Screen Printing Squeegee Mechanism for Cavity Substrate Paste Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional screen printing on cavity substrates faces challenges in achieving efficient and high-quality printing due to differing filling conditions for paste in patterned holes on flat and fitting portions of three-dimensional screen masks, leading to difficulties in ensuring consistent printing quality across both surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A screen printing apparatus and method utilizing a screen mask with distinct regions for the upper and bottom surfaces, combined with a closed-type squeegee mechanism featuring sliding contact plates that adapt to fill and remove paste from patterned holes, ensuring efficient and high-quality printing by selectively scooping up excess paste from depressed areas and scraping off paste from the upper surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a three-dimensional screen mask with fitting portions is used to print on cavity substrates, then paste can be printed on both upper surface and bottom surfaces simultaneously, but filling conditions differ between flat plate portion and fitting portion making it difficult to ensure good printing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The squeegee mechanism is divided into multiple independent squeegee units, each corresponding to a specific printing region (flat plate portion or fitting portion). Each squeegee unit can independently control paste flow and pressure, allowing optimized filling conditions for each region without compromising the other, thus resolving the contradiction between printing efficiency and quality consistency
Solution Approach 2:
Different squeegee units are designed with different pressing forces and paste flow control characteristics tailored to their specific printing regions. The flat plate portion squeegee unit provides one type of pressing force while the fitting portion squeegee unit provides another, ensuring each region receives the appropriate filling conditions for high-quality printing while maintaining overall system efficiency
2Manufacturing precision
If paste is filled in patterned holes of the flat plate portion, then upper surface printing is achieved, but paste remains in depressed portions of fitting portions causing poor printing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The squeegee mechanism segments paste management into region-specific units. After the flat plate portion is processed, the squeegee moves to the fitting portion where a dedicated squeegee unit removes excess paste from depressed portions. This segmentation allows precise control over paste filling in one region while independently managing paste removal in another, achieving both filling precision and excess paste removal
Solution Approach 2:
The squeegee mechanism performs preliminary paste removal from the fitting portion depressed portions before the main printing process begins. By removing excess paste in advance, the system prevents paste contamination in subsequent printing operations, ensuring high printing quality while minimizing material loss
3Manufacturing precision
If paste is scraped off the upper surface of the upper surface printing mask, then upper surface printing quality is improved, but the process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The squeegee mechanism merges the paste scraping function for the upper surface printing mask into the same integrated mechanism that handles paste filling and removal. By combining multiple functions (filling, scraping, removing) into a single coordinated squeegee system, the patent achieves high printing quality without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The squeegee mechanism is designed as a multi-functional unit that performs paste filling, paste scraping, and paste removal operations. This universal design allows the same basic mechanism to handle different tasks at different stages of the printing process, achieving improved upper surface printing quality while avoiding the need for separate dedicated devices for each function
Data Source
AI summary
In screen printing on such printing targets as an upper surface of a substrate and a bottom surface of a recess portion which is opened to the upper surface, there are provided a screen printing apparatus and a screen printing method by which printing work can be executed with good efficiency while ensuring a good printing quality.In screen printing a paste on such printing targets as an upper surface printing area on which upper electrodes are formed and a bottom surface printing area which is set on a bottom surface of a recess portion and on which bottom surface electrodes are formed by a closed type squeegee mechanism 13 which includes a first sliding contact plate 44A and a second sliding contact plate 44B, when screen printing the paste on a bottom surface printing region 12a as a printing target, the paste remaining in a depressed portion is scooped up to be removed therefrom by the first sliding contact plate 44A which is positioned at a rear side in a squeegeeing direction, while when screen printing the paste on an upper surface printing region 12b as a printing target, the paste sticking to an upper surface is scraped off by the second sliding contact plate 44B which is positioned at a rear side in a squeegeeing direction.