JP2001015380A - Manufacture of laminated ceramic electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a separation failure from occurring in a ceramic green sheet by a method wherein a suction force obtained through a center air opening is set weaker than a suction force obtained through a peripheral air opening, and the center of a carrier film is made to be easily deformed to bulge out toward a suction head. SOLUTION: Air openings 11 and 12 are distributed on the table surface 7 of a cut table 2. In a separating process, a suction force obtained through a center air opening 11 is set weaker than a suction force obtained through a peripheral air opening 12. As a result, with the ascent of the suction head 4, the center of a carrier film 16 is apt to be deformed to bulge out toward the suction head 4 as shown by a broken line. A ceramic green sheet 8 is smoothly and linearly separated from the carrier film 16 starting from its peripheral part to center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, and more particularly to an improvement in a method of handling a plurality of ceramic green sheets, which is performed for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a mother ceramic green sheet on which an internal conductor is printed is prepared in a state backed by a carrier film, and the mother ceramic green sheet is formed from the mother ceramic green sheet. A ceramic green sheet having a predetermined size is cut out, the ceramic green sheet having the predetermined size is peeled off from the carrier film, and the ceramic green sheets peeled off from the carrier film are stacked.

As an apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component suitable for handling such ceramic green sheets, a manufacturing apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. 3 has been devised.

The manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a cutting table 2, a cutting blade 3, a suction head 4, and a stacking table 5. With such a manufacturing apparatus 1, a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor is manufactured as follows.

Carrier film (not shown in FIG. 3)
The mother ceramic green sheet 6 backed by the sheet is conveyed intermittently along the table surface 7 of the cut table 2, and is positioned on the cut table 2 after the conveyance. More specifically, although not shown, a plurality of air ports are distributed on the table surface 7 of the cut table 2, and by applying a negative pressure to these air ports, the carrier film is sucked toward the table surface 7. The mother ceramic green sheet 6 is positioned accordingly.

Although not shown, internal conductors such as internal electrodes are printed on the surface of the mother ceramic green sheet 6 at a plurality of locations.

Next, the cutting blade 3 is lowered together with the suction head 4 to cut out a ceramic green sheet 8 having a predetermined size from the mother ceramic green sheet 6 on the cutting table 2.

When the suction head 4 is lowered together with the cutting blade 3, the suction surface 9 comes into contact with the ceramic green sheet 8, and the ceramic green sheet 8 is brought into contact with the suction surface 9 based on the negative pressure applied to the suction surface 9. 9 is adsorbed. Although not shown, for example, a plurality of suction ports are distributed on the suction surface 9 to apply the above-described negative pressure to the suction surface 9.

Next, the suction head 4 moves up together with the cutting blade 3. As a result, the ceramic green sheet 8 is peeled off from the carrier film and the suction head 4 is removed.
The state is held.

Next, the suction head 4 holding the ceramic green sheets 8 is moved to above the stacking table 5 along the path 10, and then the suction heads 4 are stacked on the stacking table 5 so that the ceramic green sheets 8 are stacked. Is lowered. At this time, the ceramic green sheets 8 on the stacking table 5
It is somewhat pressed by the suction head 4.

Then, the step of positioning the mother ceramic green sheet 6 on the table surface 7 as described above,
The step of cutting the ceramic green sheet 8 by the cutting blade 3, the step of sucking the ceramic green sheet 8 by the suction head 4, the step of peeling the ceramic green sheet 8 from the carrier film, and the step of transporting the ceramic green sheet 8 along the path 10 are repeatedly performed. As a result, a laminate composed of the plurality of ceramic green sheets 8 is produced on the stacking table 5.

[0012] The laminate is further pressed and, if necessary, cut into dimensions giving individual laminated ceramic electronic components, and a plurality of raw chips are taken out. Then, the raw chip is fired, and then external electrodes and the like are formed, whereby a desired multilayer ceramic electronic component is obtained.

[0013]

With the recent demand for miniaturization of electronic equipment, miniaturization of monolithic ceramic electronic components such as monolithic ceramic capacitors used therein has been progressing. In particular, with respect to the multilayer ceramic capacitor, it is desired to increase the capacity while reducing the size. In a multilayer ceramic capacitor, as an effective means for promoting a reduction in size and an increase in capacity, there is a method of increasing the number of layers while reducing the thickness of a dielectric layer.

The dielectric layer can be made thinner by reducing the thickness of the mother ceramic green sheet 6 or the ceramic green sheet 8 handled in the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Generally, the thinner the ceramic green sheet becomes, the more difficult it becomes to handle it. However, the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3 has a structure suitable for handling the thin ceramic green sheet 8 even when it becomes thin. It is evaluated in terms of having.

However, if the ceramic green sheet 8 is extremely thin, for example, a thickness of 10 μm or less, undesired deformation or breakage may occur in the ceramic green sheet 8 handled by the manufacturing apparatus 1. .

More specifically, the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4
Are formed by performing drilling, laser processing, or the like on a metal plate that provides the suction surface 9, and is surrounded by edges located on the suction surface 9 side of each of the suction holes. In some cases, the ceramic green sheet 8 may be deformed in the bent portion, or the ceramic green sheet 8 may be damaged in a portion in contact with the edge.

Undesirable deformation or breakage of the ceramic green sheet 8 as described above can be suppressed to some extent by weakening the negative pressure applied to the suction surface 9 through the suction port.

However, as described above, if the negative pressure applied to the attraction surface 9 is reduced, the ceramic green sheet 8 cannot be attracted onto the attraction surface 9 with a sufficient holding force, and the ceramic green sheet 8 cannot be transferred to the carrier. When peeling off from the film, peeling failures such as damage to the peeling and wrinkling of the peeled ceramic green sheet 8 tend to occur.

When the manufacturing apparatus 1 is operated for a long time,
Dirt due to organic components such as a binder and an additive contained in the ceramic green sheet 8 is accumulated on the adsorption surface 9, and the dirt is transferred to the ceramic green sheet 8 side, thereby contaminating the surface of the ceramic green sheet 8. is there.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component that can solve the above-described problems.

[0021]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a step of preparing a mother ceramic green sheet lined with a carrier film, and a step of providing a plurality of air ports on a table surface of a cut table via a carrier film. In addition to arranging the mother ceramic green sheet and positioning the mother ceramic green sheet, a negative pressure is applied to the air port to position the carrier film. A step of cutting out a ceramic green sheet having a predetermined size from the mother ceramic green sheet by bringing the cutting blades close to each other, and cutting out a suction head to which a negative pressure is applied to the suction surface while the carrier film is also positioned. Re A step of adsorbing the ceramic green sheet on the adsorption surface by bringing the ceramic green sheet close to the ceramic green sheet, and then, by keeping the carrier film positioned, separating the adsorption head from the cut table, thereby cutting out the ceramic green sheet cut out. In order to make the state held by the suction head, a step of peeling off from the carrier film, and the peeled ceramic green sheet is held on the suction table on a stacking table located at a different place from the cut table. Conveying step and positioning step, cutting step, suction step, peeling step, as described above,
And a step of obtaining a laminate composed of a plurality of ceramic green sheets by repeatedly performing the transporting step, and a method of manufacturing a laminated ceramic electronic component.

In carrying out such a method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, in the peeling step, of the plurality of air ports distributed on the table surface of the cut table, The suction force given through the central air port distributed in the central part is weaker than the suction force given through the peripheral air port distributed in the peripheral part, whereby the central part of the carrier film swells toward the suction head. It is characterized by being easily deformed.

As described above, in order to make the suction force applied through the central air port weaker than the suction force applied through the peripheral air port, it is preferable to apply a negative pressure to the peripheral air port while applying a negative pressure to the central air port. Is provided with a positive pressure.

In the present invention, preferably, the suction surface of the suction head is formed of a porous plate that allows air to flow.

In the present invention, preferably, the suction surface of the suction head is coated with a material having low adhesiveness.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to one embodiment of the present invention described below is basically performed using the manufacturing apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG. It is. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are for describing a characteristic configuration provided in this embodiment.
In these drawings, the manufacturing apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG.
Are shown. Therefore, in FIGS. 1 and 2, elements corresponding to the elements shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a cut table 2, a cutting blade 3, and a suction head 4 provided in the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of the table surface 7 of the cut table 2.

On the table surface 7 of the cut table 2, a plurality of air ports 11 and 12 are distributed. These air ports 11 and 12 are classified into a central air port 11 distributed at the center of the table surface 7 and a peripheral air port 12 distributed at the peripheral edge. The air path 13 communicating with the central air port 11 and the air path 14 communicating with the peripheral air port are configured so that air pressure can be controlled independently of each other.

On the other hand, the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4 is constituted by a porous plate 15 which allows air to flow. The porous plate 15 may be made of, for example, a resin material or a material obtained by sintering a metal powder.

The adsorption surface 9 is coated with a low-adhesion material such as a fluorine resin.

FIG. 1 shows a carrier film 16 lining the mother ceramic green sheet 6.

Using the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3 provided with the cut table 2 and the suction head 4 having the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as described above, a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor is used. Is manufactured as follows.

The mother ceramic green sheet 6 lined with the carrier film 16 is intermittently conveyed, for example, along the table surface 7 of the cut table 2. After the conveyance, the negative pressures 17 and 18 are applied to the air ports 11 and 12. Is applied, the carrier film 16 is sucked toward the table surface 7 and positioned on the table surface 7, and the mother ceramic green sheet 6 is positioned accordingly.

Although not shown, internal conductors such as internal electrodes are usually printed on the surface of the mother ceramic green sheet 6 at a plurality of locations in advance.

In the above-mentioned positioning step, negative pressures 17 and 18 having the same pressure may be applied to both the central air port 11 and the peripheral air port 12 of the cut table 2. , Or
The negative pressure 18 may be applied only to the peripheral air port 12.

Next, as described above, the carrier film 1
6, the cutting blade 3 is moved to the suction head 4
As a result, the ceramic green sheet 8 having a predetermined size is cut out from the mother ceramic green sheet 6 on the cut table 2. In this case, the cutting blade 3 is connected to the central air port 1 of the cutting table 2.
1 and the inside of the peripheral air port 12.
In order to enable such cutting, at least at this cutting stage, the cutting edge of the cutting blade 3 is in a state of protruding from the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4. Also, the degree of protrusion is selected so as to protrude slightly longer than the thickness of the mother ceramic green sheet 6, so that the cutting blade 3 can cause the mother ceramic green sheet 6 to protrude.
Is completely cut, but the carrier film 16 is not cut completely.

As described above, when the suction head 4 moves down together with the cutting blade 3, the suction surface 9 comes into contact with the ceramic green sheet 8. At this time, the porous plate 1
By applying a negative pressure to the suction surface 9 through 5,
Ceramic green sheet 8 cut out as described above
Is adsorbed on the adsorption surface 9.

Next, the suction head 4 is raised together with the cutting blade 3 while maintaining the positioning state with respect to the carrier film 16. As a result, the cut ceramic green sheet 8 is peeled off from the carrier film 16 and is held by the suction head 4. FIG. 1 illustrates this stage.

In the peeling step described above, the central air port 1
1 is made weaker than the suction provided through the peripheral air port 12. As a result, as the suction head 4 rises, the carrier film 16
1 tends to swell toward the suction head 4 as shown by the broken line in FIG.
Therefore, the ceramic green sheet 8 can be smoothly separated from the carrier film 16 in a line-separated state from the periphery to the center. Therefore, even if the force of sucking the ceramic green sheet 8 by the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4 is relatively weak, the ceramic green sheet 8 can be reliably and easily peeled from the carrier film 16.

As described above, in the peeling step, the suction force applied through the central air port 11 is applied to the peripheral air port 1.
2, the pressure applied to the air path 13 and the pressure applied to the air path 14 are controlled independently of each other. In this case, the central air port 11 and the peripheral air port are controlled. 12 while applying negative pressures 17 and 18 respectively to the central air port 11.
Although only the negative pressure 17 on the side may be reduced to, for example, the atmospheric pressure or its vicinity, preferably, the positive pressure 19 is applied to the central air port 11 side.

As in the latter case, the positive pressure 1 is applied to the central air port 11 side.
When 9 is exerted, air is blown out from the central air port 11, and the center portion of the carrier film 16 can be positively deformed to swell toward the suction head 4. Such a state of line separation can be more reliably created, and as a result, the separation of the ceramic green sheet 8 from the carrier film 16 can be more easily achieved even if the suction force by the suction surface 9 is relatively weak. become.

When the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4 is constituted by the porous plate 15 as in this embodiment, the suction ports are distributed on the suction surface 9 by drilling or the like, for example. In addition, the suction effect due to the negative pressure can be satisfactorily dispersed over the entire suction surface 9. Therefore, the concentration of the suction action at a specific location is eliminated, and damage to the ceramic green sheet 8 can be made more difficult to occur.

When the suction surface 9 is formed by the porous plate 15, the suction head 4 is formed as compared with the case where suction holes are distributed on the suction surface 9 by, for example, drilling.
However, as described above,
According to this embodiment, even if the attraction force of the attraction head 4 is relatively weak, the step of peeling the ceramic green sheet 8 can be performed more reliably and more easily, so that damage to the ceramic green sheet 8 can be made more difficult to occur. While taking advantage of this advantage, a configuration in which the suction surface 9 is provided by the porous plate 15 can be advantageously employed.

The suction head 4 holding the ceramic green sheet 8 peeled off from the carrier film 16 as described above is moved to above the stacking table 5 along the path 10 as shown in FIG. The suction head 4 is lowered so that the ceramic green sheets 8 are stacked on the stacking table 5. At this time, the ceramic green sheets 8 on the stacking table 5 are somewhat pressed by the suction head 4.

After the above-described pressing, the negative pressure applied to the suction surface 9 of the suction head 4 is released, and the suction head 4 is moved back along the path 10 while leaving the ceramic green sheet 8. At this time, in this embodiment, since the suction surface 9 is coated with a material having low adhesiveness,
Adhesion of a stain due to a binder, an additive, or the like to the suction surface 9 is advantageously prevented.

The printing of the internal conductors such as the internal electrodes described above may be performed on the stacked ceramic green sheets 8.

The step of positioning the mother ceramic green sheet 6, the step of cutting out the ceramic green sheet 8 from the mother ceramic green sheet 6, the step of adsorbing the ceramic green sheet 8 by the adsorption head 4, and the step of adhering the ceramic green from the carrier film 16 The step of peeling the sheets 8 and the step of transporting the ceramic green sheets 8 to the stacking table 5 are repeatedly performed as many times as necessary, whereby a laminate including a predetermined number of the ceramic green sheets 8 is produced on the stacking table 5. You.

The laminate is further pressed, and if necessary, cut into dimensions to give individual laminated ceramic electronic components, and a plurality of raw chips are taken out. Then, these green chips are fired, and then external electrodes and the like are formed, whereby a desired multilayer ceramic electronic component is obtained.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the suction film is cut out from the mother ceramic green sheet by separating the suction head from the cut table with the carrier film positioned on the table surface of the cut table. In the step of peeling the ceramic green sheet having a predetermined size from the carrier film,
Among the plurality of air ports distributed on the table surface of the cut table, the suction force given through the central air port distributed in the central part is made weaker than the suction force given through the peripheral air ports distributed in the peripheral part, and This makes it easy for the central portion of the carrier film to swell toward the suction head, so that the peeling easily progresses from the peripheral edge of the ceramic green sheet toward the central portion in the state of line peeling. Become. Therefore, even if the suction force on the suction surface of the suction head is relatively weak, the ceramic green sheet can be reliably and easily peeled from the carrier film.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the negative pressure applied to the suction surface of the suction head while hardly causing the peeling failure of the ceramic green sheet, thereby making it difficult for the ceramic green sheet to be damaged due to strong suction to the suction surface. be able to.

From the above, the present invention can be advantageously applied particularly when handling a thin ceramic green sheet. According to the method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to the present invention, the multilayer ceramic electronic component can be made thin while increasing the number of layers, and the multilayer ceramic electronic component having high yield, small size, and excellent performance can be obtained. Parts can be manufactured.
In particular, when the present invention is applied to the production of a multilayer ceramic capacitor, it is possible to advantageously realize a large capacity while being small.

In the peeling step which is a feature of the present invention,
In order to make the suction force given through the central air port weaker than the suction force given through the peripheral air port, it is possible to apply a positive pressure to the central air port while applying a negative pressure to the peripheral air port. Can positively generate a deformation in a state of bulging toward the suction head, so that the above-described state of line separation can be reliably realized, and therefore, separation can be more easily advanced. Become.

In the present invention, if the suction surface of the suction head is formed of a porous plate allowing air to flow, the suction effect due to the negative pressure can be satisfactorily dispersed over the entire suction surface. Therefore, the concentration of the suction action at a specific location is eliminated, and damage to the ceramic green sheet 8 can be made more difficult to occur. Further, when the suction surface is formed of a porous plate, the suction force of the suction head tends to be weaker than when suction holes are distributed on the suction surface by drilling or the like, for example, as described above. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the ceramic green sheet peeling step can be performed more reliably and more easily even if the suction force by the suction head is relatively weak, so that the ceramic green sheet is less likely to be damaged. While taking advantage of the above, a configuration in which the suction surface is provided by the porous plate can be advantageously employed.

Further, in the present invention, if the suction surface of the suction head is coated with a low-adhesive material, dirt due to binders and additives contained in the ceramic green sheet may accumulate on the suction surface. As a result, the dirt is transferred to the ceramic green sheet side and contaminates the surface of the ceramic green sheet. As a result, it is possible to advantageously prevent the obtained multilayer ceramic electronic component from being defective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view partially showing a cut table 2 and a suction head 4 which are advantageously used in a method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a table surface 7 of the cut table 2 shown in FIG.
It is a top view which shows the principal part of.

FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing an apparatus 1 for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component that is of interest to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 2 Cut table 3 Cutting blade 4 Suction head 5 Stacking table 6 Mother ceramic green sheet 7 Table surface 8 Ceramic green sheet 9 Suction surface 11 Central air port 12 Peripheral air port 15 Porous plate 16 Carrier film 17, 18 Negative pressure 19 positive pressure

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takao Hosokawa 2-26-10 Tenjin, Nagaokakyo-shi, Kyoto Inside Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasunobu Yoneda 2-26-10 Tenjin, Nagaokakyo-shi Kyoto F-term in Murata Manufacturing (reference) 5E001 AB03 AH00 AH06 AJ02 5E082 AB03 BC38 FG06 FG26 LL01 LL02 MM11 MM12 MM13 MM21 MM23

Claims (4)

[Claims] A step of preparing a mother ceramic green sheet lined with a carrier film; and a step of providing the mother ceramic green sheet on a table surface of a cut table having a plurality of air ports distributed through the carrier film. A step of positioning the carrier film by applying a negative pressure to the air port to position the mother ceramic green sheet, and positioning the carrier film, with the carrier film positioned, with respect to the cut table. A step of cutting out a ceramic green sheet having a predetermined size from the mother ceramic green sheet by bringing a cutting blade close to the cutting step, and cutting a suction head to which a negative pressure is applied to a suction surface thereof while the carrier film is positioned. Out By approaching the ceramic green sheet,
A step of adsorbing the ceramic green sheet on the adsorbing surface, and then, with the carrier film positioned, separating the adsorbing head from the cut table to adsorb the cut ceramic green sheet. A step of separating the ceramic green sheet from the carrier film so as to be held by a head; and a step of holding the separated ceramic green sheet on a stacking table located at a different location from the cut table while being held by the suction head. Transporting to the, the positioning step, the cutting out step, the suction step,
A step of obtaining a laminate composed of a plurality of the ceramic green sheets by repeatedly performing the peeling step and the transporting step, comprising: Among the plurality of air ports distributed on the table surface of the table, the suction force applied through the central air port distributed in the central portion is weaker than the suction force applied through the peripheral air ports distributed in the peripheral portion, Thus, a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, wherein a center portion of the carrier film is easily deformed so as to bulge toward the suction head. 2. The method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to claim 1, wherein in the peeling step, a positive pressure is applied to the central air port while a negative pressure is applied to the peripheral air port. 3. The suction surface of the suction head is formed of a porous plate that allows air to flow.
Or the manufacturing method of the multilayer ceramic electronic component of 2. 4. The method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the suction surface of the suction head is coated with a low-adhesion material.