Processing device

Abstract

To provide a processing device that processes a workpiece held in a holding table while moving a processing tool in a vertical direction relatively to the workpiece, the processing device enabling a worker to more intuitively grasp a processing status than a conventional one.SOLUTION: A processing device includes: a holding table that holds a workpiece; a processing unit that is arranged in an upper part of the holding table and processes the workpiece held in the holding table by a processing tool mounted to a distal end of a spindle; a movement unit that moves the holding table and the processing unit in a direction of approaching to or separating from each other; and a display part. The display part displays position information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit on the basis of side surface images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 obtained by viewing the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit from a side surface direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device for processing a workpiece. [Background technology]

[0002] Processing devices such as grinding machines and polishing machines are used to thin workpieces such as semiconductor wafers. For example, a grinding machine comprises a processing unit in which a grinding wheel, a processing tool with a circularly arranged grinding wheel, is attached to a mount at the tip of a spindle. The grinding wheel, which rotates with the spindle, is moved vertically relative to the workpiece held on a holding table by a moving unit to grind the workpiece. Grinding machines also include a display unit that shows information indicating the status of the grinding process and the position of the workpiece to the operator. For example, Patent Document 1 displays a layout diagram showing the arrangement of each component of the grinding machine as viewed from above, along with an illustration of the workpiece. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-198940 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because processing devices such as grinding devices and polishing devices process workpieces held on a holding table by moving a processing unit in the vertical direction, when displaying the actual processing status in real time, if a top-down layout diagram as in Patent Document 1 is used, the only way to understand the processing status is to display the height coordinates of the grinding wheel numerically. However, there is a problem in that numerical information makes it difficult for workers to intuitively grasp the processing status.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and its purpose is to provide a processing device that processes a workpiece held on a holding table by moving a processing tool relative to the workpiece in the vertical direction, which allows the operator to intuitively grasp the processing situation more easily than before. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the processing apparatus of the present invention is a processing apparatus comprising: a holding table for holding a workpiece; a processing unit arranged above the holding table and processing the workpiece held by the holding table using a processing tool attached to the tip of a spindle; a moving unit for moving the holding table and the processing unit in directions that bring them closer to and away from each other; and a display unit for displaying positional information of at least the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit, wherein the display unit displays positional information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit by using a side image of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit viewed from the side.

[0007] The display unit may display letters, symbols, figures or numbers representing names corresponding to positional information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the machining unit.

[0008] The display unit may display positional information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit using a top view image of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit viewed from above, and may select and display the side view image or the top view image.

[0009] The processing tool may be a grinding wheel or a polishing pad with an abrasive stone disposed thereon. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the present invention, the display unit displays the actual position information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit so that the operator can see it, based on the position on the screen where it arranges and displays a side image of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit as viewed from the side.Therefore, in a processing device that processes the workpiece held by the holding table by moving the processing tool vertically relative to the workpiece, the operator can intuitively grasp the processing status, such as the positional relationship of the processing tool to the workpiece held by the holding table and the type of operation being performed, more easily than in the past. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a processing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the processing device of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the processing device of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Modes (embodiments) 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 embodiments. Furthermore, the components described below include those that can be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configuration can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0013] [Embodiment] A processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. Figs. 2 and 3 are views showing display screens 201 and 202, respectively, which are examples of display screens displayed by the processing apparatus 1 of Fig. 1. The processing apparatus 1 includes a holding table 10, a processing unit 20, a moving unit 30, a display section 40, and a control unit 50.

[0014] In this embodiment, the workpiece 100 to be processed by the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is, as shown in FIG. 1 , a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, whose substrate is made of, for example, silicon, sapphire, silicon carbide (SiC), or gallium arsenide. The workpiece 100 has, for example, a plurality of planned division lines formed in a grid pattern on a flat surface 101, and devices are formed in areas partitioned by the plurality of planned division lines. A back surface 102 on the back side of the surface 101 where no devices are formed is ground and thinned by the processing apparatus 1. The workpiece 100 is not limited to a wafer, and may be a circular package substrate having a plurality of devices sealed with resin, a ceramic plate, a glass plate, or the like.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the holding table 10 is a so-called chuck table that includes a disk-shaped frame body with a recess formed therein and a disk-shaped suction portion fitted into the recess. The suction portion of the holding table 10 is formed of a porous ceramic or the like with numerous porous holes and is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown) via a vacuum suction path (not shown). The upper surface of the suction portion of the holding table 10 is a holding surface 11 on which a workpiece 100 is placed and which suction-holds the placed workpiece 100 by negative pressure introduced from the vacuum suction source. In this embodiment, the holding table 10 suction-holds the workpiece 100 from the front surface 101 side on the holding surface 11.

[0016] The holding surface 11 and the upper surface of the frame of the holding table 10 are arranged on the same plane and are formed parallel to the horizontal XY plane. Note that in the present invention, the holding surface 11 and the upper surface of the frame of the holding table 10 are not limited to being formed flat and parallel to the XY plane, and may be formed, for example, as a cone-like surface with the center of the holding surface 11 as the apex and a slightly lower outer periphery.

[0017] The holding table 10 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction parallel to the horizontal direction by a moving mechanism (not shown) between a loading / unloading position located on the left front side of Fig. 1 and a processing position close to the processing unit 20 located on the right rear side of Fig. 1. A rotary drive source (not shown) is provided below the frame and the suction portion of the holding table 10, and the holding table 10 is provided so as to be rotatable (rotatable) around the central axis of the holding surface 11, which passes through the center of the holding surface 11 and is parallel to the vertical direction (Z-axis direction).

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the processing unit 20 is disposed above the processing position of the holding table 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the processing unit 20 includes a spindle 21 and a grinding wheel 22. The spindle 21 is rotatable about an axis parallel to the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and supports the grinding wheel 22, which is detachably attached to its downward-facing tip, so that the grinding wheel 22 is rotatable about the axis parallel to the vertical direction. The grinding wheel 22 has a plurality of grinding stones 23 arranged in a ring shape on its underside and is a processing tool that grinds the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position using the grinding stones 23. In this way, the processing unit 20 uses the grinding wheel 22, which is a processing tool attached to the tip of the spindle 21, to process the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position.

[0019] The processing unit 20 is arranged so that the spindle 21 faces the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the processing apparatus 1 may be arranged so that the rotation axis of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position and the rotation axes of the spindle 21 and grinding wheel 22 of the processing unit 20 are aligned with each other, or may be arranged so that they are offset in the horizontal direction, so that when the processing unit 20 grinds the grinding surface (processed surface) of the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10, a part of the grinding surface of the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10 is exposed upward.

[0020] In this embodiment, the processing device 1 is a so-called single-axis grinding device provided with one processing unit 20 (spindle 21) for grinding the workpiece 100, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be a so-called two-axis grinding device provided with two processing units 20 (spindles 21), or a grinding device provided with three or more processing units 20 (spindles 21).

[0021] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processing device 1 is a grinding device in which the processing tool attached to the tip of the spindle 21 is a grinding wheel 22 that grinds the workpiece 100, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a polishing device in which the processing tool attached to the tip of the spindle 21 is a polishing pad that polishes the workpiece 100, a bit cutting device in which the processing tool attached to the tip of the spindle 21 is a bit cutting tool that cuts the workpiece 100 with a bit, or a cutting device in which the processing tool attached to the tip of the spindle 21 is a cutting blade that cuts the workpiece 100.

[0022] The moving unit 30 performs grinding feed, which moves the spindle 21 of the processing unit 20 and the grinding wheel 22 attached to the spindle 21 relative to the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position along the grinding feed direction (the Z-axis direction parallel to the vertical direction), thereby moving the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position and the processing unit 20 (spindle 21 and grinding wheel 22) relatively in directions approaching and separating along the grinding feed direction.

[0023] The moving unit 30 is a known ball screw mechanism having a motor, a ball screw, and a guide. The moving unit 30 is configured with a ball screw rotatable about the Z-axis, a motor that rotates the ball screw about its axis, and a guide that supports the spindle 21 so that it can move in the Z-axis direction. The control unit 50 controls the drive of the motor to control the feed rate, movement amount, and other parameters of the moving unit 30. Here, the feed rate refers to the speed at which the moving unit 30 moves the spindle 21 and grinding wheel 22 relative to the holding table 10 positioned at the machining position along the Z-axis. The movement amount refers to the distance (height) by which the moving unit 30 moves the spindle 21 and grinding wheel 22 relative to the holding table 10 positioned at the machining position along the Z-axis. The feed rate is the movement amount per unit time.

[0024] The moving unit 30 includes an encoder that reads the rotational position of the motor, and detects the relative position of the spindle 21 in the Z-axis direction with respect to the holding table 10 positioned at the position to be machined based on the rotational position of the motor read by the encoder, and outputs the detected relative position to the control unit 50. Here, the relative position in the Z-axis direction is determined using an apparatus Cartesian coordinate system (XYZ coordinates) provided in the processing apparatus 1. In the apparatus Cartesian coordinate system, for example, the center of the holding table 10 positioned at the position to be machined is set as the origin, the Z-axis is set along the vertical direction, the upward vertical direction is set as the +Z direction, and the downward vertical direction is set as the -Z direction, and the Z-axis value is set corresponding to the length along the Z-axis direction from the origin.

[0025] Furthermore, before the start of machining, during machining, and after machining is completed, the moving unit 30 detects the relative position in the Z-axis direction with respect to the holding table 10 positioned at the machining position of the spindle 21, for example, at regular time intervals (for example, every second), thereby detecting the feed rate and the amount of movement, and outputs the detected relative position in the Z-axis direction with respect to the holding table 10 to the control unit 50. Note that the moving unit 30 is not limited to a configuration in which the relative position in the Z-axis direction with respect to the holding table 10 positioned at the machining position of the spindle 21 is detected by an encoder, but may also be configured with a linear scale parallel to the Z-axis direction, and a read head that is movable in the Z-axis direction by the moving unit 30 and reads the graduations of the linear scale.

[0026] The processing unit 20 rotates the spindle 21 about an axis parallel to the vertical direction, thereby rotating the grinding wheel 22 attached to the lower end of the spindle 21 about an axis parallel to the vertical direction, and rotates the holding table 10, which is positioned at the processing position and disposed opposite the spindle 21 and holds the workpiece 100, about the rotation axis. In this state, the moving unit 30 presses the rotating grinding wheel 22 against the workpiece 100 held on the rotated holding table 10 along the grinding feed direction, thereby grinding the workpiece 100 with the grinding stone 23 of the grinding wheel 22. The grinding wheel 22 grinds the workpiece 100 along the grinding surface (processing surface) to form the ground surface of the workpiece 100 parallel to the grinding surface.

[0027] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the display unit 40 is provided on a cover (not shown) of the processing apparatus 1 with the display surface facing outward. The display unit 40 displays screens 201 and 202, etc., for setting various conditions for various processes, such as grinding, performed by the processing apparatus 1, acquired data, and positional information of the holding table 10 (described later) or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20, so that the operator can see the screens. The display unit 40 is configured with a liquid crystal display device or the like. The display unit 40 is provided with an input unit that the operator uses to input information related to the various conditions of the processing apparatus 1 and information related to the display on the screen, etc. The input unit provided on the display unit 40 is configured with at least one of a touch panel provided on the display unit 40 and a keyboard, etc. Note that the display unit 40 is not fixed to the processing apparatus 1 but may be provided on any communication device, and the communication device may be connected to the processing apparatus 1 wirelessly or via a wire.

[0028] The control unit 50 controls the operation of various components of the processing apparatus 1 to cause the processing apparatus 1 to perform processes such as grinding the workpiece 100. Before, during, and after the processing of the workpiece 100 by the processing unit 20 begins, the control unit 50 continuously or at regular intervals acquires and controls the position of the spindle 21 relative to the holding table 10 in the Z-axis direction, as well as the feed rate and movement amount of the spindle 21, using the movement unit 30. Here, in this embodiment, an apparatus orthogonal coordinate system is used in which the center of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position is set as the origin. Therefore, information on the position of the spindle 21 relative to the holding table 10 in the Z-axis direction essentially includes position information of the holding table 10 and position information of the processing unit 20. In addition, the control unit 50 stores information on the shape and size (including thickness) of the workpiece 10 based on information previously input by an operator or the like via an input unit. Therefore, the position information of the holding table 10 substantially includes the position information of the holding table 10 and the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10. Therefore, the control unit 50 acquires, by the moving unit 30, substantially the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the machining unit 20, before, during, and after machining of the workpiece 100 by the machining unit 20 starts, during, and after machining is completed. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 50 may acquire, by other methods, the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the machining unit 20, by the moving unit 30, before, during, and after machining of the workpiece 100 by the machining unit 20 starts.

[0029] Here, the position information of the holding table 10 refers to information regarding the actual position of the holding table 10, and in this embodiment, in the device orthogonal coordinate system in which the center of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position is set as the origin, it is the value (position) of the Z-axis coordinate of the holding surface 11, which is the upper surface of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position, i.e., ±0.

[0030] Furthermore, the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 is information relating to the actual position of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and in this embodiment, it is the Z-axis coordinate value (position) of the back surface 102, which is the grinding surface (working surface) of the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position, in an apparatus orthogonal coordinate system in which the center of the holding table 10 positioned at the processing position is set as the origin, i.e., it is a value corresponding to the thickness of the workpiece 100 and changes as the grinding process progresses. Specifically, the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 is the same value as the thickness of the workpiece 100 placed on the holding table 10 before grinding, and is a value that gradually decreases as the grinding process of the workpiece 100 progresses.

[0031] Furthermore, the position information of the processing unit 20 is information relating to the actual position of the processing unit 20, and in this embodiment, it is the Z-axis coordinate value (position) of the grinding surface (processing surface) of the lower end of the grinding wheel 22, which is the processing tool, that contacts the workpiece 100, and is a value that changes as the grinding process progresses. Specifically, the position information of the processing unit 20 is a large positive value when the grinding wheel 22 is located far above the holding table 10 before grinding, and gradually decreases as the processing unit 20 is lowered by the moving unit 30, approaching the Z-axis coordinate value of the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and becomes the same as the Z-axis coordinate value of the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 at the moment the grinding wheel 22 starts grinding the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10, and is a value that further decreases as the grinding process of the grinding wheel 22 progresses.

[0032] In this embodiment, the control unit 50 stores grinding setting conditions input in advance by an operator via an input unit. In this embodiment, the grinding setting conditions are, for example, a series of operations to be performed in the grinding process, and the order of execution, conditions for execution, and operations to be executed are registered in association with each other. The execution conditions are determined based on position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and position information of the processing unit 20, acquired by the moving unit 30. The control unit 50 executes the operations registered in the grinding setting conditions while acquiring the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the position information of the processing unit 20 by the moving unit 30. When the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, acquired by the moving unit 30, and the position information of the processing unit 20, satisfy the condition for executing the next operation, the control unit 50 switches to the next operation and executes each operation in the order registered in the grinding setting conditions to perform the grinding process. In this way, the control unit 50 stores each operation of the setting conditions for the grinding process in association with the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the processing unit 20. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and when the processing device 1 is a polishing device, a bit cutting device, or a cutting device, the control unit 50 stores each operation of the setting conditions for the polishing process, the setting conditions for the bit cutting process, and the setting conditions for the cutting process in association with the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the processing unit 20, similar to the setting conditions for the grinding process described above.

[0033] In this embodiment, the grinding processing setting conditions specifically include operations registered in the order of execution: high-speed descent, air cut, first processing stage, second processing stage, spark out, escape cut, and high-speed retraction. High-speed descent is set to be executed first under the condition that the grinding wheel 22 is sufficiently above the workpiece 100, and is an operation in which the feed speed is increased (for example, several tens of mm / sec) to bring the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 of the processing unit 20 close to the workpiece 100 at high speed. Air cutting is set to start after high-speed descent under the condition that the grinding surface (machined surface) at the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 reaches the air cutting start position, which is a predetermined distance (e.g., 15 μm or 50 μm) vertically upward relative to the back surface 102, which is the grinding surface (machined surface) of the workpiece 100 before grinding processing.In order to prevent the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 of the processing unit 20 from coming into contact with the workpiece 100 at high speed, the feed speed is slower than that of high-speed descent (e.g., 5 μm / sec), and the grinding wheel 22 is rotated while approaching and contacting the workpiece 100.

[0034] Each xth processing stage (x = natural number) is an operation in which the grinding wheel 22 of the processing unit 20 is fed for processing while grinding the workpiece 100 with the grinding wheel 22, and depending on the detailed settings of the operation to be executed, in this embodiment, it can be set in stages from 1 to a maximum of 5 stages. In this embodiment, up to the second processing stage is set. The first stage of processing is set to start following air cutting under the condition that the grinding surface (processing surface) of the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 reaches the first-stage processing start position where it contacts the back surface 102, which is the grinding surface (processing surface) of the workpiece 100 before grinding. The first stage is an operation in which the grinding wheel 22 grinds the workpiece 100 at the same feed rate (e.g., 5 μm / sec), rotation speed of the holding table 10, and rotation speed of the grinding wheel 22 as in air cutting. In all processing stages, most of the thickness of the workpiece 100 to be ground (e.g., 80% or more, 90% or more) is ground. The second and subsequent processing stages are set to start following the previous stage under the condition that the workpiece 100 has been ground by a predetermined thickness. The feed rate is slower than in the previous stage (e.g., 3 μm / sec in the second processing stage), and the grinding wheel 22 grinds the workpiece 100. The position that the grinding surface (machined surface) of the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 reaches when starting the second and subsequent stages of machining is set to be the same as the starting position of the first stage of machining.

[0035] Spark-out is set to start following the final machining stage under the condition that the thickness of the workpiece 100 to be ground has been ground in all machining stages. The grinding wheel 22 is stopped from being fed, i.e., the feed rate is set to 0 μm / sec, and the grinding wheel 22 continues to rotate to grind the workpiece 100 so as to reduce thickness variations within the grinding surface of the workpiece 100. The spark-out start position, which is the position reached by the grinding surface (machined surface) of the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 when spark-out starts, is set similarly to the first-stage machining start position, the second-stage machining start position, etc. The escape cut is set to start following spark-out under the condition that spark-out has been performed according to the rotation speed of the grinding wheel 22. The escape cut is an operation of moving the grinding wheel 22 vertically upward away from the workpiece 100. The escape cut start position, which is the position reached by the grinding surface (machined surface) of the lower end of the grinding wheel 22 when the escape cut begins, is set similarly to the first processing stage start position, etc., based on the thickness of the workpiece 100 to be ground by the escape cut. The high-speed retraction is set to start following the escape cut under the condition that the escape cut has been sufficiently performed, and is an operation of moving the grinding wheel 22 of the machining unit 20 away from the workpiece 100 at high speed.

[0036] The control unit 50 stores a side image 10-1 of the holding table 10 viewed from the side, a side image 100-1 of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 viewed from the side, and a side image 20-1 of the processing unit 20 viewed from the side, as shown in Fig. 2, and a top image 10-2 of the holding table 10 viewed from the top, a top image 100-2 of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 viewed from the top, and a top image 20-2 of the processing unit 20 viewed from the top, as shown in Fig. 3. The side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 and the top images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 are registered in the control unit 50 in advance by being input from an input unit by an operator or the like. The control unit 50 also stores various image elements required to generate various display screens including the display screens 201 and 202 in addition to the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 and the top images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2.

[0037] Here, in this embodiment, the "images" of the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 and the top images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 include diagrams, illustrations, photographs, etc. In this embodiment, the side image 20-1 and the top image 20-2 are images of the grinding wheel 22, a machining tool that contacts the workpiece 100 and grinds the workpiece 100, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively, viewed from the side and top, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this embodiment, the side image 20-1 is sufficient to include at least an image of the lower end portion of the grinding wheel 22, a machining tool that contacts the workpiece 100 and whose position is most important to grasp. In addition, in this embodiment, the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 are images that are exaggerated in size in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) compared to the actual size, as shown in FIG. 2, because grasping the position in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) is important.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, workpieces 100 of various thicknesses, for example, up to 20 mm and as small as less than 1 mm, are held by suction on the holding table 10 and ground by the grinding wheel 22. Therefore, regardless of the thickness of the workpiece 100, a side image 100-1 having the same size in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) at the start of grinding is used. That is, in this embodiment, the vertical (Z-axis direction) display magnification, which is the ratio of the vertical length of the side image 100-1 displayed on the display unit 40 to the thickness of the workpiece 100 before actual grinding, is appropriately changed depending on the thickness of the workpiece 100 before grinding. In this embodiment, by using a side image 100-1 having the same vertical length regardless of the thickness of the workpiece 100, the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the position information of the machining unit 20 can be displayed so that the operator can intuitively grasp (visually) the position information more clearly and in detail regardless of the thickness of the workpiece 100.

[0039] The control unit 50 generates a display screen 201 as shown in FIG. 2 based on the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the processing unit 20, which are acquired by the moving unit 30, and the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 stored in the control unit 50 itself, and displays the generated display screen 201 on the display unit 40.

[0040] Specifically, the control unit 50 first sets up the image display section 210 on which the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 are arranged on the screen. The control unit 50 sets up a screen coordinate system in the image display section 210 along the vertical direction of the screen, which has a one-to-one correspondence with the Z-axis coordinate of the device orthogonal coordinate system, with the top of the screen corresponding to the +Z direction and the bottom of the screen corresponding to the -Z direction. Here, since it is important that the operator can easily grasp (visually recognize) the machining status after the start of air cutting on the display screen 201, the control unit 50 sets up the screen coordinate system so that the vertical display magnification is higher for the area vertically below the air cutting start position than for the area vertically above the air cutting start position, i.e., so that the area vertically below the air cutting start position is enlarged more greatly.

[0041] The control unit 50 then calculates the position information of the holding table 10, the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the position information of the processing unit 20 within the image display section 210 based on the correspondence between the Z-axis coordinate of the device orthogonal coordinate system and the screen coordinate system. The control unit 50 then places the side image 10-1 in the position in the image display unit 210 that corresponds to the position information of the holding table 10, places the side image 100-1 in the position in the image display unit 210 that corresponds to the position information of the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and places the side image 20-1 in the position in the image display unit 210 that corresponds to the position information of the processing unit 20, arranging the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 in the image display unit 210 along the vertical direction of the screen, superimposing the display of the rotation direction of the holding table 10 and the display of the rotation direction of the grinding wheel 22 on the side image 10-1 or the side image 100-1 and the side image 20-1, respectively, and arranging the other image elements to be displayed on the display screen 201 in their respective display areas outside the image display unit 210, thereby generating the display screen 201 and displaying the generated display screen 201 on the display unit 40. In this way, the control unit 50 generates a display screen 201 that displays the positional information of the holding table 10, the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 based on the position at which the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 are displayed on the image display section 210 on the screen.

[0042] Each time the moving unit 30 acquires position information of the machining unit 20, the control unit 50 changes the position at which the side image 20-1 is arranged on the image display section 210 on the screen to a position corresponding to the newly acquired position information of the machining unit 20, regenerates the display screen 201, and updates the display screen 201 to be displayed on the display section 40. In addition, in response to updating the position at which the side image 20-1 is arranged, the control unit 50 may align the position of the grinding surface (working surface) of the side image 100-1 with the arrangement position of the side image 20-1, and accordingly change the vertical thickness of the side image 100-1 to be thinner. In this way, the control unit 50 displays changes in the position information of the machining unit 20 by updating the position at which the side image 20-1 is displayed on the image display section 210 on the screen.

[0043] In this way, under the control of the control unit 50, the display unit 40 displays the positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 in a manner that allows the worker to intuitively grasp (visually recognize) it, based on the positions on the image display unit 210 on the screen that arranges and displays side images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20, viewed from the side.

[0044] Furthermore, under the control of the control unit 50, the display unit 40 enlarges and emphasizes the area vertically below the air cut start position, thereby widening the spacing between the positions of the side images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 displayed in the area vertically below the air cut start position on the image display unit 210, and displays the positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 in a manner that allows the worker to intuitively grasp (visualize) it more clearly and in more detail.

[0045] In this embodiment, the control unit 50 further generates a position display 220 including letters, symbols, figures, or numbers representing the names corresponding to these positional information, as shown in FIG. 2, based on the setting conditions for grinding processing by the processing device 1, the positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the positional information of the processing unit 20, acquired by the moving unit 30, and displays it on the display unit 40 together with the image display unit 210, which displays the side images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 at positions corresponding to each positional information.

[0046] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the position display 220 is composed of names ``Aircut,'' ``P1,'' ``P2,'' ``Sparkout,'' and ``Finish'' corresponding to the position information of the processing unit 20 relative to the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, ``circle'' figures indicating the position of each name in the image display section 210, line segments connecting these figures along the vertical direction of the screen, and thick line displays indicating the position information of the processing unit 20 and its trajectory.

[0047] In this embodiment, as described above, in the setting conditions for grinding processing, the conditions for executing each registered operation are linked to the position information of the processing unit 20, so each name of the position display 220 corresponding to the position information of the processing unit 20 is the name of each operation linked to the position information of the processing unit 20 or an abbreviation of that name, etc.

[0048] "Aircut" is a character string that means air cut and is set at a position in the image display unit 210 on the screen that corresponds to the air cut start position. An abbreviated character string such as "AC" may be used instead of the character string "Aircut." "Px (x = natural number)" such as "P1" or "P2" is a character string that means the xth (x = natural number) machining stage and is set at a position in the image display unit 210 on the screen that corresponds to the first machining stage start position or the second machining stage start position, respectively. "Sparkout" is a character string that means spark out and is set at a position in the image display unit 210 on the screen that corresponds to the spark out start position. An abbreviated character string such as "SO" may be used instead of the character string "Sparkout." "Finish" is a character string that means the end of grinding and is set at a position in the image display unit 210 on the screen that corresponds to the escape cut start position, for example. The names such as "Aircut," "P1," "P2," "Sparkout," and "Finish" and their display positions (display positions of the "○" shapes) on the display screen 201 are determined by the control unit 50 based on the setting conditions for the grinding process by the processing device 1.

[0049] Furthermore, when the control unit 50 ends the spark out and starts the escape cut, it may display that the escape cut is being performed by changing the character string "Finish" to the character string "Escapecut" on the position display 220. Furthermore, an abbreviated character string such as "EC" may be used instead of the character string "Escapecut."

[0050] Furthermore, based on the position information of the machining unit 20 acquired by the moving unit 30, the control unit 50 generates a thick line display that connects a position on the screen corresponding to the initial value of the position information of the machining unit 20 (top end position) to a position in the image display section 210 on the screen corresponding to the acquired position information of the machining unit 20 (bottom end position) with a thick line segment, and displays this on the display section 40. Furthermore, every time the control unit 50 acquires position information of the machining unit 20 by the moving unit 30, it changes the bottom end position of the thick line display to a position in the image display section 210 on the screen corresponding to the newly acquired position information of the machining unit 20, regenerates the thick line display, and updates the position display 220 including the thick line display to be displayed on the display section 40.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 50 may generate an operation display including letters, symbols, figures, or numbers representing the operation being performed each time the moving unit 30 acquires position information of the machining unit 20, and display the display unit 40. For example, the control unit 50 may display the strings "Aircut," "P1," "P2," "Sparkout," and "Escapecut" or their abbreviations while performing "Aircut," "P1," "P2," "Sparkout," and "Escapecut." Alternatively, the control unit 50 may display the string "Grind," indicating that grinding is in progress, as shown in FIG. 2. Before a series of grinding operations is performed, the control unit 50 may display the string "IDLE," indicating that no operation is being performed, or the string "Ready," indicating that the machine is ready and ready to start the series of grinding operations, as shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, during high-speed descent before an air cut, the control unit 50 may display a string indicating high-speed descent, such as "high-speed descent." Furthermore, during high-speed evacuation after a series of grinding operations, the control unit 50 may display a string indicating high-speed evacuation, such as "high-speed evacuation."

[0052] In this way, under the control of the control unit 50, the display unit 40 displays a position display 220 including letters, symbols, figures, or numbers representing the names corresponding to the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20, thereby displaying the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 in a manner that allows the worker to intuitively grasp (visualize) it more clearly and in more detail.

[0053] In addition to generating the display screen 201 and displaying it on the display unit 40, or instead of generating the display screen 201 and displaying it on the display unit 40, the control unit 50 may generate a display screen 202 as shown in FIG. 3 based on the positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the positional information of the processing unit 20, acquired by the moving unit 30, and the top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 stored in the control unit 50 itself, and display the generated display screen 202 on the display unit 40.

[0054] Specifically, the control unit 50 sets up the image display unit 210 to arrange top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 on the screen in the same manner as when generating the display screen 201, arranges and displays top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 instead of the side surface images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 in the same positions as when the side surface images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 were arranged and displayed when generating the display screen 201, and generates the display screen 202 by superimposing the display of the rotation direction of the holding table 10 and the display of the rotation direction of the grinding wheel 22 on the top surface image 10-2 or the top surface image 100-2 and the top surface image 20-2, respectively, and causes the generated display screen 202 to be displayed on the display unit 40. In this way, the control unit 50 generates a display screen 202 that displays the positional information of the holding table 10, the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 based on the position at which the top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 are displayed on the image display section 210 on the screen.

[0055] Every time the moving unit 30 acquires position information of the machining unit 20, the control unit 50 changes the position at which the top surface image 20-2 is arranged in the on-screen image display section 210 to a position corresponding to the newly acquired position information of the machining unit 20, regenerates the display screen 202, and updates the display screen 202 to be displayed on the display section 40. In this way, the control unit 50 displays changes in the position information of the machining unit 20 by updating the position at which the top surface image 20-2 is displayed in the on-screen image display section 210.

[0056] In this way, under the control of the control unit 50, the display unit 40 displays the positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 in a manner that allows the worker to intuitively grasp (visually recognize) it, based on the positions on the image display unit 210 on the screen that arranges and displays top surface images 10-2, 100-2, 20-2 of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20, viewed from above.

[0057] Based on information input from the input unit by an operator or the like, the control unit 50 can selectively display the display screen 201 including the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1 or the display screen 202 including the top images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 on the display unit 40. Specifically, the control unit 50 can cause the display unit 40 to display only the display screen 201, or only the display screen 202, or to display the display screens 201 and 202 side by side, according to the information input from the input unit by an operator or the like.

[0058] In this way, under the control of the control unit 50, the display unit 40 can select and display the display screen 201 including the side images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 or the display screen 202 including the top images 10-2, 100-2, 20-2, so that the operator can preferably select the display screen 201, 202 that he or she can more intuitively understand (visually recognize).

[0059] In this embodiment, the control unit 50 includes a computer system. The computer system included in the control unit 50 includes an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device having memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input / output interface device. The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 50 performs arithmetic processing in accordance with a computer program stored in the storage device of the control unit 50, and outputs control signals for controlling the machining device 1 to each component of the machining device 1 via the input / output interface device of the control unit 50.

[0060] In the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment having the above-described configuration, the display unit 40, under the control of the control unit 50, displays positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20 so that the operator can visually recognize the position of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20 based on the position on the image display unit 210 on the screen where side images 10-1, 100-1, 20-1 of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20 are arranged and displayed. Therefore, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, which is a processing apparatus that processes the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 while moving the grinding wheel 22, which is a processing tool, vertically relative to the workpiece 100, has an advantageous effect of allowing the operator to intuitively grasp the processing status, such as the positional relationship of the processing tool (grinding wheel 22) with respect to the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the type of operation being performed, more than conventional processing apparatuses.

[0061] Furthermore, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the display unit 40, under the control of the control unit 50, displays the position display 220 including letters, symbols, figures, or numbers representing names corresponding to the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20, thereby displaying the position information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 in a manner that is visible to the operator. Therefore, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, which is a processing apparatus that processes the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 while moving the grinding wheel 22, which is a processing tool, relative to the workpiece 100 in the vertical direction, has the effect of allowing the operator to intuitively grasp the processing status more clearly and in detail than before.

[0062] Furthermore, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the display unit 40 can display positional information of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10, and the processing unit 20 so that the operator can intuitively grasp (visually recognize) it, depending on the positions on the image display unit 210 on the screen where top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2 of the holding table 10 or the workpiece 100 held by the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20 are arranged and displayed under the control of the control unit 50. Furthermore, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment can select and display the display screen 201 including the side images 10-1, 100-1, and 20-1, or the display screen 202 including the top surface images 10-2, 100-2, and 20-2. Therefore, the processing device 1 according to the embodiment is a processing device that processes the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10 by moving the grinding wheel 22, which is a processing tool, relative to the workpiece 100 in the vertical direction, and has the effect of being able to suitably select display screens 201, 202 that allow the operator to more intuitively grasp the processing situation than before.

[0063] Furthermore, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the processing tool is a grinding wheel 22 on which a grinding stone 23 is disposed. The processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is suitable for such cases, or when the processing tool is an abrasive pad, where the processing surface of the processing tool and the processing surface of the workpiece 100 are in surface contact, making it difficult for an operator to visually grasp the positional information of the actual processing tool and the workpiece 100 and therefore difficult to visually grasp the processing status. For this reason, in such cases, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, which processes the workpiece 100 while moving the processing tool vertically relative to the workpiece 100 held on the holding table 10, has a more pronounced effect of allowing the operator to intuitively grasp the processing status than conventional processing apparatuses.

[0064] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1 Processing equipment 10 Holding table 10-1, 20-1, 100-1 Side image 10-2, 20-2, 100-2 top view 20 Processing Unit 21 Spindle 22 Grinding wheel (an example of the processing tool of the present invention) 23 Grinding Wheel 30 Mobile Units 40 Display section 100 Workpiece

Claims

1. a holding table for holding the workpiece; a processing unit disposed above the holding table, for processing the workpiece held by the holding table with a processing tool attached to the tip of a spindle; a moving unit that moves the holding table and the processing unit in directions in which they approach and move away from each other; a display unit that displays position information of at least the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit; A processing device comprising: The display unit displays positional information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit by using a side image of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit viewed from the side.

2. The processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the display unit displays letters, symbols, figures or numbers representing names corresponding to the positional information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table and the processing unit.

3. the display unit displays position information of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit by a top view image of the holding table or the workpiece held by the holding table, and the processing unit viewed from above; 3. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the side view image or the top view image is selectively displayed.

4. 2. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the processing tool is a grinding wheel or a polishing pad on which a grinding stone is arranged.

Images