JPS6160010B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for positioning flexible printed circuit boards used in microcassettes, thin radios, etc., and particularly relates to an exposure apparatus for substrates with long patterns, The purpose is to accurately position the substrate supplied to a predetermined position.

Conventionally, as a manufacturing method for flexible printed wiring boards, the steps shown in Fig. 1 (in the figure, C indicates the component side;
(W indicates the wire side). That is, a drilling step 101 in which through holes, positioning holes, etc. are formed in a base material of an electrically insulating polymeric film such as polyimide, a through hole plating step 102 in which the surface of the through hole is plated with copper, a polishing step 103, and a resist laminating step. 104, exposure process 105, development process 106, copper plating process 10
7. Solder plating process 108, resist stripping process 109, etching process 110, reflow process 1
11, a conductive pattern forming step 112 in which a conductive layer of copper or the like is formed in a predetermined pattern on the base material;
A solder resist step 113 in which parts that do not require soldering are covered with a solder resist layer in a predetermined pattern in preparation for a later soldering process between the component and the conductive layer.
were carried out sequentially.

In the above method, accurate positioning of the base material is required, especially in the conductive pattern forming step 112. For this reason, it has been common practice to separate and transport the base material pattern by pattern and process each step, but this method has the disadvantage of poor efficiency because the substrates are transported individually. Therefore, there has been a need for a highly efficient manufacturing method that transports long substrates without separating them and processes them in each step while they are long. It has not been realized due to the following drawbacks.

That is, a base film conveying device for a film carrier has been invented as a method for continuously supplying a base material. This has sprocket holes on both sides of the film base, and has the same structure as the above-mentioned base material, but since the length of one pattern in the transport direction is short and the width is constant, the sprocket holes are used for transport. Using a tsuto wheel or a rubber roller, place a pin with the same shape as the puff olation into a hole near the pattern to free the base film, and then
This method involves inserting and positioning. However, this method is only possible for base materials with short patterns; for base materials with long patterns, inserting positioning pins into the sprocket holes cannot absorb errors caused by expansion and contraction of the base material, and as a result, the base material There was a drawback that if the image was exposed to light, the result would be incomplete.

As a result, there was a problem that the mask and the base material were misaligned, and the parts could come off after being mounted, and the accuracy of the conductive pattern was poor, causing poor conduction. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, it is necessary to detect positioning holes or specific holes using a pattern reading device, etc., measure the positional deviation of the substrate, and then move the processing equipment in the processing process each time to perform alignment. However, there were problems such as the need for large-scale equipment in the process.

The present invention solves the above problems and provides a method for manufacturing a flexible printed wiring board that can significantly reduce costs and that can be connected to the next component mounting process.

Hereinafter, the outline of the before and after steps will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

1 is a flexible printed wiring base material (hereinafter simply referred to as the base material) in which a conductive metal foil such as copper foil with a thickness of approximately 35 μm is adhered to an electrically insulating polymeric film material such as polyimide with a thickness of approximately 50 μm. and is wound on reel 2. The base material 1 drawn out from the reel 2 is sent to a drilling step 114.

In the drilling step 114, a through hole for position setting or transportation (hereinafter referred to as a sprocket hole) is formed in the base material 1 by the press device 3. Next, this base material 1 is sent to a cleaning device 5 where the copper foil surface is cleaned, an ion plating device 6 deposits copper on the walls of holes such as through holes, and an electroplating device 7 deposits copper on the copper foil surface. Then, copper is plated. This completes the copper plating step 115. Next, the base material 1 is subjected to an etching resist process 116, a resist laminating process 117, an exposure process 118, a developing process 119, an etching process 120, and a resist peeling process 12 by the roller 4.
1 to a conductive pattern forming step 122.

Here, the conductive pattern forming surface of the base material 1, that is, both surfaces in this embodiment, is pickled in a laminator pretreatment device 8, and etched in an etching resist printing machine 9.
Then, a continuous etching resist layer is offset printed on the sprocket hole portion of the base material 1. Next, the dry film 11 is thermocompressed by the laminator device 10 onto the surface of the base material 1 on which the etching resist layer is not provided. Next, the exposure device 12
The dry film 11 is exposed to light so that a predetermined shape is projected by the negative pattern 13, and in the developing step 119, unnecessary dry film is removed by the developing device 14, and the copper foil protected by the etching resist layer or dry film is processed by the etching device 15. Other copper foils are etched. At this time, the portion of the copper foil provided in the sprocket hole of the base material remains without being etched due to the continuous etching resist layer in the portion of the sprocket hole provided during the formation of the etching resist layer described above. next,
The dry film is peeled off from the base material 1 by the resist peeling device 16, a predetermined conductive pattern is formed, and the conductive pattern forming step 122 is completed.

Next, the base material 1 is printed in a solder resist printing process 12.
3. The land portion is sent to a solder resist process 125 which sequentially passes through a pad printing process 124. Here, the solder resist printing device 17 prints a solder resist and a symbol mark on the base material 1. Next, in the base material 1, a solder resist is embedded in the holes in the land portion by the land portion printing device 18, and the manufacturing process of the printed wiring board is completed.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 14. Substrate 1 is an electrically insulating polymeric film material, such as polyester, polypropylene, polyimide, cellulose, or other readily available flexible film, with a thickness of about 50 μm, and a conductive metal foil, such as copper foil, with a thickness of about 35 μm. is the base material to which is bonded, and is wound around the reel 2.

Reference numerals 19 and 20 are feeding device sections, which continuously feed the base material 1 having sprocket holes 1a at both ends. These feeding device parts 19 and 20 are width regulating rollers 21 and 2.
2, 23, 24, idle rollers 25, 26 for correcting warpage and bending of the base material 1, sprockets 27, 28 for supply driving, and sprockets 2, 2, 24,
Pinch roller 29 to prevent it from being removed from 7, 28,
It consists of 30, 31, and 32. Sprocket 2
A drive pulse motor 3 is connected via a clutch 34 to one end of a drive shaft 33 that connects 7 and 28 coaxially.
5 has a torque motor 37 at the other end which applies back tension to the base material 1 via a clutch 36.
is installed.

Further, guide rollers 39 and 40 sandwich the exposure part 38 and regulate the width direction of the base material 1 in the front and rear directions, and
Sand rollers 41 and 4 correct warpage and bending of
2, dancer rollers 43, 44, and positioning pins 45, 46 for regulating the longitudinal direction.
It is engaged with 8. (Figure 10) Guide roller 3
9 and 40 are springs 49 and 50 as shown in FIG.
Tension is applied in the width direction. or,
The guide rollers 39 and 40 are kept at a constant distance by the stopper 51. The feeding device section 19, width regulating rollers 21, 23, guide rollers 40, and positioning pin 45 are fixed to the base plate 52, and the feeding device section 20, regulating rollers 22, 24, guide roller 39, and positioning pin 46 are fixed to the guide rod 53 in the width direction. , 54 as a guide.
5 is installed on top. The moving table 55 is
It is moved to any position in the width direction by precision screws 57 and nuts 58, and fixed to base plate 52 by clamps 59 and 60. Further, the base material 1 is cleaned of dirt, dust, etc. while traveling by the air shutters 61 and 62, and then sent into the exposure section 38.

The exposure section 38 includes an upper frame 64 to which an upper mask 63 is attached, positioning pins 65, 66, 67, 68 for assisting in width direction regulation of the base material 1, and a lower frame 71 to which guide blocks 69, 70 are attached.
It consists of A lower mask 72 is attached to the lower frame, and the lower frame 71 moves up and down along guide posts 73, 74, 75, and 76, and exposes by turning on an upper light source 77 and a lower light source 78. 79, 80 are winding devices, which give tension to the base material 1, and guide rollers 81, 82 and pinch rollers 83, 84, 85, which regulate the width direction.
86, sprocket 87, 88, width regulating roller 8
9,90,91,92,93,94,95,96
Consists of. A torque motor 101 is attached to the end of the main shaft 99 of the sprockets 87, 88 via a clutch 100. base plate 10
2 includes a guide roller 82, a width regulating roller 89,
A winding section 79, width regulating rollers 91, 92, and 93 are fixed, and the other moving table 103 has a guide roller 82, a width regulating roller 90, and a winding section 8.
0. Width regulating rollers 94, 95, and 96 are attached. The moving table 103 has a guide shaft 10
4, 105, is moved to any position in the width direction by precision screws 106 and nuts 107, and is fixed by clamps 108, 109.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a take-up reel section for storing the exposed substrate 1 on a take-up reel 111 as appropriate. The splicer 112 joins the base material of the next reel after completing one reel, thereby allowing complete continuity.

In the apparatus having the above configuration, the reel 2
By connecting the clutch 34 and the clutch 100, the base material 1 sent out is transferred to the sprocket 2 by the pulse motor 35 and the torque motor 101.
7a, 28a and sprocket hole 1a are shown in Fig. 13A.
In the state of , while being given a certain tension,
A certain amount is sent out intermittently. When the base material 1 once stops, the position of the sprocket hole 1a is detected by the center detection photo 113, and the number of sprocket holes 1a is counted by the counter photo 114, and compared with the number of pulses of the pulse motor 35, and the feed is determined. If normal, cylinder 115,
116 causes the positioning pins 45 and 46 to rise,
It is inserted into the sprocket hole of the base material 1. (1st
4A) Next, the clutch 34 is released by the signals from the photos 117a and 117b, and the pinch rollers 29, 30, 31, and 32 are driven by the cylinders 118 and 119 in order to reduce the resistance of the base material 1. , arms 120, 121, rotation shaft 122,
123 and levers 124, 125 to the positions of stoppers 126, 127, the base material 1 is separated from the sprockets 27, 28, and the base material 1 becomes free. Next, the base material 1 is pulled by the torque motor 101 and hits the end surfaces of the positioning pins 45, 46 (FIG. 14B) to perform longitudinal positioning. In addition, regarding the width direction, the guide roller 3
9, 40, 81, and 82 perform width direction regulation during this period. In this state, the positioning of the base material 1 is completed and exposure is performed. The lower frame 71 of the exposure section 38 is regulated in the width direction by the end face of the base material 1 and the sprocket hole 1a by the guide blocks 69, 70 and the positioning pins 65, 66, 67, 68, and the guide posts 73, 74, 75, It rises guided by 76 and hits the upper frame 64. Here, a vacuum is created between the upper and lower frames 64, 72, the base material 1 and the masks 63, 72 are brought into close contact, and the upper light source 77,
The lower light source 78 emits light to expose both sides of the substrate 1. After completion, the lower frame 71 is lowered. During this time, the clutch 36 is connected, and the torque motor 37 corrects the misalignment between the sprockets 27, 28 and the sprocket holes (Fig. 13B), applies back tension to the base material 1, removes the deflection, and returns the sprocket to the state shown in Fig. 13C. Then bring out the origin. Furthermore, by reconnecting the clutch 34 and releasing the clutch 36, the base material 1 is held by the excitation force of the pulse motor 35. By releasing the torque motor 101 and the clutch 100, the base material 1 is bent by its own weight and returned in the opposite direction, and the positioning pins 45 and 46 are in the state shown in FIG. 14C.
5, 46 are lowered by the cylinders 115, 116 and removed from the sprocket hole 1a. Furthermore, the torque motor 101 and the clutch 100 are connected again by the signals from the photos 117a and 117b, and the sprockets 87 and 88 are driven by a driving force stronger than that of the sprockets 27 and 28, and the base material 1 is fed out by a constant amount with a constant tension. Do the same thing again.

The above steps will be explained as follows based on FIG. 15.

Place the positioning pins 45 and 46 into the sprocket hole 1.
Insert into a.

During insertion, sprockets 27, 28, 87,
Make 88 free.

Drive sprockets 87 and 88.

A predetermined shape is projected by the negative pattern 13 of the exposure device 12.

The sprockets 27 and 28 are driven in a direction opposite to the conveying direction with a driving force weaker than that of the torque motor 101 of the sprockets 87 and 88.

Pulse motor 35 for sprockets 27 and 28
The clutch 34 is turned on, the sprockets 27 and 28 are fixed, and the origin of the pulse motor 35 is brought out.

Torque motor 37 of sprockets 27, 28
release the drive.

Torque motor 10 with sprockets 87 and 88
Cancel 1.

Place the positioning pins 45 and 46 into the sprocket hole 1.
Remove from a.

The torque motor 101 and the pulse motor 35 are driven to transport the base material 1 to a predetermined position.

Positioning is performed using the above steps as one cycle.

As described above, according to the present invention, when exposing a flexible printed wiring base material, positioning can be performed accurately using simple equipment, and as a result, a long base material can be transported without being separated, and This has the effect that it is not possible to manufacture the substrate by performing each step of processing while the substrate is in a long shape.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a conventional process for manufacturing a flexible printed wiring board, FIG. 2 shows a series of devices showing an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a flexible printed wiring board of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the feeding device section of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a front view of the same, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the winding device section, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the same, and FIG. 8
The figure is a side view of the feeding device section, FIG. 9 is a side view of the guide roller, FIG. 10 is a state diagram when the positioning pin is inserted, FIG. 11 is a side view of the winding device section, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the sand roller. A side view, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operating state of the sprocket pin, FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the operating state of the positioning pin, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the positioning process. 1... Base material, 1a... Sprocket hole, 27,
28, 87, 88... Sprocket, 27a, 2
8a... Sprocket pin, 45, 46... Positioning pin, 34... Clutch, 35... Pulse motor, 45, 46... Positioning pin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for transporting and positioning a long flexible printed wiring base material having transport holes by inserting sprocket pins of a pair of sprockets into the holes and driving the pair of sprockets, A positioning pin located between the pair of sprockets is inserted into the hole, and before and after this insertion, the pair of sprockets are made free to drive, and then, of the sprockets, the first sprocket on the winding side is driven. Next, the second sprocket on the feeding side is driven in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, and the clutch of the pulse motor connected to the second sprocket is turned on to turn on the second sprocket. After fixing the pulse motor and bringing out the origin of the pulse motor, releasing the second sprocket from driving in the opposite direction and setting the first sprocket in a free state, the positioning pin is removed from the hole and the pair of sprockets is driven. A method for positioning a flexible printed wiring board, characterized in that the step of transporting the base material to a predetermined position is one cycle.