JP2012148501A - Discharge apparatus, method for manufacturing original plate for screen printing - Google Patents

Abstract

A high-precision screen printing original plate is manufactured by a simple process.
A curable resin liquid is applied to a mesh screen to form a net-containing resin layer to form a processing target, and the processing target is placed on a placement member 2 of a discharge device 50 to discharge the discharge liquid. The ejection head 53 and the arrangement member 2 are moved relatively to land the ejection liquid that dissolves the uncured curable resin on the net-containing resin layer at the desired position, thereby dissolving the curable resin at the landing position. When the suction chamber 6 located on the back surface of the arrangement member 2 is evacuated and the object to be processed is vacuum-adsorbed, the discharge liquid containing the dissolved curable resin is sucked into the suction chamber 6 and has a desired pattern opening. When a layer is obtained and cured, an original for screen printing is obtained. There is no need to use a photographic mask.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a screen printing original plate that does not use photolithography.

Conventionally, as a technique for producing a printing original plate used for screen printing, a technique using a photoengraving technique is known as a known technique.
Specifically, it is manufactured by applying and drying a photosensitive resin on a screen stretched on a formwork, then sticking a photographic plate-making negative or positive film on it, exposing it, and developing it. The

  However, such a manufacturing method not only requires a large number of steps, but also requires a separate original for producing the target original, or multiple types of dedicated equipment, There were various problems such as high manufacturing costs.

In recent years, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 for the purpose of solving these problems, several methods for producing a printing original plate using an inkjet method have been devised.
However, even these newly devised manufacturing methods still require a plurality of steps or a combination of a plurality of components.

JP-A-9-48105 JP-A-11-277712 JP 2001-30458 A JP 2003-89282 A JP 2009-28909 A

  The present invention was created in order to solve the complexity of the above manufacturing process, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method capable of manufacturing an original for screen printing with a small number of processes and a small number of components. is there.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes an arrangement member on which an object to be treated is arranged on an arrangement surface, an ejection head provided with an ejection hole for ejecting ejection liquid, the arrangement member, and the ejection head. A discharge device comprising: a moving device that relatively moves; and a control device that discharges the discharge liquid from the discharge hole toward a desired position on a landing surface that is a surface of a processing object arranged on the arrangement member. A suction chamber is provided on the rear surface of the arrangement member, the rear surface of the arrangement member is exposed in the suction chamber, and the arrangement member includes a space on the arrangement surface side and a rear surface side of the arrangement member. When a plurality of pores that connect to the space are formed and the pressure in the suction chamber is lower than the pressure on the placement surface, the liquid positioned on the placement surface is sucked into the suction chamber It is the discharge device comprised in this.
The present invention is an ejection device, wherein the ejection head is provided with a plurality of ejection holes.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the control device is provided with a storage device, and the discharge device is configured to discharge the discharge liquid from the discharge hole toward a discharge position stored in the storage device. Device.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the suction chamber is disposed below the placement member, and a bottom surface is provided with an inclination.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein a discharge port for discharging liquid and a switching device for connecting or closing the drain port are provided at a position closer to the lower end than the upper end of the inclination. is there.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the arrangement member is a discharge device formed of a porous member.
The present invention is a method for producing an original plate in which a mesh at a desired position in a mesh is closed using a discharge device to form a screen printing original plate, wherein a resin is applied to the mesh, and the mesh of the mesh is coated with the resin. Forming a film-like net-containing resin layer containing the net and the resin by closing, arranging the processing object having the net-containing resin layer on the arrangement member, and operating an exhaust device to operate the suction chamber The pressure of the processing object is lower than the pressure of the atmosphere in which the landing surface of the object to be exposed is exposed, and a solution for dissolving the resin is discharged from the discharge hole to the desired position on the landing surface. Dissolving the resin discharged and landed toward the resin, containing the resin melt, the solution located on the arrangement surface is sucked by the pores and moved into the suction chamber, The mesh at the desired position is opened Wherein a master manufacturing method for obtaining an original by curing the resin contained in the network containing resin layer.
The present invention is an original plate manufacturing method, wherein a photo-curing resin is used as the resin, and light having a wavelength for curing the resin is applied to the net-containing resin layer in which the mesh is opened at a desired position. A method for producing an original plate in which the resin contained in the net-containing resin layer is cured.

In order to obtain a cured resin layer that constitutes the screen printing original plate, the discharge liquid is discharged to the uncured net-containing resin layer according to the stored pattern, so there is no need to use a photographic mask and the manufacturing process can be reduced. it can.
In addition, since a separate original plate for creating the final original plate is not required, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The perspective view of the discharge apparatus of an example of this invention Diagram for explaining discharge holes (a): Plan view for explaining the arrangement member (b): Cross-sectional view for explaining the arrangement member and the suction chamber (a): Plan view for explaining a mesh screen (b): Cross section thereof (c): Cross section view of processing object (a): Plan view of processing object (b): Cross section of processing object, arrangement member and suction chamber (a): Plan view of the object to be processed in which the opening is formed (b): Cross-sectional view for explaining the solution moved to the suction chamber Another example of the discharge device of the present invention

<Discharge device>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a discharge device 50 according to an example of the present invention.
The discharge device 50 includes a pedestal 51, a stage 1 positioned on the pedestal 51, and a discharge head 53 positioned above the stage 1.
The stage 1 is provided with a plate-like arrangement member 2 described later.

  The ejection device 50 is provided with a moving device 10 that relatively moves the ejection head 53 and the arrangement member 2. The pedestal 51 is disposed with the support surface 21, which is a surface facing upward, in a horizontal direction.

  Here, the moving device 10 includes an arrangement member moving device 26 that moves the arrangement member 2 relative to the pedestal 51, and a head moving device 25 that moves the ejection head 53 relative to the pedestal 51.

  First, the arrangement member moving device 26 will be described. The arrangement member moving device 26 is provided on the stage 1 with two main rails 52 arranged parallel to each other on the support surface 21, and the main rail 52 is arranged on the stage 1. It is comprised with the main-rail moving apparatus 61 moved along the extending direction.

  The stage 1 is placed on two main rails 52. For example, the on-rail moving device 61 includes a wheel disposed on the main rail 52 and a motor that rotates the wheels. The stage 1 can be moved on the main rail 52 by rotating the wheel.

  Next, the head moving device 25 will be described. In the pedestal 51, the support pillars 55 are respectively arranged at the left and right positions outside the portion between the two main rails 52, and the lower ends thereof are fixed to the pedestal 51. In addition, a bridge 54 is attached to the upper end of the column 55 so as to extend over the two columns 55.

  The head moving device 25 includes a sub rail 56 provided on the bridge 54 and a sub rail on-rail moving device 62 provided on the discharge head 53 and moving the discharge head 53 along the direction in which the sub rail 56 extends. Yes.

  The sub-rail moving device 62 can be configured by, for example, a wheel disposed on the sub-rail 56 and a motor that rotates the wheel, but is not limited thereto. In this example, the ejection head 53 is attached to the sub rail 56 by the sub rail moving device 62.

  The moving device 10 is connected to the control device 65 and is configured to input / output signals to / from the control device 65, and the moving device 10 is connected to the stage 1 by a signal output from the control device 65. By moving the ejection head 53, the arrangement member 2 and the ejection head 53 can be relatively moved, and the arrangement member 2 and the ejection head 53 can be stopped at a desired relative position.

  Here, the movement direction of the ejection head 53 and the movement direction of the stage 1, that is, the arrangement member 2 are located in a horizontal plane, and the ejection head 53 and the arrangement member 2 move linearly in directions orthogonal to each other. It has become. The ejection head 53 and the bridge 54 are arranged at a position higher than the stage 1 and do not come into contact with each other during movement.

  The distance between the two support columns 55 is such that the stage 1 can move between the two support columns 55, and the ejection head 53 is positioned above the movement path of the arrangement member 2. In this state, when the arrangement member 2 passes the lower position of the ejection head 53, the ejection head 53 moves on the arrangement member 2 from the first position to the last position in the movement direction of the arrangement member 2 by the movement of the arrangement member 2. can do. Accordingly, when a plate-like processing object that does not protrude from the arrangement member 2 is placed on the arrangement member 2, the ejection head 53 can vertically cut the surface of the placed treatment object.

  Further, the ejection head 53 can move from one end of the bridge 54 to the other end in a state where the arrangement member 2 is positioned below the movement path of the ejection head 53. At this time, if a plate-like processing object that does not protrude from the arrangement member 2 is placed on the arrangement member 2, the ejection head 53 can traverse the surface of the treatment object.

A discharge liquid tank 57 in which discharge liquid is stored is disposed outside the pedestal 51.
The inside of the discharge head 53 is hollow, and the discharge head 53 is connected to the discharge liquid tank 57.
The discharge liquid tank 57 is provided with a pump or the like so that the discharge liquid in the discharge liquid tank 57 can be supplied to the hollow portion of the discharge head 53.

The ejection head 53 is attached to the sub rail 56 so that the surface facing the lower side of the ejection head 53 can face the arrangement member 2, and the bottom surface of the ejection head 53 facing the stage 1 is denoted by reference numeral 58 in FIG. 2. As shown, a plurality of discharge holes (nozzles) 58 having one end connected to a hollow portion inside the discharge head 53 and the other end opened to the bottom surface of the discharge head 53 are provided.
Inside the ejection head 53, ejection components that eject a predetermined amount of the ejection liquid supplied into the ejection head 53 from the ejection holes 58 are provided.

  The discharge components correspond to the discharge holes 58 on a one-to-one basis and are controlled by the control device 65, and the discharge components to which a discharge instruction signal is input from the control device 65 receive the discharge liquid from the corresponding discharge holes 58. Discharge. The amount of liquid droplets discharged from the discharge hole 58 can be controlled, and a desired amount of discharge liquid can be discharged toward a predetermined region by changing the discharge timing.

As for the arrangement | positioning member 2, the arrangement | positioning surface 24 which is a surface by which a process target object is arrange | positioned is made flat, and the arrangement | positioning surface 24 is faced up and exposed.
The arrangement member 2 is provided with a plurality of pores 17 as shown in FIGS. FIG. 3B corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

The opening at one end of each pore 17 is arranged on the arrangement surface 24, and the opening at the other end is provided on the back surface of the arrangement member 2. Therefore, each pore 17 penetrates between the arrangement surface 24 of the arrangement member 2 and its back surface.
A suction chamber 6 is arranged on the back surface of the arrangement member 2.

  The inside of the suction chamber 6 is hollow, and the arrangement member 2 is fitted into an opening provided in the ceiling of the suction chamber 6 so that the back surface of the arrangement member 2 is exposed to the inner hollow portion of the suction chamber 6. Yes. Therefore, the space on the arrangement surface 24 side of the arrangement member 2 and the internal space of the suction chamber 6 located on the back side are connected by the plurality of pores 17.

In this example, for example, the diameter of the pores 17 is about 10 μm, and liquid or gas can freely pass through the pores.
An exhaust device 36 is connected to the suction chamber 6. When the exhaust device 36 is operated, the gas existing in the internal space of the suction chamber 6 is exhausted by the exhaust device 36, passes through the pores 17, and is disposed on the arrangement surface 24. The gas in the side space is sucked into the suction chamber 6. When the liquid is arranged on the arrangement surface 24, the liquid is sucked into the suction chamber 6 together with the gas.

<Manufacturing method>
The discharge device 50 is an apparatus that forms an original plate having an opening that allows ink to pass through at a desired position, and is used for screen printing. The manufacturing process of the original plate will be described. First, a processing object to be arranged on the arrangement member 2 In order to form, a mesh screen 3 shown in FIG.

  The mesh screen 3 has a frame body 27 made of metal or the like and a net body 19, and the net body 19 is stretched around the frame body 27. The net 19 includes a net 28 and a net 29 that is a gap surrounded by the net 28. FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a partial cross section of the net 19.

  In addition, a curable resin that is curable in a liquid state is prepared, and a curable resin is applied to the portion of the network body 19, the mesh 29 is filled with the curable resin, and dried to evaporate the solvent. As shown in (c), a net-containing resin layer 20 containing a net 28 and an uncured curable resin 30 and having a film shape is formed.

A processing object 4 made of a mesh screen on which the net-containing resin layer 20 is formed is placed on the placement member 2.
FIG. 5A is a plan view of the processing object 4 in the arranged state, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the processing object 4, the arrangement member 2, and the suction chamber 6.

  The gas present in the internal space of the suction chamber 6 is exhausted by the exhaust device 36, and the pressure in the internal space of the suction chamber 6 is lower than the pressure of the atmosphere on the arrangement surface 24, and the processing target on the surface of the arrangement member 2 The object 4 is vacuum-adsorbed to the arrangement member 2 by the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the arrangement member 2.

The discharge liquid disposed in the discharge liquid tank 57 is a liquid that dissolves the uncured curable resin 30 contained in the net-containing resin layer 20.
The position where the opening is formed in the net-containing resin layer 20 is stored in advance in a storage device 66 provided in the control device 65, and the arrangement member 2 and the ejection head 53 are moved relative to each other so that the ejection holes of the ejection head 53 are formed. From 58, the liquid that dissolves the curable resin 30 is discharged toward the target and landed on the target with the position where the opening is formed in the net-containing resin layer 20 as a target.

The target is set at a location located in the mesh 29. When landing on the surface of the curable resin 30 filled in the mesh 29, the landed portion of the curable resin 30 is dissolved by the discharge liquid.
Dissolution of the curable resin 30 is started on the surface of the network-containing resin layer 20, and the dissolution proceeds in a direction having a component in a direction along the surface of the network-containing resin layer 20 and a component in the depth direction.

  When the dissolution of the curable resin 30 proceeds in the depth direction and reaches the bottom surface of the net-containing resin layer 20, the discharge liquid containing the dissolved material of the curable resin 30, that is, the solution is exposed to the bottom surface of the processing object 4. Then, it comes to face the arrangement member 2.

  The size of the openings on the arrangement surface 24 of the pores 17 is made smaller than the size of the mesh 29, and the number of openings of the pores 17 on the arrangement surface 24 per unit area is the same as that on the arrangement surface 24. The number of the meshes 29 is larger than the number per unit area, and at least one opening of the pores 17 is positioned on each mesh 29 and the arrangement surface 24.

The discharge liquid containing the melted curable resin 30 facing the arrangement member 2 is sucked into the pores 17 facing the opening, and the curable resin 30 in the mesh 29 on which the discharge liquid has landed is removed.
Since the mesh 28 is not dissolved by the discharge liquid, it remains even if the discharge liquid contacts.
In the present invention, the disposing member 2 in which the pores 17 are formed in a metal plate or the like can be used, but the disposing member 2 can also be formed of a porous material having air permeability.

  Here, the discharge liquid is landed while the processing object 4 is vacuum-adsorbed on the arrangement member 2, but the discharge liquid that dissolves the curable resin 30 on the surface of the mesh 29 at a desired position of the processing object 4 is used. After discharging and landing, the curable resin 30 in the mesh 29 is dissolved, and the solution containing the curable resin 30 is exposed on the bottom surface of the net-containing resin layer 20 on which the discharged liquid has landed. The processing object 4 may be vacuum-adsorbed to the arrangement member 2 by reducing the pressure, and the discharge liquid containing the dissolved curable resin 30 may be sucked into the suction chamber 6 through the pores 17.

  When the curable resin 30 of the mesh 29 at the position corresponding to the stored contents of the storage device 66 of the processing object 4 is removed, the removed portion contains the mesh-containing resin layer 20 as shown in FIG. As described above, the mesh 28 remains and an opening 33 through which the mesh 29 passes is formed.

  The processing of the discharge liquid containing the dissolved curable resin 30 will be described. Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 6B (and FIG. 3B and FIG. 5B) is the bottom surface of the suction chamber 6 and is inclined. A drainage port 32 is provided at a position below the slope of the bottom surface 31, and a drainage pipe 35 is connected to the drainage port 32.

  The drainage pipe 35 is provided with an opening / closing device 7. When the opening / closing device 7 is opened, the drainage port 32 is connected to the outside of the suction chamber 6. When the opening / closing device 7 is closed, the drainage port 32 is closed. Connection to the outside of the suction chamber 6 is interrupted.

When the suction chamber 6 is evacuated and decompressed by the exhaust device 36, the opening / closing device 7 is closed so that gas does not enter the suction chamber 6 from the drain port 32.
In this state, gas flows into the suction chamber 6 through the opening 33 having the mesh 29 penetrated and the pores 17.
The inflowing gas is discharged from the inside of the suction chamber 6 by the exhaust device 36.

  On the other hand, the discharge liquid sucked into the suction chamber 6 falls to the bottom surface 31 of the suction chamber 6 and flows along the inclined bottom surface 31 to move downward from the top. At this time, since the opening / closing device 7 is closed, the liquid reservoir 34 is formed by the suctioned discharge liquid that is not discharged from the exhaust port 32 but is collected at the inclined lower end portion of the bottom surface 31.

  After the opening 33 is formed at a desired position of the processing object 4, the exhaust of the suction chamber 6 is stopped. The opening / closing device 7 can be opened when the inside of the suction chamber 6 becomes the same pressure as the outside of the suction chamber 6, and when the opening / closing device 7 is opened, it is located in the liquid reservoir 34 and contains dissolved curable resin. The discharged liquid moves downward in the drainage pipe 35 by gravity and is discharged to the outside of the suction chamber 6.

Next, in order to manufacture the original plate, the net-containing resin layer 20 in which the openings 33 are formed is cured.
In this example, the curable resin used is a resin that cures in response to light of a predetermined wavelength, and the processing object 4 in which the opening 33 is formed is moved from above the arrangement member 2 into the exposure apparatus to be exposed. When the curable resin remaining by the apparatus is irradiated with light and cured, an original having the pattern openings 33 stored in the storage device 66 is obtained.

  The amount of the discharged liquid needs to be adjusted in advance in consideration of the printing pattern as an appropriate amount necessary and sufficient for dissolving and removing the curable resin 30 of the net-containing resin layer 20. If the amount of the discharged liquid is excessive, the curable resin 30 of the net-containing resin layer 20 may be dissolved and removed more than necessary to reduce the definition of the print pattern.

  Conversely, if the amount of discharged liquid is insufficient, there is a possibility that the time until the curable resin 30 is removed becomes longer or the region becomes narrower. The range of the discharge liquid amount to be controlled may be 1 pliter to 50 pliter per drop.

  The photo-reactive curable resin material may be a general photo-curable resist or the like for screen printing, etc. Also, the discharge liquid for dissolving and removing the photosensitive resin can be discharged from the print head with a viscosity and surface. Any liquid having the property of tension may be used. The material and thickness of the photosensitive resin layer, the kind of the discharge liquid, the material and structure of the mesh can be freely set as long as the printing original plate can be manufactured.

The photosensitive curable resin includes a photosensitive resin such as a water-soluble polymer or a solvent-soluble polymer that can be photopolymerized or photocrosslinked as a main component.
Specific examples include monomers, prepolymers and polymers having acryloyl, methacryloyl, acrylamide, maleic diester, allyl, vinyl ether, vinyl thioether, vinylamino, glycidyl, and acetylenically unsaturated groups. A solution containing an appropriate photopolymerization initiator, photosensitizer, photocrosslinking agent, or the like can be applied to the network 19.

In the present invention, not only a photocurable resin but also a curable resin such as a thermosetting resin or a resin curable by an electron beam is included.
The discharge liquid is a water-soluble organic solvent that can dissolve the resin main component.

In this example, the material of the mesh 28 is stainless steel, the mesh 28 is about 250 pieces / inch, and the size of the opening of the mesh 29 is about 100 μm square.
The net-containing resin layer 20 formed on the net 28 has a thickness of about 25 μm to 50 μm and is applied to one side of the net 28.

  In the above embodiment, the ejection head 53 and the arrangement member 2 are configured to be movable with respect to the pedestal 51. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the movement direction of the arrangement member 2 is longer in the vertical direction. When the ejection device 50 ′ is configured using the ejection head 53 ′ in which the ejection holes 58 are arranged in a range longer than the length of the processing target 4 in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the arrangement member 2, the ejection head 53 ′ is configured. By moving the arrangement member 2 with the stationary, the discharge liquid can be discharged to a desired position of the processing object 4 on the arrangement member 2.

On the other hand, on the arrangement member 2 in which the ejection head 53 ′ having such a length is stationary with respect to the pedestal 51, the ejection head 53 ′ is placed in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the long side direction of the ejection head 53 ′. It is also possible to move the pedestal 51 and discharge the discharge liquid to a desired position of the processing object 4 on the arrangement member 2.
In short, the moving device 10 of the present invention includes any device that relatively moves the stage 1 and the ejection heads 53 and 53 ′.

2 ... Arrangement member 3 ... Mesh screen 4 ... Process object 6 ... Suction chamber 10 ... Moving device 17 ... Fine pore 20 ... Mesh-containing resin layer 24 ... Arrangement surface 50, 50 '... Discharge Apparatus 53, 53 '…… Discharge head

Claims (8)

A placement member on which the processing object is placed on the placement surface;
A discharge head provided with discharge holes for discharging a discharge liquid;
A moving device that relatively moves the arrangement member and the ejection head;
A control device that discharges the discharge liquid from the discharge hole toward a desired position on a landing surface that is a surface of a processing object disposed on the placement member;
A discharge device comprising:
A suction chamber is provided on the back surface of the placement member, and the back surface of the placement member is exposed in the suction chamber.
The arrangement member is formed with a plurality of pores connecting the arrangement surface side space and the back surface side space of the arrangement member,
An ejection device configured to suck liquid into the suction chamber when the pressure in the suction chamber is lower than the pressure on the placement surface.   The ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection head is provided with a plurality of ejection holes.   3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is provided with a storage device, and the discharge liquid is discharged from the discharge hole toward a discharge position stored in the storage device. 2. A discharge device according to item 1.   The discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suction chamber is disposed below the arrangement member, and a bottom surface is provided with an inclination. A drain outlet for discharging liquid at a position closer to the lower end than the upper end of the slope;
The discharge device according to claim 4, further comprising an opening / closing device that allows the drainage port to conduct or close.   The discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the arrangement member is formed of a porous member. A method for producing an original plate, wherein the discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is used to close a mesh at a desired position in the mesh to form a screen printing original plate.
A resin is applied to the mesh, the mesh of the mesh is closed with the resin to form a film-like mesh-containing resin layer containing the mesh and the resin, and the processing object having the mesh-containing resin layer is Placed on the placement member,
While operating the exhaust device, the pressure of the suction chamber is made smaller than the pressure of the atmosphere in which the landing surface of the object to be processed is exposed, and the solution for dissolving the resin is discharged from the discharge hole. As described above, the resin that has been discharged and landed toward a desired position on the landing surface is dissolved,
Containing the lysate of the resin, the solution located on the arrangement surface is sucked by the pores and moved into the suction chamber;
A method for producing an original plate, wherein the original plate is obtained by curing the resin contained in the net-containing resin layer in which the nets at desired positions are opened. For the resin, a photocurable resin is used,
The method for producing an original plate according to claim 7, wherein the net-containing resin layer having the mesh at a desired position is irradiated with light having a wavelength for curing the resin to cure the resin contained in the net-containing resin layer. .

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