阅读说明：本技术 电子部件的制造装置 (Electronic component manufacturing apparatus ) 是由 佐藤英儿 坂本仁志 于 2019-07-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：电子部件的制造装置具有：保持部件(20、23),其对电子部件主体(1)进行保持；平台(100)；移动构件(50),其使保持部件和平台相对移动；以及控制构件(90),其对移动构件进行控制。控制构件(90)同时实施距离变更移动和位置变更移动,该距离变更移动缩短或延长电子部件主体(1)各自的端面(2A)与平台(100)的表面(101)之间距离而进行变更,该位置变更移动使电子部件主体(1)的端面(2A)投影于平台(100)的表面(101)的二维位置按照使二维位置与平台(100)的表面(101)平行地移动的方向逐渐变化的方式(例如圆轨道)进行变更。(The manufacturing device of the electronic component has: holding members (20, 23) that hold the electronic component body (1); a platform (100); a moving member (50) that relatively moves the holding member and the stage; and a control member (90) that controls the moving member. The control member (90) performs a distance changing movement for changing the distance between the end surface (2A) of each of the electronic component bodies (1) and the surface (101) of the stage (100) by shortening or extending the distance, and a position changing movement for changing the two-dimensional position of the end surface (2A) of the electronic component body (1) projected onto the surface (101) of the stage (100) so that the direction in which the two-dimensional position moves parallel to the surface (101) of the stage (100) gradually changes (for example, a circular orbit).)

1. An apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component, characterized in that,

the manufacturing device of the electronic component comprises:

a holding member that holds the electronic component main body;

a platform;

a moving member that relatively moves the holding member and the stage in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the stage and a direction parallel to the surface of the stage; and

a control member for controlling the moving member to execute the following operations: bringing an end face of the electronic component body held by the holding member into contact with the surface of the stage, and then pulling the electronic component body away from the stage side,

the control member simultaneously performs, by the moving member, a distance changing movement that changes by shortening or extending a distance between the end surface of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage, and a position changing movement that changes a two-dimensional position at which the end surface of the electronic component body is projected onto the surface of the stage so that a moving direction of the two-dimensional position within a plane parallel to the surface of the stage gradually changes.

2. The manufacturing apparatus of electronic parts according to claim 1,

the control member shortens a distance between the end surface of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage at the time of the distance changing movement, and performs the distance changing movement and the position changing movement at the same time at least at the time of an overload after the end surface of the electronic component body held by the holding member is brought into contact with the surface of the stage, thereby correcting the posture of the electronic component body held by the holding member.

3. The manufacturing apparatus of electronic parts according to claim 2,

the holding member is a jig having:

a clamp body having elasticity; and

and a hole formed through the jig main body and into which the electronic component main body is fitted.

4. The manufacturing apparatus of electronic parts according to claim 2,

the holding member includes:

a substrate; and

an adhesive layer formed on the base material,

the adhesive layer is adhered to an end face of the electronic component body on the opposite side of the end face.

5. The manufacturing apparatus of electronic parts according to claim 1,

the surface of the platform is an impregnated layer of conductive paste,

the control member simultaneously performs the distance changing movement and the position changing movement after immersing an end portion including the end face of the electronic component body in the immersing layer, and extends a distance between the end face of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage at the time of the distance changing movement.

6. The manufacturing apparatus of electronic parts according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the holding member holds a plurality of electronic component bodies including the electronic component body.

7. The manufacturing apparatus of an electronic component according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

circulating a movement trace of the two-dimensional position in the position change movement,

the distance changing movement and the distance changing movement cause the electronic component body to move relative to the surface of the stage in a spiral shape.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component.

Background

The inventors propose the following apparatus and method: for example, an external electrode is formed on an electronic component body such as a laminated ceramic capacitor, an inductor, and a thermistor by applying a conductive paste layer to an end face of the electronic component body by dipping (patent document 1). The thickness of the conductive paste layer in the dip-coated state is not uniform. Therefore, it has also been proposed to lift up an electronic component body, which is applied by dipping and coating with a conductive paste, from a conductive paste film layer formed on a surface of a stage, and then bring a hanging portion of the conductive paste formed at an end portion of the electronic component body into contact with the surface of the stage from which the conductive paste film layer is removed (patent document 2). In this step, the excess conductive paste on the electronic component main body side is wiped off by the stage, and therefore, the step is referred to as a blotting (blot) step.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

By improving the suction printing process, it is expected that the uniformity of the conductive paste layer formed at the end portion of the electronic component main body can be improved. However, it was found that the conductive paste layer formed on the end portion of the electronic component main body can be uniformized by using the suction printing step together or without using the suction printing step.

The invention aims to provide a manufacturing device of an electronic component, which can make the thickness and the shape of a conductive paste layer formed at the end part of an electronic component main body uniform by improving the processes except a suction printing process.

Means for solving the problems

(1) One embodiment of the present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component, including: a holding member that holds the electronic component main body; a platform; a moving member that relatively moves the holding member and the stage in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the stage and a direction parallel to the surface of the stage; and a control member that controls the moving member to perform the following operations: and a control member that causes an end surface of the electronic component main body held by the jig to come into contact with the surface of the stage and then pulls the electronic component main body away from the stage, wherein the control member simultaneously performs a distance changing movement that changes by shortening or lengthening a distance between the end surface of the electronic component main body and the surface of the stage and a position changing movement that changes a two-dimensional position at which the end surface of the electronic component main body is projected on the surface of the stage so that a moving direction of the two-dimensional position in a plane parallel to the surface of the stage gradually changes by the moving member.

In one aspect (1) of the present invention, when the distance changing movement for changing the distance between the end surface of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage is shortened or lengthened, the position changing movement for changing the two-dimensional position of the electronic component body within the plane parallel to the surface of the stage is performed so that the movement direction thereof gradually changes. This makes it possible to obtain relative actuation of the electronic component body, which cannot be achieved only by conventional distance changing movement. This makes it possible to correct the mounting posture of the electronic component body with respect to the holding component, and to smoothly separate the conductive paste from the impregnated layer formed on the surface of the stage. Thus, the thickness and shape of the conductive paste layer formed at the end of the electronic component body can be made uniform.

(2) In one aspect (1) of the present invention, the control member shortens the distance between the end surface of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage at the time of the distance changing movement, and performs the distance changing movement and the position changing movement at the same time at least at the time of overload after the end surface of the electronic component body held by the holding member is brought into contact with the surface of the stage, thereby correcting the posture of the electronic component body held by the holding member. In this way, in the pre-molding in which the end face of the electronic component main body is brought into contact with the surface of the stage before the coating step, an external force can be applied to the electronic component main body, the external force gradually changing the moving direction of the two-dimensional position of the electronic component main body within the plane parallel to the surface of the stage. Thus, the mounting posture of the electronic component body with respect to the holding member is corrected.

(3) In one aspect (2) of the present invention, the holding member is a jig including: a clamp body having elasticity; and a hole formed through the jig main body and into which the electronic component main body is fitted.

In this case, the amount of projection (head projection amount) of the electronic component body from the jig body is made uniform, and the posture of the electronic component body is corrected. In addition, even if the electronic component body is inclined with respect to the center line of the hole, the inclination is eliminated by facilitating the fitting of the electronic component body, and the posture of the electronic component body is corrected.

(4) In one aspect (2) of the present invention, the holding member includes: a substrate; and an adhesive layer formed on the base material, the adhesive layer being adhered to an end surface of the electronic component body on the opposite side of the end surface. In this case, the entire end face of the electronic component body is bonded to the adhesive layer, and the posture of the electronic component body mounted obliquely to the adhesive layer is corrected.

(5) In one aspect (1) of the present invention, the surface of the stage is an impregnated layer of a conductive paste, and the control member simultaneously performs the distance changing movement and the position changing movement after an end portion including the end face of the electronic component body is impregnated in the impregnated layer, and extends a distance between the end face of the electronic component body and the surface of the stage when the distance changing movement is performed. In this way, after the end portion of the electronic component body is immersed in the immersion layer, a substantial suction printing step can be performed in which the direction of movement of the two-dimensional position of the electronic component body within the plane parallel to the surface of the stage is gradually changed when the electronic component body is pulled away from the stage side. Thus, the conductive paste layer formed at the end of the electronic component body can be made uniform in the coating step. In addition, since the blotting step is performed in the coating step, the blotting step after the coating step can be omitted.

(6) In one aspect (1) to (5) of the present invention, the holding member holds a plurality of electronic component bodies including the electronic component body.

(7) In one aspect (1) to (6) of the present invention, the position changing movement is performed by circulating a movement trajectory of the two-dimensional position, and the distance changing movement and the position changing movement are performed by spirally moving the electronic component main body relative to the surface of the stage. This makes it possible to efficiently perform the position changing step while minimizing the area of the stage required.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic component manufactured by a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic component of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the manufacturing apparatus of fig. 3.

Fig. 5(a) and (B) are diagrams showing a suction printing process performed by the manufacturing apparatus shown in fig. 3 and 4 after improvement.

Fig. 6 (a) to 6 (D) are views for explaining the operation of the suction printing step in fig. 5 (a).

Fig. 7 (a) to 7 (D) are views for explaining the operation of the suction printing step of fig. 5 (B).

Fig. 8 (a) to 8 (D) are diagrams illustrating the operation of the blotting step of the comparative example without the position changing movement.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic component main body manufactured by performing the suction printing step of fig. 5(a) or 5 (B).

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a coating process performed by the manufacturing apparatus shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a coating process of a comparative example.

Fig. 12 is a view showing the state of the conductive paste at each descending position in the suction printing step of the present invention shown in fig. 5 (B).

Fig. 13 is a graph showing data for evaluating the suction printing process after improvement and two comparative examples.

Fig. 14 (a) and (B) are views showing a first preforming step as an embodiment of the present invention, which is performed by the manufacturing apparatus shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 15 (a) and (B) are views showing a second preforming step as an embodiment of the present invention, which is performed by the manufacturing apparatus shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 16 (a) to 16 (D) are diagrams illustrating a coating process as an embodiment of the present invention performed by the manufacturing apparatus shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Detailed Description

In the following description, a number of different embodiments and examples are provided for implementing different features of the claimed subject matter. Of course, these are merely examples and are not meant to be limiting. In the present description, reference numerals and/or characters may be repeated in various examples. Such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, when a description is made that a first element and a second element are "connected" or "coupled", such a description includes an embodiment in which the first element and the second element are directly connected or coupled to each other, and also includes an embodiment in which one or more other elements are interposed between the first element and the second element, and the first element and the second element are indirectly connected or coupled to each other. In addition, when a description is made that a first element "moves" with respect to a second element, such a description includes an embodiment in which at least one of the first element and the second element moves relative to the other.

1. Electronic component

Fig. 1 shows an electronic component 1A manufactured by a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 shows a cross section of a conductive layer 4A formed on an electronic component body 1, where the size of the electronic component 1A to which the present invention is applied is not particularly limited, but is suitable for an electronic component 1A that is miniaturized with a reduction in size, as an ultra-small electronic component 1A, when a maximum length of one side of a rectangular (square or rectangular) cross section shown in fig. 1 is L1 and a length in a direction perpendicular to the rectangular cross section is L2, for example, L1 is 500 μm or less and L2 is 1000 μm or less, preferably, L1 is 300 μm or less and L2 is 600 μm or less, more preferably, L1 is 200 μm or less and L2 is 400 μm or less, further preferably, L1 is 125 μm or less and L2 μm or less, further preferably, two sides of the rectangular cross section is strictly 90 ° or more, and the present invention is applicable to an electronic component other than a rectangular cross section that is bent.

In fig. 2, an electronic component 1A has an electrode 4A formed of a conductive paste layer formed at an end of an electronic component body 1, an end 2 of the electronic component body 1 includes an end face 2A, a side face 2B, and a corner 2C connecting the end face 2A and the side face 2B, a substantially uniform thickness T1 of the electrode 4A formed at the end face 2A and a substantially uniform thickness T2 of the electrode 4A formed at the side face 2B can be substantially T1 ≧ T2, a thickness T3 of the electrode 4A formed at the corner 2C can be T3 ≧ T1 or T3 ≧ T2, and an electrode length of the electrode 4A formed at the side face 2B from the end face 2A is L3, and the sizes (T1 to T3 and L3) of the electrodes 4A are required to have uniformity with respect to a plurality of electronic components 1A manufactured by the manufacturing method of the embodiment of the present invention.

2. Electronic component manufacturing apparatus

Fig. 3 shows a manufacturing apparatus 10 used in the implementation of the present embodiment, and fig. 4 shows a control system block diagram. The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a carrier plate (jig) 20 as a holding member of the electronic component body 1, a moving mechanism 50, and a stage 100. In fig. 3, the orthogonal triaxial directions are X, Y, Z.

A carrier plate (jig) 20 holding the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 by hanging them down elastically holds the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 movably in a direction perpendicular to the surface 101 of the stage 100. The carrier plate 20 can be constituted, for example, by an adhesive tape that can be elastically deformed in the Z direction. The carrier plate 20 is detachably supported by the jig fixing plate 30. The substrate 40 is fixed above the jig fixing plate 30, and the stage 100 is disposed below.

A squeegee unit 110 having a squeegee 112 and a cutter 114 is provided on the platform 100. The squeegee unit 110 moves on the platform 100. By moving the blade unit 110, the conductive paste 120 can form an impregnated layer having a height H on the surface 101 of the stage 100 by moving the cutter 114. The blade unit 110 can scrape the impregnated layer of the conductive paste 120 from the surface 101 of the stage 100 by moving the blade 112.

The substrate 40 is provided with a moving mechanism 50 for moving the jig fixing plate 30. Here, the moving mechanism 50 may include an X-axis driving unit 60, a Y-axis driving unit 70, and a Z-axis driving unit 80. The moving mechanism 50 may move the jig fixing plate 30 and the stage 100 relatively in the X, Y, Z axis direction. That is, the moving mechanism 50 may move the stage 100. Alternatively, a moving mechanism 50 for moving the jig fixing plate 30 and a moving mechanism 50 for moving the table 100 may be provided. Alternatively, a part of the X-axis drive unit 60, the Y-axis drive unit 70, and the Z-axis drive unit 80 included in the moving mechanism 50 may move the jig fixing plate 30 and another part may move the stage 100.

The X-axis drive unit 60 can be constituted by an X table that can move in the X-axis direction relative to the substrate 40 along the X-axis guide 62. The Y-axis drive unit 70 may be constituted by a Y table that is movable in the Y-axis direction relative to the X-axis drive unit 60 along a Y-axis guide 72. The Z-axis drive unit 80 is fixed to the Y-axis drive unit 70, for example, and can move the Z-axis 82 in the Z-axis direction. The clamp securing plate 30 is secured to the Z-axis 82. In fig. 3, for example, a motor as a driving source of the X, Y, Z shaft and a driving force transmission mechanism of the motor are not shown.

In this way, the jig fixing plate 30, the carrier plate 20, and the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 can be relatively moved in the Z-axis direction with respect to the stage 100 by the moving mechanism 50, and can be moved along the X-Y plane parallel to the surface of the stage 100.

As shown in fig. 4, the manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 90 that controls the X-axis drive unit 60, the Y-axis drive unit 70, and the Z-axis drive unit 80. The control unit 90 is connected to an operation input unit 92 such as a keyboard. The control unit 90 includes a storage unit 91, and the storage unit 91 stores operation information input via the operation input unit 92, a program registered in advance, and the like. The control unit 90 controls the X-axis drive unit 60, the Y-axis drive unit 70, and the Z-axis drive unit 80 based on data and programs stored in the storage unit 91. The controller 90 can move (change the position) the jig fixing plate 30 so that the movement locus thereof in the plane parallel to the surface plate 100 is, for example, a circular orbit by the X-axis driver 60 and the Y-axis driver 70. The control unit 90 can move the circular orbit by the X-axis drive unit 60 and the Y-axis drive unit 70 and can move the jig fixing plate 30 up or down (distance changing movement) by the Z-axis drive unit 80.

3. Method for manufacturing electronic component

In the manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a preforming step, a coating step, and a suction printing step after the coating step are performed. The preforming step is a step of bringing the end face 2A of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 held by the carrier plate 20 into contact with the stage 100 before the coating step, and will be described in detail later. The coating process is as follows: the end portion 2 including the end face 2A of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 held by the carrier plate 20 is brought into contact with an impregnated layer of a conductive paste formed on the surface 101 of the stage 100, and the conductive paste is applied to the end portion 2 of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1. The suction printing process is as follows: the conductive paste applied to the end portions 2 of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 held by the carrier plate 20 is brought into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100, and the excess conductive paste is transferred to the stage 100.

3.1. Improved first suction printing engineering

Fig. 5(a) schematically shows the suction printing process after the improvement. Fig. 5 a shows an example of relatively moving the stage 100 and the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 (only one is shown in fig. 5) held by the carrier plate 20 in the suction printing process. In the suction printing step, the controller 90 controls the moving mechanism 50 to move the carrier plate 20 and the stage 100 relative to each other, thereby performing a distance changing step of changing the distance between the end face 2A of each of the electronic component bodies 1 and the surface 101 of the stage 100 to be longer, and a position changing step of changing the two-dimensional position at which the end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 is projected on the surface 101 of the stage 100 so that the moving direction of the two-dimensional position in the plane parallel to the surface 101 of the stage 100 is gradually changed.

Fig. 5(a) shows a spiral motion as an example of the distance changing step and the position changing step. That is, the control unit 90 simultaneously controls the X-axis drive unit 60, the Y-axis drive unit 70, and the Z-axis drive unit 80 to raise the electronic component body 1 so as to be separated from the stage 100 while revolving in a circular orbit like a circle or an ellipse. Fig. 5(a) shows respective positions a to D in the middle of the rise of the electronic component body 1. Note that, in fig. 5(a), the conductive paste layer formed at the end of the electronic component body 1 is denoted by reference numeral 4 before the end of the suction printing process, and denoted by reference numeral 4A after the end of the suction printing process, and the same applies to fig. 5 (B) and fig. 12 described later. The conductive paste transferred to the stage 100 is denoted by reference numeral 4B.

Fig. 6 (a) to 6 (D) show the suction printing operation at the positions a to D shown in fig. 5 (a). In fig. 6 (a), the excess conductive paste 4B in contact with the stage 100 in the conductive paste layer 4 formed at the end of the electronic component body 1 is transferred to the stage 100 while being stretched downstream in the horizontal movement direction of the electronic component body 1 as shown in fig. 6 (B) and 6 (C). At this time, the position changing step is performed to gradually change the relative movement direction of the electronic component body 1 with respect to the stage 100 within the plane parallel to the stage 100. Then, the conductive paste layer 4 of the electronic component body 1 is stretched by the stage 100 or the conductive paste 4B transferred to the stage 100, but the stretching direction gradually changes, so that the conductive paste layer is easily scraped off. Further, the excess conductive paste stays downstream in the moving direction as in the case of the linear movement in which the relative moving direction does not change gradually, and there is no problem such as locally increasing the film thickness of the conductive paste layer 4A. In the electronic component body 1 having the end face 2A in the shape of a square, excess conductive paste tends to concentrate on the corner portion 2C, and the thickness of the conductive paste at the corner portion 2C tends to be ensured.

In the distance changing step of the first suction printing step, the electronic component body 1 is relatively moved in a direction away from the stage 100 in the suction printing step. Therefore, the amount of the conductive paste transferred to the stage 100 is reduced, and the thickness of the conductive paste in the electronic component body 1 can be ensured to be thick.

3.2. Second suction printing process after improvement

Fig. 5 (B) schematically shows another suction printing process after the modification. Fig. 5 (B) is different from fig. 5(a) only in that the distance changing direction is the descending direction. That is, the control unit 90 controls the X-axis drive unit 60, the Y-axis drive unit 70, and the Z-axis drive unit 80 at the same time, and lowers the electronic component body 1 so as to approach the stage 100 while spirally revolving. Fig. 5 (B) shows positions a to D in the middle of lowering the electronic component body 1.

Fig. 7 (a) to 7 (D) show the suction printing operation at the positions a to D shown in fig. 5 (B). In the second suction printing step, the position changing step is performed in the same manner as in the first suction printing step. In the distance changing step of the second suction printing step, the electronic component body 1 is relatively moved in a direction approaching the stage 100 in the suction printing step. Therefore, the amount of the conductive paste transferred to the stage 100 is increased, and the thickness of the conductive paste in the electronic component body 1 can be ensured to be thin.

According to the first and second blotting steps described above, the amount of the conductive paste in contact with the surface plate 100 can be adjusted in the blotting step by performing the distance changing step. Thus, the film thickness can be adjusted by selecting the shortened distance (first suction printing step) or the extended distance (second suction printing step) in the distance changing step according to the film thickness of the conductive paste to be secured in the electronic component body 1. In the suction printing process including the distance changing process and the position changing process, excess conductive paste is scraped off, and the conductive paste does not have a stringy shape after the suction printing process. Thus, no trace of the stringing is generated, and therefore the surface of the conductive paste layer 4A of the electronic component body 1 is flat.

The position changing step in the first and second suction printing steps may be performed by gradually changing the relative movement direction of the electronic component body 1 and the stage 100 in a plane parallel to the stage 100, and the start point and the end point of the position changing step may not necessarily coincide with each other in a plane parallel to the stage 100, other than a circular orbit such as a circular orbit or an elliptical orbit.

The suction printing steps (a) and (B) of fig. 5 of the first and second suction printing steps may be combined and implemented. First, each step of fig. 7 (a), 7 (B), and 7 (C) of the second suction printing step is performed. The distance shortening step is stopped before the state of fig. 7 (D) is obtained. Next, the first suction printing step is performed, and the suction printing step is completed in each of the steps of fig. 6 (B), 6 (C), and 6 (D). In this case, the turning direction in the step of fig. 7 (a), 7 (B), and 7 (C) may be the same direction as or opposite to the turning direction in the step of fig. 6 (B), 6 (C), and 6 (D).

Fig. 8 shows a suction printing process of a comparative example in which, without performing the distance changing process, only the position changing process is performed in a state where the position of the electronic component body 1 in the vertical direction to the stage 100 is constant, and the excess conductive paste 4C is transferred to the stage 100. In the suction printing step of fig. 8, the operations of fig. 6 and 7 cannot be performed. However, for example, when a protrusion is formed on a corner of the conductive paste 4 applied to the electronic component body 1, the suction printing step of fig. 8 is suitable for flattening the protrusion to shape the surface of the conductive paste 4 flat.

Fig. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the electronic component body 1 obtained by performing the first and second suction printing steps. As shown in fig. 9, in the conductive paste layer 4A formed on the electronic component body 1, the four side surfaces 2B connected to the end surfaces 2A are uniform in film thickness, and a necessary film thickness of the conductive paste layer 4A is secured also at the corner portions 2C.

3.3. Third suction printing process

In the third suction printing step, the suction printing step is performed simultaneously on the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 by using the second suction printing step.

3.3.1. Coating process

Fig. 10 shows a coating process, in which, as shown in fig. 10, an immersion layer 121 is formed in advance on a surface 101 of a stage 100 by a conductive paste 120 (fig. 3), and then, a controller 90 controls a moving mechanism 50 to relatively move a carrier plate 20 and the stage 100 in a Z direction to bring an end face 2A of each of a plurality of electronic component bodies 1 into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100, where the length of a right-side electronic component body 1a in fig. 10 is longer than the length of a left-side electronic component body 1b by H, a deviation H in the length of the electronic component body 1 is, for example, several tens of μm, and even in this case, the end face 2A of a right-side electronic component body 1a in fig. 10 is moved in the Z direction after being brought into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100, while the right-side electronic component body 1a in fig. 10 is caused to escape upward by elastic deformation of the carrier plate 20 while maintaining contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100, and then, the Z-direction relative movement is continued until the end face 2A of the left-side electronic component body 1b in fig. 10 is brought into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100, and the height of the carrier plate 1a of the electronic component body 1a is made equal to be equal to a, and the height of the stage 100, and the height of the electronic component body 1a of the stage 100 is made to be equal to be brought into contact with the stage 100, and then the stage 100, and the height of the electrode of the stage 100 b of the stage 100, and the electronic component body is made to be equal to be able to be made to be equal to be made to be equal to be.

Fig. 11 shows a coating process of a comparative example. The carrier plate 21 shown in fig. 11 has no function of elastically holding the electronic component body 1 to be movable in the Z direction, unlike the carrier plate 20 of fig. 10. In this case, the relative movement in the Z direction is stopped by bringing the electronic component body 1a on the right side of fig. 11 into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100. Therefore, the electronic component body 1b on the left side of fig. 11 does not contact the surface 101 of the stage 100, and the coating length of the electrode 4A formed on the end portion 2 is H1 (< H). Thus, the coating length of the electrode 4A formed on the end portion 2 is different between the plurality of electronic component bodies 1. According to the coating step of fig. 10, it is possible to prevent variations in the coating length of the electrode 4A as shown in fig. 11.

3.3.2. Suction printing process

In the blotting step after the coating step of fig. 10, the second blotting step shown in fig. 5 (B) is employed. Fig. 12 shows the states of the positions a to D shown in fig. 5 (B) during the lowering of the two electronic component bodies 1a and 1B having different lengths. In fig. 12, as in fig. 10, the right electronic component body 1a is longer than the left electronic component body 1 b.

At the position a in fig. 5 (B), as shown in fig. 12, the conductive paste layers 4 of the electronic component bodies 1a, 1B do not reach the surface 101 of the stage 100. At the position B of fig. 5 (B) where the height changing step is performed, as shown in fig. 12, the conductive paste layer 4 of the electronic component body 1a reaches the surface 101 of the stage 100, and then, as the electronic component body 1a spirally descends, the conductive paste layer 4 contacts the surface 101 of the stage 100 while changing its position. Thereby, the excess conductive paste is scraped off by the surface plate 100, and the conductive paste layer 4 remaining on the electronic component body 1a and the conductive paste transferred to the surface plate 100 are shaped while generating a stringing. At the position C in fig. 5 (B), as shown in fig. 12, the drawing is completed in the electronic component body 1a, and the conductive paste layer 4A having completed the suction printing step is formed.

On the other hand, at the position C of fig. 5 (B) where the height changing step is further performed, as shown in fig. 12, the conductive paste layer 4 of the electronic component main body 1B reaches the surface 101 of the stage 100, and then, as the electronic component main body 1B spirally descends, the conductive paste layer 4 comes into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100 while gradually changing its position. Thereby, the excess conductive paste is scraped off by the surface plate 100, and the conductive paste layer 4 remaining on the electronic component body 1b and the conductive paste transferred onto the surface plate 100 are shaped while generating a stringing. At position D in fig. 5 (B), as shown in fig. 12, the conductive paste layer 4A having completed the suction printing step is formed by the end of the wire drawing also in the electronic component body 1B.

As described above, by performing the suction printing step, the thickness of the conductive paste layer 4A formed on the end surfaces of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1b is made uniform regardless of the positional deviation of the end surfaces 2A of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1 b. This makes the shape of the conductive paste layer 4A formed on the end portions 2 of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1b uniform. In the suction printing step, the height changing step and the position changing step are performed simultaneously. As described above, the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1b are relatively moved so as to include a component in a direction parallel to the stage 100 while the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1b are relatively moved close to the stage 100. Further, by relatively approaching the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1b to the surface 101 of the stage 100 while spirally moving, the required area of the stage 100 can be minimized, and the position changing step can be efficiently performed.

Here, only one of the coating step shown in fig. 10 and the suction printing step shown in fig. 5 (B) and 12 may be performed, the coating length L3 (fig. 2) formed at the end portion 2 of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1B may be made to coincide with the height H of the impregnation layer 121 by the coating step shown in fig. 10, and the thickness T1 (fig. 2) of the conductive paste layer 4A formed at the end surface of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1a and 1B may be made uniform by performing the suction printing step shown in fig. 5 (B) and 12, whereby the shape of the electrode 4A formed at the end portion 2 of each of the plurality of electronic component bodies 1 is made uniform independently.

Fig. 13 shows representative evaluation data obtained by performing the suction printing process of comparative examples 1 and 2 and the improvement on the electronic component bodies 1a and 1b having different lengths. In comparative example 1, the blotting step disclosed in patent document 2 was used. Comparative example 2 used a suction printing process in which the electronic component body 1 was linearly moved relative to the stage 100. In the suction printing steps of comparative examples 1 and 2, the difference in TOP film thickness (film thickness T1 in FIG. 2) of the conductive paste layer 4a caused by the difference in length between the electronic component bodies 1a and 1b was large and was 7 μm to 8 μm. In contrast, in the blotting step after the improvement, the difference in the TOP film thickness of the conductive paste layer 4a was reduced to 2 μm. This shows the effect of making the thickness T1 (fig. 2) of the conductive paste layer 4A uniform in the suction printing step shown in fig. 5 and 12.

In addition, the suction printing process shown in fig. 5 (B) and 12 does not necessarily use the carrier plate 20 used in the coating process of fig. 10, because the elastic deformation of the carrier plate 20 is not required in the suction printing process. In the coating step shown in fig. 10 and the blotting steps shown in fig. 5 (B) and 12, the same stage 100 is not necessarily used. The first stage may be used in the coating step shown in fig. 10, and the second stage may be used in the blotting step shown in fig. 5 (B) and 12.

3.4. First embodiment (modified preforming Process)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the preforming step before the coating step will be described with reference to the manufacturing apparatus 10 of fig. 3 and 4. After the preforming step described below, the above-described blotting step (comparative example 1, comparative example 2, or a blotting step after modification) is performed after the coating step.

3.4.1. First preforming step

Fig. 14 (a) and 14(B) show a first preforming step. As shown in fig. 14 (a), in a jig 20 for holding the electronic component body 1, a hole 22 is formed in a jig body 21 made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber. The electronic component body 1 is fitted into the hole 22 and held.

The preforming step is performed by moving the jig 20 and the stage 100 relative to each other using the manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in fig. 3 and 4, and the jig 20 is held by fitting the electronic component body 1 into the hole 22 of the jig body 21. In the preforming step, the end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 is brought into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100. Thereby, the amount of protrusion (head-out amount) of the electronic component body 1 from the jig 20, that is, the protruding position (head-out position) of the end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 is corrected to be constant. If the amount of protrusion of the electronic component body 1 from the jig 20 differs during the coating process, the amount and shape of the conductive paste applied to the end portion 2 of the electronic component body 1 differ and unevenness occurs, but the unevenness is corrected by the preforming process.

Here, before the preforming step, a deviation occurs in the posture including the insertion length and the orientation (perpendicularity with respect to the jig main body 21) of the electronic component main body 1 with respect to the hole 22 of the jig main body 21. When the electronic component body 1 is fitted, the posture deviation with respect to the hole 22 of the electronic component body 1 is generated by deformation of the jig body 21 which is an elastic body.

Conventionally, in the preforming step, the jig 20 is linearly moved downward relative to the table 100. Thus, the electronic component body 1 is pressed back at the time of overload after the end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 comes into contact with the surface 101 of the stage 100. This is expected to make the projection amount (head projection amount) of the electronic component body 1 uniform.

However, the jig main body 21 pressed by the electronic component main body 1 may be elastically deformed at the time of overload. In this case, the following disadvantages occur: when the electronic component body 1 is pulled away from the stage 100 by releasing the overload, the jig body 21 is merely elastically restored, and the projecting amount (head projecting amount) of the electronic component body 1 is not changed.

In order to prevent this, as shown in fig. 14(B), the distance shortening movement and the position changing movement are performed simultaneously in the same manner as in fig. 5 (B). However, unlike fig. 5 (B), the conductive paste layer 4 is not formed on the electronic component body 1 as shown in fig. 14 (B). The distance shortening movement and the position changing movement may be performed at the same time at least during the overload, or may be performed at the same time before the overload.

In this way, at the time of overload, an external force gradually changing in the direction in a plane parallel to the surface 101 of the stage 100 acts on the electronic component body 1. Therefore, even if the jig main body 21 is elastically deformed, the fitting of the electronic component main body 1 into the hole 22 of the jig main body 21 is facilitated. This makes the projection amount (head projection amount) of the electronic component body 1 uniform, and corrects the posture of the electronic component body 1. As shown in fig. 14 (a), even if the electronic component body 1 is tilted with respect to the center line of the hole 22, the electronic component body 1 is fitted into the hole to eliminate the tilt, thereby correcting the posture of the electronic component body 1.

3.4.2. Second preforming step

A second preforming process is illustrated in fig. 15 (a) and 15 (B). As shown in fig. 15 (a), the holding member 23 for holding the electronic component body 1 includes an adhesive layer 25 on one surface of a base material 24. The base material 24 may be a rigid body or a flexible member such as a tape. One end face 2A of the 2 end faces 2A, 2A of the electronic component body 1 is bonded to the adhesive layer 25, and a conductive paste is applied to an end portion including the other end face 2A. In this case, before the preforming step, as shown in fig. 15 (a), the posture including the orientation of the electronic component body 1 with respect to the hole 22 of the jig body 21 (the perpendicularity with respect to the base material 24) is deviated. As in the conventional preforming step, the holding member 23 is simply linearly moved downward relative to the stage 100, and the deviation of the posture is not forcibly changed. This is because the inclined posture of the electronic component body 1 can be maintained in a state where only the corner portion of the end face 2A of the inclined electronic component body 1 is in contact with the stage 100.

In order to prevent this, as shown in fig. 15 (B), the distance shortening movement and the position changing movement are performed simultaneously. In fig. 15 (B), as in fig. 14(B), the distance shortening movement and the position changing movement may be performed at least at the time of overload, or may be performed at the same time before overload.

In this way, at the time of overload, an external force gradually changing in the direction in a plane parallel to the surface 101 of the stage 100 acts on the electronic component body 1. Therefore, even if only the corner of the end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 that is inclined comes into contact with the stage 100, the entire end face 2A of the electronic component body 1 is bonded to the adhesive layer 25 by the gradually changing external force. Thus, the posture of the electronic component body 1 is corrected. In the case where the base material 24 is a flexible member, when the holding member 23 is moved relatively, a rigid body is disposed on the back surface of the base material 24, thereby preventing deformation of the base material 24.

3.5. Second embodiment (modified coating Process)

An embodiment of performing the preforming step before the coating step using the manufacturing apparatus 10 of fig. 3 and 4 will be described below. It is preferable to perform a preforming step after improvement before the coating step described below, and the preforming step and the coating step can be performed using the manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in fig. 3 and 4. However, the above-described blotting step (comparative example 1, comparative example 2, or post-improvement blotting step) may be performed after the coating step, or the blotting step itself may be omitted. This is because the thickness and shape of the conductive paste layer formed on the end portion 2 of the electronic component body 1 are made uniform by the improved coating process.

In the coating step, the surface of the stage 100 is an impregnated layer 121 of conductive paste. When the end portion 2 of the electronic component body 1 held by the jig 20 is immersed in the immersion layer 121, the jig 20 and the stage 100 may be relatively moved in the Z direction of fig. 3, as in the conventional case. Then, in order to pull the electronic component body 1 away from the stage 100 side, the relative movement shown in fig. 16 (a) to 16 (D) is performed.

In fig. 16 (a) to 16 (D), the distance delay movement and the position changing movement are simultaneously performed as in fig. 5 (a). Fig. 16 (a) shows an initial state in which the electronic component body 1 is pulled away from the stage 100 side. Then, by the relative movement of fig. 16 (B) and 16 (C), the conductive paste layer 4 formed at the end of the electronic component body 1 is completely pulled away from the impregnated layer 121 as shown in fig. 16 (D). The relative movement of fig. 16 (a) to 16 (D) serves the same function as the suction printing step after the improvement shown in fig. 6 (a) to 6 (D). In other words, in the coating step, the moving step shown in fig. 16 (a) to 16 (D) is performed in the pull-off step after the dipping in the dipping layer 121, so that the pull-off step is the same as the suction printing step after the improvement shown in fig. 6 (a) to 6 (D). Thus, after the improved coating process, the suction printing process can be omitted.

Description of the reference symbols

1. The electronic component includes an electronic component body 1A and an electronic component 1B, an end 2A, an end face 2B, a side 2C, a corner 4, a conductive paste layer before the end of the blotting step, an electrode 4A, a manufacturing device 20, a jig (holding member) 21, a jig body 22, a hole 23, a holding member 24, a base material 25, an adhesive layer 25, a jig fixing platform 30, a substrate 40, a moving mechanism 50, an X-axis driving unit 60, a Y-axis driving unit 70, a Z-axis driving unit 80, a control unit 90, a storage unit 91, an operation input unit 92, a platform 100, a surface 101, a conductive paste 120, an impregnated layer 121, a height of the impregnated layer H, a coating length L3, and a thickness T1.