the finish grinding position 303.

[0045] In this way, the grinding apparatus 1 cleans, carries out, and carries in the workpiece 200 to the chuck table 6 at the carry-in / out position 301 every time the control unit 100 rotates the turntable 5 by 120 degrees, and positions the workpiece 200 held on the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 at the rough grinding position 302 and the finish grinding position 303 in that order, and performs rough grinding and finish grinding in that order. When the control unit 100 has rough ground and finish ground all of the workpieces 200 in the cassette 7, the grinding apparatus 1 ends the processing operation.

[0046] (How to attach and remove the grinding wheel) FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of the grinding wheel mounting / removal method according to the first embodiment. The grinding wheel mounting / removal method according to the first embodiment is a method of mounting the grinding wheels 11, 21 to the mounts 14, 24 of the grinding units 10, 20, or removing the grinding wheels 11, 21 from the mounts 14, 24, using the grinding device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration. When the grinding device 1 described above is used in the grinding wheel mounting / removal method, the rotation of each chuck table 6 around its axis and the suction holding of the holding surface 61 are stopped, and the rotation of the grinding wheels 11, 21 around their axes of each grinding unit 10, 20 and the supply of grinding water are stopped. As shown in FIG. 5, the grinding wheel mounting / removal method includes a preparation step 401, a grinding wheel mounting / removal step 402, an end step 403, and a dressing step 405.

[0047] (Preparation step) Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus before the preparation step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus after the preparation step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus shown in Fig. 8.

[0048] The preparatory step 401 is a step of rotating the turntable 5 to position the chuck table 6 at a position away from directly below the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20. Before the preparatory step 401, the grinding apparatus 1 is positioned such that the chuck table 6 is at the carry-in / out position 301, the rough grinding position 302, and the finish grinding position 303, directly below the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20, as shown in Figs.

[0049] In the first embodiment, in the preparation step 401, the grinding device 1 rotates the turntable 5 by an angle that is half the rotation angle when positioning the chuck table 6 at the carry-in / out position 301, the rough grinding position 302, and the finish grinding position 303, based on a command input by an operator from an input unit or the like. Thus, in the first embodiment, the preparation step 401 moves (rotates) the chuck table 6 to a position that is moved (rotated) by an angle that is half the uniform angle of the chuck table 6 from the grinding positions 302, 303.

[0050] In the first embodiment, in the preparation step 401, the grinding apparatus 1 retracts all of the chuck tables 6 from directly below the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20, as shown in FIGS.

[0051] (Grinding wheel installation and removal step) Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a grinding wheel has been removed from any one of the grinding units in the grinding wheel attaching / detaching step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a grinding wheel has been attached to any one of the grinding units in the grinding wheel attaching / detaching step shown in Fig. 5.

[0052] The grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402 is a step of attaching the grinding wheels 11, 21 to the mount parts 14, 24 or removing them from the mount parts 14, 24 after the preparation step 401. In the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402 in the first embodiment, the grinding wheel 11, 21 is removed from either the mount part 14, 24 of the grinding units 10, 20 in the grinding device 1 as shown in Fig. 10. Also, in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step in the first embodiment, the grinding device 1 attaches the grinding wheel 11, 21 to either the mount part 14, 24 of the grinding units 10, 20 from which the grinding wheel 11, 21 was removed as shown in Fig. 11.

[0053] Thus, in the first embodiment, in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402, the grinding wheel 11, 21 of either of the grinding units 10, 20 of the grinding device 1 is replaced. Note that in the present invention, in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402, the grinding device 1 may simply remove the grinding wheel 11, 21 from either of the mount parts 14, 24 of the grinding units 10, 20, or may simply attach the grinding wheel 11, 21 to either of the mount parts 14, 24 of the grinding units 10, 20.

[0054] (End step) Fig. 12 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus before the end step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 13 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the main part of the grinding apparatus after the end step shown in Fig. 5.

[0055] The end step 403 is a step of positioning the chuck table 6 at the grinding positions 302, 303 by rotating the turntable 5 after the grinding wheel mounting / dismounting step 402. Before the end step 403, in the grinding apparatus 1, the chuck table 6 is retracted from directly below the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20 as shown in FIG.

[0056] In the first embodiment, in the end step 403, the grinding device 1 rotates the turntable 5 by an angle that is half the rotation angle when positioning the chuck table 6 at the carry-in / out position 301, the rough grinding position 302, and the finish grinding position 303, based on a command input by an operator from an input unit or the like. Thus, in the first embodiment, the end step 403 moves (rotates) the chuck table 6 to a position that is moved (rotated) by an angle that is half the uniform angle of the chuck table 6 from the position after the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402.

[0057] In embodiment 1, in the end step 403, the grinding apparatus 1 positions the chuck table 6 at the loading / unloading position 301, the rough grinding position 302 and the finish grinding position 303, as shown in FIG.

[0058] (Dressing step) Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing a state where the dressing board held on the chuck table and the grinding wheel are opposed to each other in the dressing step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 15 is a side view showing a schematic partial cross section of the dressing board and the grinding wheel shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing a schematic partial cross section of the grinding wheel being dressed by the dressing board held on the chuck table in the dressing step shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 17 is a side view showing a schematic partial cross section of the dressing board and the grinding wheel shown in Fig. 16.

[0059] The dressing step 405 is a step of dressing the grinding wheels 15, 25 when the grinding wheels 11, 21 are attached in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402. Note that, "dressing" refers to sharpening the grinding wheels 15, 25 of the grinding wheels 11, 21. In the first embodiment, it is determined whether the grinding wheels 11, 21 are attached in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402 (step 404), and if it is determined that the grinding wheels 11, 21 are attached in the grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 402 (step 404: Yes), the dressing step 405 is performed.

[0060] In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 405, the grinding device 1 sucks and holds the dressing board 110 on the holding surface 61 of the chuck table 6 via the disk-shaped support member 120, and rotates the chuck table 6 and the spindle 13, 23 of the grinding unit 10, 20 in which the grinding unit 10, 20 has been replaced around the axis, as shown in Figures 14 and 15. In the first embodiment, in the dressing step 405, the grinding device 1 brings the grinding unit 10, 20 in which the grinding unit 10, 20 has been replaced, close to the chuck table 6 by the grinding feed unit 30, and brings the grinding wheel 15, 25 into contact with the dressing board 110 to dress the grinding wheel 15, 25, as shown in Figures 16 and 17.

[0061] In the first embodiment, the grinding device 1 ends the method of attaching and detaching the grinding wheels 11 and 21 when the grinding wheels 15 and 25 of the grinding wheels 11 and 21 are dressed in the dressing step 405. Also, in the first embodiment, if it is determined that the grinding wheels 11 and 21 are not attached in the grinding wheel attaching and detaching step 402 (step 404: No), the method of attaching and detaching the grinding wheels ends.

[0062] As described above, in the method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment, in the preparation step 401 prior to the grinding wheel attaching and detaching step 402, the chuck table 6 is positioned at a position rotated by half the equal angle from the grinding positions 302, 303. As a result, in the method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment, the chuck table 6 is retracted from the grinding positions 302, 303 immediately below the spindles 13, 23 of the grinding units 10, 20 in the grinding wheel attaching and detaching step 402.

[0063] As a result, the method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to the first embodiment has the effect of preventing debris adhering to the grinding wheels 11, 21 from falling onto the chuck table 6 when the grinding wheels 11, 21 are attached or detached.

[0064] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1 Grinding equipment 5. Turntable 6 Chuck table 10 Rough grinding unit (grinding unit) 11 Grinding Wheel 13 Spindle 14 Mounting section 15 Grinding Wheel 20 Finish grinding unit (grinding unit) 21 Grinding Wheel 23 Spindle 24 Mounting section 25 Grinding Wheel 61 Holding surface 200 Workpiece 302 Rough grinding position (grinding position) 303 Finish grinding position (grinding position) 401 Preparation Steps 402 Grinding wheel attachment / detachment step 405 Dressing Step

Claims

1. a plurality of chuck tables each having a holding surface for holding a workpiece; a turntable that arranges the plurality of chuck tables at equal angles in a circumferential direction and rotates to position each chuck table at a predetermined grinding position; a grinding unit capable of mounting a grinding wheel having a grinding stone for grinding the workpiece held on the chuck table at the grinding position to a mount portion at a tip end of a spindle, the grinding wheel being attached to the mount portion and removed from the mount portion using a grinding device including at least the following features: a preparation step of rotating the turntable to position the chuck table at a position away from directly below the spindle; and a grinding wheel mounting / dismounting step of mounting or dismounting the grinding wheel on or from the mount portion.

2. 2. The method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to claim 1, wherein the preparation step comprises moving the chuck table to a position which is moved from the grinding position by an angle equal to half the equal angle.

3. 3. The method for attaching and detaching a grinding wheel according to claim 1, further comprising a dressing step of dressing the grinding wheel when the grinding wheel is attached in the grinding wheel attaching and detaching step.

Images