Cutting device

Abstract

To provide a cutting device which can excellently process a hard-to-cut material by using a cutting blade.SOLUTION: A cutting device comprises: holding means 3 which holds a workpiece W; cutting means 4 which includes a rotatable cutting blade 45 that cuts the workpiece held by the holding means; and machine-feeding means which relatively machine-feeds the holding means and the cutting means. The cutting means comprises: a rotational shaft 44; a flange unit 47 having a fixed flange 471 which is arranged on an end of the rotational shaft, supports the cutting blade and has a plurality of fine particle ejection passages 471a for ejecting fine particles P radially along a cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade on the outer periphery, and a detachable flange 472 which holds the cutting blade between the fixed flange and itself and has a plurality of ejection passages 472a for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade on the outer periphery; a cover body 42 which covers the flange unit; and a vacuum unit 43 which is arranged in the cover body to vacuum dust D scattering in the cover body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cutting device including a holding means, a cutting means, and a processing feed means. [Background technology]

[0002] Wafers with multiple devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on their surfaces, which are divided by planned division lines, are separated into individual device chips by a cutting machine equipped with a cutting blade, and are used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The cutting device is configured to include a holding means for holding the workpiece, a cutting means equipped with a cutting blade that cuts the workpiece held by the holding means while supplying cutting water to the workpiece, and a processing feed means that feeds the holding means and the cutting means relative to each other, and can divide the wafer into individual device chips with high precision (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-050214 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when the workpiece is a wafer made of a hard material such as sapphire or SiC, it is difficult to efficiently process the wafer using a cutting blade, so laser processing equipment is the only option. Furthermore, when cutting a wafer with a low-dielectric-constant insulating film, or so-called low-k film, formed on its surface, cutting the wafer with a cutting blade can cause the low-k film to peel off like mica, resulting in a decrease in device quality. Furthermore, when cutting a wafer using a cutting blade, burrs remain along the cutting groove, which also reduces device quality. It is desirable to realize a cutting device that can solve these problems and effectively process various difficult-to-cut materials using a cutting blade.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its main technical object is to provide a cutting device that can effectively process various difficult-to-cut materials using a cutting blade. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a cutting device comprising holding means for holding a workpiece, cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, and processing feed means for relatively processing-feeding the holding means and the cutting means, wherein the cutting means comprises a rotating shaft, a fixed flange disposed at an end of the rotating shaft to support the cutting blade and having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, and a flange unit including a detachable flange that sandwiches the cutting blade together with the fixed flange and has a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, a cover body that covers the flange unit, and a vacuum unit disposed on the cover body for sucking in dust scattered inside the cover body. The liquid in which the particles are dissolved is mixed with gas in advance and introduced into the flange unit, and the particles are ejected from the flange unit together with the gas due to the action of the gas pressure. A cutting device is provided. Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a cutting device comprising: holding means for holding a workpiece; cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means; and processing feed means for processing and feeding the holding means and the cutting means relatively, wherein the cutting means comprises a rotating shaft; a fixed flange disposed at the end of the rotating shaft and supporting the cutting blade, and having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade; and a detachable flange which holds the cutting blade together with the fixed flange and has a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade; a cover body which covers the flange unit; a vacuum unit disposed on the cover body and which sucks up dust scattered inside the cover body; and a gas injection nozzle disposed on the opposite side of the cutting blade from the side on which the vacuum unit is disposed, and which ejects gas by the action of gas pressure toward the cutting position where the workpiece is cut by the cutting blade.

[0008] The cutting blade may have a cutting edge with abrasive grains fixed by metal plating, or the cutting blade may be a circular saw. The fine particles may be abrasive grains, metal grains, or resin grains. The fine particles may be supplied to the cutting means in a liquid state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The cutting device of the present invention is a cutting device configured to include holding means for holding a workpiece, cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, and processing feed means for relatively processing and feeding the holding means and the cutting means, wherein the cutting means includes a rotating shaft, a fixed flange disposed at the end of the rotating shaft to support the cutting blade and having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, and a flange unit including a detachable flange that sandwiches the cutting blade together with the fixed flange and has a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, a cover body that covers the flange unit, and a vacuum unit disposed on the cover body to suck up dust scattered inside the cover body. The liquid in which the particles are dissolved is mixed with gas in advance and introduced into the flange unit, and the particles are ejected from the flange unit together with the gas due to the action of the gas pressure. Therefore, the cutting blade can be used to effectively process a variety of difficult-to-cut materials. The cutting device of the present invention is a cutting device configured to include holding means for holding a workpiece, cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, and processing feed means for relatively processing-feeding the holding means and the cutting means, wherein the cutting means comprises a rotating shaft, a fixed flange disposed at the end of the rotating shaft to support the cutting blade and having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, and a cutting blade clamped together with the fixed flange and ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade. The cutting blade is equipped with a flange unit including a detachable flange having a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery that eject fine particles radially, a cover body that covers the flange unit, a vacuum unit that is disposed on the cover body and sucks up dust that is scattered inside the cover body, and a gas injection nozzle that is disposed on the opposite side of the cutting blade to the side on which the vacuum unit is disposed and that ejects gas by the action of gas pressure toward the cutting position where the workpiece is cut by the cutting blade.As a result, various difficult-to-cut materials can be processed well using the cutting blade. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view of a cutting means disposed in the cutting device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a perspective view in which a part of the cutting means shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2(a) is an exploded perspective view of the cutting means shown in FIG. 2(b) with the cover removed, and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cutting means shown in FIG. 2(a) cut along the direction in which the rotary shaft is disposed. [Figure 4] 3(a) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cutting means of FIG. 3(b) is performing cutting processing, and FIG. 3(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cutting means as seen from the side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a cutting device configured based on the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] 1 shows a cutting device 1 of this embodiment. The cutting device 1 in the illustrated embodiment includes a roughly rectangular parallelepiped device housing 2, a holding means 3 for holding a wafer W, which is a workpiece, and a cutting means 4 equipped with a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the wafer W held by the holding means 3. The wafer W to be processed in this embodiment is, for example, a circular, thin-plate sapphire substrate, and is supported on an annular frame F via an adhesive tape T.

[0013] The cutting device 1 includes a cassette 5 (shown by a two-dot chain line) that stores multiple wafers W, which are the workpieces, a temporary storage table 6 that transports the wafers W stored in the cassette 5 and temporarily stores them thereon, a loading / unloading means 7 that transports the wafers W from the cassette 5 to the temporary storage table 6, a transporting means 8 that rotates the wafer W transported to the temporary storage table 6 onto the suction chuck 3a of the holding means 3 and transports it thereon, a cleaning means 9 (details omitted) that cleans the wafer W that has been cut by the cutting means 4, a cleaning and transporting means 11 that transports the cut wafer W from the suction chuck 3a of the holding means 3 to the cleaning means 9, an imaging means 12 that images the wafer W on the suction chuck 3a, and a control means (not shown). The cassette 5 is placed on a cassette table 5a that is arranged so that it can be moved up and down by a lifting means (not shown), and when the wafer W is transported out of the cassette 5 by the transport means 7, the height of the cassette 5 is adjusted appropriately.

[0014] In the device housing 2, there is disposed a processing feed means (not shown) for processing and feeding the holding means 3 and the cutting means 4 relatively in the X-axis direction.

[0015] The cutting means 4 will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2(a) is an enlarged perspective view showing the main parts of the cutting means 4, and Figure 2(b) is an exploded perspective view of a part of the cover body 42 of the cutting means 4 shown in Figure 2(a). Figure 3(a) is an exploded perspective view in which the cover body 42 of the cutting means 4 shown in Figure 2 is omitted for convenience of explanation, and Figure 3(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cutting means 4 shown in Figure 3(a) cut along the direction in which the rotation shaft 44 is disposed.

[0016] 2(a) and 2(b), the cutting means 4 includes a rotary shaft housing 41 extending in the Y-axis direction indicated by the arrow Y, a rotary shaft 44 rotatably supported by the rotary shaft housing 41, an annular cutting blade 45 detachably supported on the end of the rotary shaft 44, a cover body 42 attached to the tip of the rotary shaft housing 41 and covering the cutting blade 45 and a flange unit 47 (described later), a vacuum unit 43 attached to the cover body 42 and suctioning dust scattered inside the cover body 42, and a ring-shaped nut 46 cooperating with the flange unit 47 to secure the cutting blade 45 to the tip of the rotary shaft 44. The rotary shaft 44 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow R1 by an electric motor (not shown). The cutting means 4 also includes a moving means (not shown). The moving means includes an indexing feed means that indexes and feeds the cutting means 4 in the Y-axis direction indicated by the arrow Y, and a cutting feed means that is capable of moving the cutting means 4 in the Z-axis direction (up and down direction) indicated by the arrow Z and moves it downward to perform cutting feed.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2(b), the cover body 42 includes a first cover member 42a fixed to the rotary shaft housing 41, a second cover member 42b fixed to a screw hole 42h in the front surface of the first cover member 42a with a screw 42e, and a blade detection block 42c fixed from above to a screw hole 42i in the upper surface of the first cover member 42a with a screw 42f. A blade sensor (not shown) is provided in the blade detection block 42c to detect wear or chipping of the cutting edge 45a on the outer peripheral end side of the cutting blade 45. The vacuum unit 43 provided in the cover body 42 is disposed in a direction in which dust D generated by cutting is scattered when the cutting blade 45 is rotated, for example, in the direction indicated by arrow R1 in FIG. 2(b), to cut the wafer W. The vacuum unit 43 includes an exhaust passage 43a formed by a flexible hose connected to a suction means (not shown), and an intake port 43b that opens into the interior of the cover body 42 and sucks in the dust D. The vacuum unit 43 sucks the dust D and discharges it to the outside of the cover body 42, and the dust D is captured by an appropriate filter (not shown).

[0018] 3(a), a flange unit 47 is disposed at the end of the rotating shaft 44, and the flange unit 47 includes a fixed flange 471 and a detachable flange 472. The fixed flange 471 is fixed to the end of the rotating shaft 44 and supports the cutting blade 45, and is provided with a plurality of ejection paths 471a on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles P (described later) radially along the cutting edge 45a that constitutes the outer periphery of the cutting blade 45. The detachable flange 472 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the rotating shaft 44, and holds the cutting blade 45 together with the fixed flange 471. Similar to the fixed flange 471, the detachable flange 472a is provided on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles P radially along the cutting edge 45a that constitutes the outer periphery of the cutting blade 45. In Figure 3(a), the side on which the ejection passage 472a of the detachable flange 472 is arranged is not visible, but it is formed in the same shape as the ejection passage 471a of the fixed flange 471 arranged opposite the detachable flange 472.

[0019] At the end of the rotary shaft 44, a male thread 44a is formed on the outer peripheral surface further toward the tip side of the fixing flange 471. As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), a fine particle inlet 49 is formed in the rotary shaft housing 41. A fine particle supplying means 20 (see FIG. 4(a)), which will be described later, is connected to the fine particle inlet 49, and fine particles P are introduced into the rotary shaft housing 41 through the fine particle inlet 49 together with high-pressure (e.g., 0.3 to 0.5 MPa) gas G. The gas G is preferably air, nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), or dry mist, or a combination thereof. In this embodiment, air is supplied as the gas G. As shown in FIG. 3(b), an annular groove 44b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 44, which is rotatably supported by the rotary shaft housing 41, at a position facing the fine particle inlet 49. A communication passage 44d is formed inside the rotary shaft 44 along the longitudinal direction. The annular groove 44b and the communication passage 44d are connected by a plurality of holes 44c formed in the bottom of the annular groove 44b.

[0020] At the end of the rotating shaft 44, an annular groove 44e is formed on the outer peripheral surface between the fixing flange 471 and the male thread 44a. A plurality of, for example, six, holes 44f are formed at equal intervals at the bottom of the annular groove 44e, connecting the above-mentioned communication passage 44d to the annular groove 44e. As shown in FIG. 3(a), a protrusion 44g is formed at the bottom of the annular groove 44e, midway between adjacent holes 44f, with the height corresponding to the depth of the annular groove 44e. A plurality of protrusions 44g are formed at equal intervals in the annular groove 44e. In this embodiment, the number of protrusions 44g is the same as the number of holes 44f (six). As shown in FIG. 3(b), to fix a cutting blade 45 to the end of the rotating shaft 44, the cutting blade 45 is attached in the direction indicated by arrow R2 from the tip side (left side in the figure) of the rotating shaft 44, and abutted against the fixing flange 471. As a result, the cutting blade 45 is positioned on the annular groove 44e (see also FIG. 4(a)). At this time, the opening 45b of the cutting blade 45 is supported by the above-mentioned convex portion 44g. Furthermore, the opening 472b of the detachable flange 472 is positioned and attached to the tip side of the rotating shaft 44, and the female thread 46a of the nut 46 is screwed onto the male thread 44a of the rotating shaft 44 to fasten them together. As a result, the cutting blade 45 is clamped and fixed between the surface of the fixed flange 471 where the ejection passage 471a is formed and the surface of the detachable flange 472 where the ejection passage 472a is formed.

[0021] 2 and 3 has a cutting edge 45a with abrasive grains fixed by metal plating, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 3(a), a circular saw 45' may be used, in which a saw blade 45a' is formed as a cutting edge by processing the outer periphery of a cemented carbide substrate. The circular saw 45' also has an opening 45b' of the same dimensions as the opening 45b of the cutting blade 45, and is fixed by being clamped between a fixed flange 471 and a detachable flange 472 at the tip side of the rotating shaft 44. The circular saw 45' is suitable for cutting raw ceramics, for example.

[0022] The particle supply means 20 shown in FIG. 4(a) is connected to the particle inlet 49. The particle supply means 20 includes a particle supply path 22 connected to the particle inlet 49. The particle supply path 22 is provided with a constricted section 24 that provides a Venturi effect and a gas supply port 26 through which high-pressure gas G is supplied. The constricted section 24 is also provided with a slurry supply path 28 through which a so-called slurry (P+L) in which particles P are dissolved in liquid L (water) is supplied. The particles P in this case are, for example, abrasive grains with a diameter of approximately 1 μm, selected from abrasive grains such as alumina (α crystal), silicon carbide, and boron carbide. As shown in FIG. 4(a), high-pressure gas G is supplied from the gas supply path 26, and the slurry (P+L) is supplied from the slurry supply port 29 of the slurry supply path 28. The slurry is sucked up by the constricted section 24 and introduced into the particle inlet 49 together with the high-pressure gas G via the particle supply path 22. In addition, when the high-pressure gas G passes through the constriction section 24 at high speed and the slurry is sucked up, the liquid L in the slurry is vaporized, and the high-pressure gas G and the fine particles P may be introduced into the fine particle inlet 49.

[0023] When fine particles P are supplied from the fine particle inlet 49 together with high-pressure gas G, the fine particles P are introduced into the ejection passage 471a of the fixed flange 471 and the ejection passage 472a of the detachable flange 472 via the annular groove 44b, hole 44c, connecting passage 44d, hole 44f, and annular groove 44e of the rotating shaft 44, and are ejected radially along the cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade 45 toward the outer circumferential tip side, as shown in Figures 4(a) and (b).

[0024] The cutting device 1 of this embodiment has roughly the configuration described above, and its functions and effects will be described below.

[0025] 1, when performing the cutting process for cutting the wafer W, the wafer W unloaded from the cassette 5 is transported and placed on the suction chuck 3a of the holding means 3 and held by suction. Once the wafer W is held by the suction chuck 3a, the processing feed means is operated to move the holding means 3 in the X-axis direction, in this embodiment, to position the holding means 3 directly below the imaging means 12, where an image of the wafer W is taken, and an alignment step is then performed. Next, the holding means 3 is moved based on the position information of the position where the wafer W is to be processed, for example, the planned dividing line (not shown), detected in the alignment step, and the wafer W is positioned directly below the cutting means 4.

[0026] Once the wafer W is positioned directly below the cutting means 4, a predetermined dividing line of the wafer W is aligned in the X-axis direction and aligned with the cutting blade 45. Next, the cutting blade 45, which is rotated at high speed in the direction indicated by arrow R1 in FIGS. 2(b) and 4(b), is positioned relative to the dividing line aligned in the X-axis direction and cuts a predetermined depth from the front surface Wa side. The holding means 3 is then moved in the direction indicated by arrow X to form a cut groove 100. At this time, gas G introduced from the particle inlet 49 shown in FIG. 4(a) contains particles P. The gas G and particles P are introduced into the flange unit 47 through the communication passage 44d inside the rotating shaft 44, guided through the ejection passage 471a formed in the fixed flange 471 and the ejection passage 472a of the detachable flange 472, and radially ejected along the cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade 45, as shown in FIG. 4(b). The fine particles P ejected together with the gas G radially along the cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade 45 are guided to a cutting position where the wafer W is cut by the cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade 45. At the cutting position, the crushing force of the fine particles P is added to the cutting force of the cutting blade, so that cutting can be performed well even on a hard-to-cut material such as sapphire that constitutes the wafer W of this embodiment.

[0027] The fine particles P used in the cutting process are sucked through the intake port 43b of the vacuum unit 43 together with dust D and gas G containing cutting chips generated by cutting the wafer W, and are discharged through the discharge path 43a to the outside of the cover body 42. The fine particles P and dust D discharged from the discharge path 43a are captured by a filter or the like (not shown), thereby preventing contamination of the external environment of the cutting device 2.

[0028] Once the cut grooves 100 have been formed as described above, the cutting blade 45 of the cutting means 4 is indexed and fed onto a division line adjacent to the cut groove 100 but on which no cut grooves 100 have been formed, and cutting is performed in the same manner as described above to form the cut grooves 100. By repeating these steps, the cut grooves 100 are formed along all of the division lines along the X-axis direction. Next, the wafer W is rotated 90 degrees together with the holding means 3, and the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cut grooves 100 were previously formed is aligned with the X-axis direction, and the above-described cutting is performed on all of the division lines newly aligned with the X-axis direction, thereby forming the cut grooves 100 along all of the division lines formed on the wafer W.

[0029] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the cover body 42 of the cutting means 4 of the cutting device 1 of this embodiment is provided with a gas injection nozzle 42k that injects high-pressure gas G toward the cutting processing position where the wafer W is cut by the cutting blade 45. The gas injection nozzle 42k is disposed on the opposite side of the cutting blade 45 from the side where the vacuum unit 43 is disposed, and is connected to a gas inlet passage 42j formed inside the first cover member 42a and a gas inlet port 42d (see also FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b)) formed on the upper surface of the first cover member 42a. By connecting the above-mentioned particle supply means 20 to this gas inlet port 42d and introducing the particles P together with the high-pressure gas G, it is possible to more efficiently cut difficult-to-cut materials. Furthermore, if high-pressure gas G not containing fine particles P is injected from the gas injection nozzle 42k in conjunction with the introduction of fine particles P together with gas G from the fine particle inlet 49 during cutting processing, the fine particles P radially ejected from the flange unit 47 and used in the cutting processing, and the dust D generated by the cutting processing, are efficiently guided to the vacuum unit 43 side, and the cutting edge 45a of the cutting blade 45 and the wafer W are cooled more effectively.

[0030] In the above embodiment, abrasive particles are selected as the particles P introduced through the particle inlet 49. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Instead of the above abrasive particles, metal particles, resin particles (e.g., fluororesin particles (PTFE: polytetrafluoroethylene)), plant seed-based particles (e.g., an abrasive material formed by finely crushing walnut shells), etc. may be used. Metal particles are effective for cutting hard-to-cut materials that are harder than the above abrasive particles. Furthermore, resin particles or plant seed-based particles are selected as the particles P, improving lubricity at the cutting position and suppressing burrs along the cutting groove. Even if a fragile film such as a low-k film is formed on the front surface 10a of the wafer W, cutting can be performed effectively without causing problems such as peeling. Furthermore, if magnetic powder is selected as the particles P, the particles can be magnetically attracted to a metal or metal-plated cutting blade, reducing cutting resistance during cutting and preventing deterioration in the quality of the workpiece. As described above, according to the present invention, a cutting device capable of successfully machining a variety of difficult-to-cut materials is realized.

[0031] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the fine particles P are mixed into the liquid L (water) and supplied to the cutting means 4 in the form of a slurry, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the fine particles P may be supplied to the cutting means 4 in the form of a dry powder. Note that, although the above embodiment does not show a configuration for supplying cutting water to the cutting position, this does not exclude a configuration for supplying cutting water to the cutting position, and cutting water supply means may be disposed at an appropriate position. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1:Cutting device 2: Device housing 3: Holding means 3a: Suction chuck 4:Cutting means 41: Rotating shaft housing 42: Cover body 42a: First cover member 42b: Second cover member 42c: Blade detection block 42d: Gas inlet 42e:Screw 42f:Screw 42h: screw hole 42i: screw hole 42j: Gas inlet 42k: Gas injection nozzle 43: Vacuum unit 43a: Exhaust channel 43b: Inlet 44: Rotation axis 44a: Male thread 44b: Annular groove 44c: hole 44d: Communication path 44e: Annular groove 44f: hole 44g: Convex part 45: Cutting blade 45': Cutting blade (circular saw) 45a: cutting blade 45a': Saw blade 45b: Opening 45b': Opening 46: Nut 47: Flange unit 471: Fixed flange 471a:Gushing path 472: Detachable flange 472a:Gushing path 49: Particulate inlet 5: Cassette 6: Temporary table 7: Carrying in / out means 8: Means of transport 9: Cleaning method 11: Cleaning transport means 12: Imaging means 20: Particulate supply means 22: Particulate supply path 24: Diaphragm 26: Gas supply line 28: Slurry supply section 100: Cutting groove D: Dust F: Frame P: Fine particles T: Adhesive tape W: Wafer

Claims

1. A cutting device comprising: holding means for holding a workpiece; cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means; and processing feed means for relatively feeding the holding means and the cutting means, The cutting means is a flange unit including a rotating shaft, a fixed flange disposed at the end of the rotating shaft and supporting a cutting blade, the fixed flange having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, and a detachable flange which holds the cutting blade together with the fixed flange and has a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade; a cover body which covers the flange unit; and a vacuum unit disposed on the cover body and which sucks up dust scattered inside the cover body;

2. A cutting device comprising: holding means for holding a workpiece; cutting means having a rotatable cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by said holding means; and processing feed means for processing and feeding said holding means and said cutting means relatively; The cutting means is a flange unit including a rotating shaft, a fixed flange disposed at the end of the rotating shaft and supporting a cutting blade, the fixed flange having a plurality of fine particle ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade, and a detachable flange which holds the cutting blade together with the fixed flange and has a plurality of ejection paths on its outer periphery for ejecting fine particles radially along the cutting edge of the cutting blade; a cover body which covers the flange unit; a vacuum unit disposed on the cover body and sucks up dust scattered inside the cover body; and a gas injection nozzle disposed on the opposite side of the cutting blade from the side on which the vacuum unit is disposed, the gas injection nozzle injecting gas by the action of gas pressure toward a cutting position where the workpiece is cut by the cutting blade.

3. 3. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade has a cutting edge to which abrasive grains are fixed by metal plating.

4. 4. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade is a circular saw.

5. 5. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the fine particles are abrasive grains, metal grains, or resin grains.

6. A cutting device described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fine particles are supplied to the cutting means in a state mixed in a liquid.

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