Patent Application
20090317554
1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for spray coating materials on a substrate, e.g., electronic substrates, and more particularly to an apparatus and related methods for precisely spray coating such materials on substrates.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Spray coating apparatus are well known in the art. Such apparatus may be configured to spray a variety of solvent-based, water-based and solid coatings onto substrates. When dispensing materials on electronic substrates, such as printed circuit (or wiring) boards, accuracy and functionality are important considerations. Typical coating apparatus include a spray coating head that is mounted on a gantry capable of providing three axes of movement, i.e., x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. The movement of the spray coating head on the gantry may be controlled by an operating system provided in the apparatus. Fourth and fifth axes of movement may be added to existing systems; however, such additional axes of movement are not automated and must be manually or pneumatically manipulated to desired positions.
One aspect of the disclosure is directed to a spray coating apparatus for spraying material on a substrate. In one embodiment, the spray coating apparatus comprises a frame and a gantry coupled to the frame. The gantry may be configured to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. A device is coupled to the gantry. The device may be configured to rotate about the z-axis and pivot about a point on the z-axis. A spray head is coupled to the device. A controller is coupled to the gantry and the spray head. The controller may be configured to control the automated movement of the gantry to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement and rotational and pivoting movement of the spray head.
Embodiments of the spray coating apparatus may further include a device having a housing, a motor coupled to the housing, and a drive shaft assembly coupled to the motor. The drive shaft assembly may be coupled to the spray head. The drive shaft assembly may include a drive shaft coupled to the motor and a bracket rotatably coupled to the housing. The bracket may be coupled to the spray head. In a certain embodiment, the substrate is an electronic circuit board. In another embodiment, the device may include a housing, a first motor coupled to the housing, and a first drive shaft assembly coupled to the first motor to provide rotational and linear motion, the first drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head to provide rotation about the z-axis and tilt about an intersecting axis. In yet another embodiment, the device may include a housing, a second motor coupled to the housing, and a second drive shaft assembly coupled to the second motor, the second drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head to provide pivoting about the point on the z-axis.
Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a spray coating apparatus for spraying material on a substrate, the spray coating apparatus comprising a frame and a gantry coupled to the frame. In one embodiment, the gantry may be configured to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. A device is coupled to the gantry, with the device being configured to rotate about the z-axis. A spray head is coupled to the device. A controller is coupled to the gantry and the spray head. In a certain embodiment, the controller may be configured to control the automated movement of the gantry to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement and rotational movement of the spray head.
Embodiments of the spray coating apparatus may further include a device having a housing, a motor coupled to the housing, and a drive shaft assembly coupled to the motor, the drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head. The drive shaft assembly may include a drive shaft coupled to the motor and a bracket rotatably coupled to the housing. The bracket may be coupled to the spray head. The substrate may be an electronic circuit board.
Yet another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a spray coating apparatus for spraying material on a substrate. In a particular embodiment, the spray coating apparatus may comprise a frame and a gantry coupled to the frame. The gantry may be configured to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. A device is coupled to the gantry, with the device being configured to pivot about a point on the z-axis. A spray head is coupled to the device. A controller is coupled to the gantry and the spray head. The controller may be configured to control the automated movement of the gantry to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement and pivoting movement of the spray head.
Embodiments of the spray coating apparatus may further include a device having a housing, a motor coupled to the housing, and a drive shaft assembly coupled to the motor, the drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head. The drive shaft assembly may include a drive shaft coupled to the motor and a bracket pivotably coupled to the housing. The bracket may be coupled to the spray head. The substrate may be an electronic circuit board.
A further aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method for spraying material on a substrate. Embodiments of the method may comprise: positioning a spray head proximate to a substrate; and controlling the automated movement of the spray head to spray material on the substrate by moving the spray head in x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions and by rotating the spray head about the z-axis.
Embodiments of the method may further include controlling the automated movement of the spray head to spray material on the substrate by pivoting the spray head about a point on the z-axis.
Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to an apparatus for applying material on a substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a frame and a gantry coupled to the frame. The gantry may be configured to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. A device is coupled to the gantry. The device may be configured to rotate about the z-axis and pivot about a point on the z-axis. An applicator is coupled to the device. A controller is coupled to the gantry and the applicator. The controller may be configured to control the automated movement of the gantry to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement and rotational and pivoting movement of the applicator.
Embodiments of the apparatus may further include a device having a housing, a motor coupled to the housing, and a drive shaft assembly coupled to the motor. The drive shaft assembly may be coupled to the applicator. The drive shaft assembly may include a drive shaft coupled to the motor and a bracket rotatably coupled to the housing. The bracket may be coupled to the applicator. In a certain embodiment, the substrate is an electronic circuit board. In another embodiment, the device may include a housing, a first motor coupled to the housing, and a first drive shaft assembly coupled to the first motor to provide rotational and linear motion, the first drive shaft assembly being coupled to the applicator to provide rotation about the z-axis and tilt about an intersecting axis. In yet another embodiment, the device may include a housing, a second motor coupled to the housing, and a second drive shaft assembly coupled to the second motor, the second drive shaft assembly being coupled to the applicator to provide pivoting about the point on the z-axis.
A further aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method for applying material on a substrate. Embodiments of the method may comprise: positioning an applicator proximate to a substrate; and controlling the automated movement of the applicator to apply material on the substrate by moving the applicator in x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions and by rotating the applicator about the z-axis.
Embodiments of the method may further include controlling the automated movement of the applicator to apply material on the substrate by pivoting the applicator about a point on the z-axis.
The present disclosure will be more fully understood after a review of the following figures, detailed description and claims.
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. Reference is made to the following drawing figures, which are incorporated herein by reference and in which:
For the purposes of illustration only, and not to limit the generality, the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. This disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The apparatus of embodiments disclosed herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing” “involving,” and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
For purposes of illustration, embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a spray coating apparatus used to spray coat material on an object. In certain embodiments, the material includes room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber, glues, sealants and other liquid coatings. However, other materials, including polymeric materials, may be employed with the apparatus disclosed herein. In other examples, solvent-based, water-based and solid materials may be employed. In other embodiments, objects may include, but are not limited to, electronic substrates, such as semiconductor wafers and printed circuit boards, medical devices, such as stents, and any other object or component requiring thin coatings of material. For example, and without limitation, objects used in the electronics, military, medical and automotive industries may be coated using the apparatus and methods disclosed herein. One skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to spray coating apparatus capable of spraying protective materials onto electronic substrates, but rather, may be used in any application intended to coat objects.
In addition, although a particular spray coating apparatus platform is disclosed herein, the spray coating head of embodiments disclosed herein may be used with other types of platforms designed to manipulate spray coat heads. In one embodiment, the platform may include spray coating platforms sold by Specialty Coating Systems, Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind. under the trade name Precisioncoat.
In a certain embodiment, a spray coating apparatus includes a frame and a gantry coupled to the frame. As discussed above, the gantry is configured to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement. In a particular embodiment, a device is coupled to the gantry. The device may be configured to rotate about the z-axis and pivot about a point on the z-axis. The device is further configured to mount a spray head thereon. The spray head may be manipulated by a controller coupled to the gantry and the spray head. Specifically, the controller may be configured to control the automated movement of the gantry to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement and automated movement of the spray head to provide rotational and pivoting movement.
In one embodiment, the device includes a housing, a motor coupled to the housing, and a drive shaft assembly coupled to the motor, with the drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head. The drive shaft assembly may include a flexible drive shaft coupled to the motor and a bracket rotatably coupled to the housing. In another embodiment, the device includes a housing, a first motor coupled to the housing, and a first drive shaft assembly coupled to the first motor, with the first drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head to provide rotation about the z-axis. The device further includes a housing, a second motor coupled to the housing, and a second drive shaft assembly coupled to the housing and the second motor, with the second drive shaft assembly being coupled to the spray head to provide pivoting about the point on the z-axis.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
In one embodiment, the controller 18 may be configured to use a personal computer having a suitable operating system (e.g., Windows XP® offered by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.) with application specific software to control the operation of the spray coating apparatus 10. In a certain embodiment, an operator of the spray coating apparatus 10 may operate the apparatus either manually by manipulating a keyboard and a mouse provided with the monitor 20 or automatically by preprogramming the controller 18 by means of the keyboard and mouse through the monitor.
Turning now to
The spray head 24, as mentioned above, is capable of achieving z-axis movement by means of a Z-drive mechanism, which is designated at 36 in
As discussed above, the platform used to provide x-axis, y-axis and z-axis movement of the spray head 24 may include the Precisioncoat and/or Precisioncoat EL offered by Specialty Coating Systems, Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind. However, as will be apparent below, the device of embodiments described herein may be employed on any type of spray coating apparatus.
Referring to
As shown best in
Specifically, the bearing assembly 48 includes a first body 50 fixedly mounted on or otherwise secured to the L-shaped bracket 42. A second body 52 is rotatably connected to the first body 50 to provide the desired rotational movement. The arrangement is such that the motor 44, under the control of the controller 18, drives the rotational movement of the second body 52 with respect to the first body 50. Bearings, each indicated at 54, are disposed between the first and second bodies 50, 52 to facilitate relevant movement between the two bodies. A sensor 64, coupled to the controller 18, is provided to determine the rotational position of body 52 with respect to body 50.
Still referring to
During operation, when spraying material on a substrate 26, the spray head 24 is positioned proximate to the substrate. The controller 18 controls the automated movement of the spray head 24 to spray material on the substrate by moving the spray head in x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions by means of the gantry assembly 22 and by rotating the spray head about axis A by means of the device 40. The controller 18 also controls the automated movement of the spray head 24 to spray material on the substrate 26 by pivoting the spray head about axis B, which is a point on the z-axis defined by the location of the first and second pivot brackets 58, 60.
The spray head 24 may be configured to spray particular materials. For example, the spray head may be configured with a particular type of nozzle suitable for spraying a conformal coating material. The provision of the device 40 enables the spray head to be optimally positioned, which is particularly beneficial for applications requiring precise spraying operations. In one embodiment, the spray head may be an assembly of separate components or provided by a suitable manufacturer, such as EFD, Inc. of East Providence, R.I. or Graco Inc. of North Canton, Ohio.
In certain embodiments, the bearing assembly 48, in addition to the first body 50, the second body 52 and the bearings 54, which are identified in
Turning now to
As shown, a T-shaped bracket 72 secures the device 70 to the carriage 34. The T-shaped bracket 72 is configured to mount a first motor 74, which drives the rotational motion of the spray head 24. In one embodiment, the first motor 74 may be supplied by Intelligent Motion Systems, Inc. of Marlborough, Conn. The first motor 74 is connected to a shaft assembly 76 by means of a belt 77. As shown, the shaft in shaft assembly 76 is coupled to a bearing body 78 to provide rotation about axis C. The arrangement is such that the first motor 74, under the control of the controller 18, drives the rotational movement of the bearing body 78 with respect to the T-shaped bracket 72. A sensor 80, coupled to the controller 18, is provided to determine the rotational position of the device 70.
Still referring to
During operation, when spraying material on a substrate 26, such as an electronic substrate, the spray head 24 is positioned proximate to the substrate. The controller 18 controls the automated movement of the spray head 24 to spray material on the substrate 26 by moving the spray head in x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions by means of the gantry assembly 22. The controller 18, by means of controlling the operation of the first motor 74, controls rotational movement about axis C. Similarly, the controller 18, by means of controlling the operation of the second motor 82, controls pivoting movement about axis D.
As with device 40, the spray head 24 mounted on device 70 may be configured to spray particular materials. In addition, although belt drives are shown to drive the rotational and pivoting movement of the device 70, it should be understood that other types of drive mechanisms may be employed. For example, gear drive mechanism may be used or the rotation may come directly off of the motor shaft or the shaft of an intermediate gear reducer mechanism.
In other embodiments, the spray head 24 may be replaced with a different applicator, such as a dispenser, for applying materials onto a substrate. For example, the applicator may include a dispenser for dispensing more viscous materials.
Thus, it should be observed that the devices disclosed herein are particularly suited for positioning a spray head in a desired position without having to manually manipulate the spray head. The controller may be programmed to move the gantry assembly and the device (either device 40 or device 70) to position the spray head. The automated movement of the spray head saves time as well as enables the operation to exactly position the spray head for optimal operation.
Having thus described at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, various alternations, modifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. The disclosure's limit is defined only in the following claims and equivalents thereto.
