JP2008095143A - Barrel for plating - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a barrel for plating which has simple structure and therefore enables the initial cost thereof to be reduced and can be easily maintained in a simple manner and which prevents the wear, the breakage or the defective or the like of an electrode, thereby enabling the running cost thereof to be reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The barrel for plating has a cylindrical main body part 2 with water permeability and edge walls 3 provided on both edge parts thereof. The main body part 2 has a non-conductive cylinder structural body 10A and a conductive cylinder structural body 10B having a conductive surface 20 exposed toward the circumferential surface as the main body part 2, is formed by connecting them to each other along a rotary axis and is provided with a power supply means 23 to supply current to the conductive surface 20 of the conductive cylinder structural body 10B from the outside of the main body part 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plating barrel that can be suitably used for electroplating relatively small objects.

When electroplating relatively small parts such as bolts, nuts and washers, or electrical parts, put the product to be plated into a square or cylindrical cage (this is called a barrel) A barrel plating method is adopted in which the entire barrel is immersed in a plating solution in a semi-sinked state, and the barrel is rotated about the cylinder axis.
In many cases, a curved rod-shaped electrode is inserted into the barrel through the inside of the barrel rotation shaft without interfering with the rotation of the barrel, and the object to be plated is in contact with the tip of this electrode. A cathode current is applied to the product to be plated (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, as a method for applying a cathode current to a product to be plated, a method of inserting a chip-shaped power supply member into the barrel is also known.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-192965 (FIG. 2)

If a structure using a curved rod-like electrode to apply a cathode current to the product to be plated is complicated, the initial cost of the plating equipment and barrel will increase, and the barrel and electrode will be maintained. Or there was also a problem that disassembly and assembly when replacing were troublesome.
In addition, since the electrode contacts the product to be plated frequently and collidingly with the rotation of the barrel, there is a problem that the electrode tends to be worn, broken or broken, and the frequency of maintenance and replacement of the electrode increases accordingly. . That is, there is a tendency for the running cost to increase. In addition, the electrode may interfere with the removal of the plated product from the barrel.

On the other hand, in the method of feeding the chip-shaped power supply member into the barrel, there is a need for a separate operation of selecting the plated product taken out from the barrel after plating and the power supply member, and there are problems in terms of time and cost. In addition, various problems such as having to take into account the burden of the feeding member to be input as the driving force for rotating the barrel are inherent.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by simplifying the structure, it is possible to reduce the initial cost, and also prevent wear, breakage, chipping, etc. of the electrode. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plating barrel that can be made unnecessary, reduce the running cost, and facilitate the removal of a plated product.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has taken the following measures.
That is, the barrel for plating according to the present invention has a main body portion formed in a cylindrical shape with both ends open by a water-permeable peripheral wall, and an end wall provided with both end portions of the main body portion closed. It is possible to store the product to be plated in the part and use it in a state where it is partially immersed in the plating solution while rotating around the rotation axis set along the cylinder axis of the main body part. It has a non-conductive cylinder structure, and a conductive cylinder structure with a conductive surface exposed toward the inner peripheral surface as the main body, and is formed by connecting them along the rotation axis, A power supply means is provided to enable energization to the conductive surface of the conductive cylinder structure from the outside of the main body.

As described above, the main body itself is provided with the conductive cylinder structure having the conductive surface exposed to the inner peripheral surface thereof, so that the cathode current can be applied to the product to be plated using the conductive cylinder structure. Unlike the prior art, there is no need to insert a curved rod-shaped electrode into the barrel or to insert a chip-shaped power supply member together with the product to be plated.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the complicated structure of the plating equipment and barrel and the high initial cost, which were problems in using curved rod-shaped electrodes, and eliminate the need for maintenance related to electrode wear, breakage, chipping, etc. And running costs can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to facilitate the removal of the plated product. In addition, the problem of time and cost due to the separate work (sorting work) after plating, which has been a problem when inserting the chip-like power supply member, is solved, and no problem of driving force occurs.

The non-conductive cylinder structure and the conductive cylinder structure are rod through holes in which at least one connecting rod parallel to the rotation axis of the main body is provided in the non-conductive cylinder structure and the conductive cylinder structure, respectively. In addition, the power feeding means keeps the connection between the hole inner surface and the conductive surface of the rod through hole provided in the conductive cylinder structure, and the connecting rod is connected to the connecting rod. It can be made of a conductive material, and by these, a structure capable of supplying power to the conductive surface can be obtained.
If it does in this way, the connection structure (assembly structure as a main-body part) of a nonelectroconductive cylinder structure and an electroconductive cylinder structure can be combined, and electric power feeding means, As a result, those structures can be simplified. Become. Moreover, it becomes a structure from which reliable electroconductivity is obtained as an electric power feeding means.

The conductive cylinder structure is preferably formed as a frame body in which the main body is perpendicular to the rotation axis and cut into a thin plate shape. By doing in this way, manufacture of an electroconductive cylinder structure becomes easy.
It is preferable to provide a structure in which two or more non-conductive cylinder constituents are provided and the conductive cylindrical constituents are interposed between the non-conductive cylindrical constituents connected to each other. If it does in this way, a nonelectroconductive cylinder structure can be utilized for insulation of an electroconductive cylinder structure in the longitudinal direction of a main-body part, and it can be said that it is a suitable structure.
The non-conductive cylinder structure is preferably formed by directly superimposing a plurality of frame bodies along the rotation axis such that the main body is perpendicular to the rotation axis and cut into a thin plate shape. By doing so, it becomes easy to manufacture the non-conductive cylinder structure. Such a non-conductive cylinder structure may be formed only of a non-conductive material (for example, a resin material).

  The conductive cylinder structure may be formed of a conductive material, and at least the outer surface as the main body may be coated with a nonconductive film. By doing in this way, manufacture of an electroconductive cylinder structure becomes easy.

  The plating barrel according to the present invention achieves a reduction in initial cost by simplifying the structure, eliminates the need for maintenance related to electrode wear, breakage, chipping, etc., and reduces the running cost. In addition, it is possible to easily take out the plated product.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a plating barrel 1 according to the present invention. The barrel 1 has a main body 2 and end walls 3 provided at both ends of the main body 2, and the main body 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape with both ends open. The main body 2 is coupled to the main body 2 in a state where both ends of the main body 2 are closed.
In the first embodiment, the main body 2 is a square cylinder having a regular hexagonal shape with a hollow cross section, and one of the surfaces (a surface that follows one side of the regular hexagon) is removed from the body W 2. For this purpose, a work inlet 5 is provided.

The workpiece W can be stored or taken out through a cavity formed in the main body 2 (a range surrounded by the end walls 3) through the work passage 5. During the plating process, a resin lid (not shown) is attached to the work opening 5 so that the product to be plated W stored in the main body 2 is not dropped.
The end wall 3 is formed in a disk shape. As is apparent from FIG. 4, in the rectangular tube shape formed by the main body portion 2, the cylinder axis position Q and the disc-shaped center position P formed by the end wall 3 are not coincident with each other. The workpiece opening 5 is eccentric in a direction away from the outer peripheral contour of the end wall 3. Thereby, the space which attaches a lid | cover to the workpiece | work opening 5 of the main-body part 2 is ensured.

A rotation shaft (not shown) is connected to the end wall 3 toward both outer sides, and this rotation shaft is positioned at the center position P of the end wall 3. Therefore, the end wall 3 rotates concentrically while the barrel 1 rotates, whereas the main body 2 rotates eccentrically. Thereby, the to-be-plated product W accommodated in the main body 2 has a higher agitation and leads to an increase in the chance that the to-be-plated product W comes into contact with the plating solution. There will be no good quality plated products.
In addition, the main-body part 2 and the end wall 3 do not necessarily need to be eccentric, and may couple | bond together as coaxial arrangement | positioning.

The main body 2 has a non-conductive cylinder structure 10A and a conductive cylinder structure 10B, which are connected along the rotation axis (the center position P of the end wall 3).
In the first embodiment, three non-conductive cylinder constituents 10A are provided, each having a different length but formed in a short cylindrical shape, whereas two conductive cylindrical constituents 10B are provided, In either case, the main body 2 is formed as a frame that is cut into a thin plate shape perpendicular to the rotation axis. Note that the peripheral wall of the non-conductive cylindrical structure 10A has a porous structure, a net structure, a slit structure, or the like to ensure water permeability.

The conductive cylinder structure 10B is disposed between the couplings of the nonconductive cylinder structure 10A, and the state in which the nonconductive cylinder structure 10A is positioned at both longitudinal positions of the main body 2 is as follows. Thus, the connection with the end wall 3 is performed through the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A.
As shown in FIG. 5, the conductive cylinder structure 10 </ b> B has the rotation of the main body 2 at 11 places in total, that is, 6 places corresponding to the apex of the regular hexagon and 5 places corresponding to the center of each side. Rod passage holes 12b penetrating in the axial direction are provided, and a total of eleven rod passage holes 12a are similarly provided in the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A (see FIG. 2).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rod through holes 12a and 12b that are matched at the corresponding positions when all the non-conductive cylinder constituent bodies 10A and the conductive cylinder constituent bodies 10B are connected. The connecting rod 13 is pierced like a skewer in a state parallel to the rotation axis. The connecting rod 13 has a length substantially corresponding to the axial length of the main body 2, and female screw holes (not shown) are provided at both ends at a predetermined depth along the axis.
Further, the end wall 3 is provided with a counterbore bolt through-hole 14 in the same arrangement as the rod through-hole 12a of the non-conductive cylinder constituting body 10A and the rod through-hole 12b of the conductive cylinder constituting body 10B. Then, with the end walls 3 attached to both sides of the main body 2, bolts 15 are inserted into the bolt through holes 14 with counterbore from both outer sides of the end walls 3, and the bolts 15 are screwed into the respective ends of the connecting rod 13. As a result, the assembly of the main body 2 (connection of the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A and the conductive cylinder structure 10B) and the connection of the main body 2 and the end wall 3 are performed.

The non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is formed of a non-conductive material (for example, a resin material), and in particular has a resistance to the plating solution and prevents the plating from adhering, PVC, PP, acrylic, etc. It is preferable to adopt.
It should be noted that the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is formed of a conductive material such as a metal, and the entire surface thereof is coated with a non-conductive film so as to have non-conductive properties. However, from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, replacement cost at the time of wear, ease of manufacturing, and the like, it is preferable to form only with a non-conductive material.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the conductive cylinder constituting body 10 </ b> B has the conductive surface 20 exposed toward the inner peripheral surface as the main body 2. In addition, this electroconductive cylinder structure 10B should just be what the electroconductive surface 20 has electroconductivity, and other parts, especially the outer surface as the main-body part 2, non-conductive cylinder structure 10A, These connecting surfaces are preferably non-conductive. For this reason, the conductive cylindrical structure 10B is formed by forming a base form of a conductive material such as a metal, and a portion other than a portion on which the conductive surface 20 is formed is shaded by a nonconductive film (in FIG. 5). It is good also as a structure coated by the area | region 21 shown.

As the conductive material, iron, brass, stainless steel, titanium, or the like can be used. When the article to be plated W is nickel or zinc, copper can also be adopted.
As described above, since the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is positioned at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 and is connected to the end wall 3, the conductive cylinder structure 10B has a non-conductive cylinder structure. Insulated by the body 10A.
In the barrel 1 according to the present invention, the main body 2 has a power feeding means 23 in its own structure. In the first embodiment, since the conductive cylinder structure 10B is made of a conductive material such as metal, the nonconductive film 21 is formed on the inner surface of the rod through hole 12b provided in the conductive cylinder structure 10B. And the connecting rod 13 is also made of a conductive material such as metal, so that the conductive cylinder structure 10B itself (the original element) The power supply means 23 is constituted by the conductive material forming the shape) and the connecting rod 13 itself.

That is, by applying a cathode current to any one of the bolts 15 on the outer surface side of the end wall 3, the electric power is supplied from the outside of the main body portion 2 to the conductive surface 23 of the conductive cylindrical structure 10 </ b> B. It is possible to energize. In such a structure, the power supply means 23 can be combined with the connection structure (the assembly structure as the main body 2) between the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A and the conductive cylinder structure 10B. It can be said that the simplification of the structure is achieved.
Of the connecting rods 13 and bolts 15 other than those used as the power supply means 23 (one used as the power supply means 23 is sufficient for each), the connection rods 13 and the bolts 15 may be made of resin or metal rods. It is preferable that a resin coating or a resin cover is provided, or an insert molding material in which a metal rod is used as a core material and a resin layer is coated around it.

In order to use the barrel 1 having such a configuration, the product to be plated W is stored from the work opening 5 with the lid opened on the main body 2 and the main body 2 is closed after the lid is closed. While being rotated around the rotation axis (the center position P of the end wall 3 described above), a part is immersed in the plating solution. In this state, plating is performed by applying between the anode provided in the plating tank and the power supply means 23 of the barrel 1.
When the plating process is finished, the barrel 1 is lifted from the plating tank, the lid that closes the work opening 5 of the main body 2 is opened, and the plated product is taken out.

As is clear from the above detailed description, in the barrel 1 according to the present invention, the body portion 2 itself is provided with the conductive cylinder structure 10B having the conductive surface 20 exposed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. It is not necessary to insert a curved rod-shaped electrode into the barrel 1 or to insert a chip-shaped power supply member together with the article to be plated W.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the complicated structure of the plating equipment and barrel and the high initial cost, which were problems in using curved rod-shaped electrodes, and eliminate the need for maintenance related to electrode wear, breakage, chipping, etc. And running costs can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to facilitate the removal of the plated product. In addition, the problem of time and cost due to the separate work (sorting work) after plating, which has been a problem when inserting the chip-like power supply member, is solved, and no problem of driving force occurs.

  7 to 10 show a second embodiment of the plating barrel 1 according to the present invention. The most different point of the second embodiment from the first embodiment is that the non-conductive cylindrical structure 10A is cut into a thin plate shape with the main body portion 2 orthogonal to the rotation axis (the center position P of the end wall 3 described above). The frame body is formed as described above, and a large number of the frames are superposed along the rotation axis as the main body 2. In addition, since the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is made into a thin plate-like frame, the point that water-permeable holes are formed between the polymerization of the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is also greatly different from the first embodiment. It is.

In the second embodiment, the radial dimension H (see FIG. 9) and the plate thickness t (see FIG. 10) of each non-conductive cylinder structure 10A are the same as those of the conductive cylinder structure 10B. Specifically, H = 12 mm and t = 6 mm. However, these dimensions are not particularly limited. In addition, if the dimension H is increased in the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A, the life can be extended against wear due to contact with the article W to be plated.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the non-conductive cylinder structure 10 </ b> A is formed with recesses 25 that are recessed in the plate thickness direction so as to be staggered on both sides of the plate thickness. The opening shape of the recess 25 is a rectangle whose rotation direction (opening width b) is longer than the rotation axis direction (depth d) of the main body 2. Specifically, the depth d of the recess 25 was 2.5 mm, and the opening width b was 10 mm. In the example shown in the figure, the opening shape of the recess 25 is rectangular. However, it may be oval or elliptical.

The number of polymerizations (number of uses) of the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A may be adjusted to the plating processing efficiency and the volume of the plating tank, and can be appropriately increased or decreased as necessary.
When the non-conductive cylindrical structure 10A is brought into a polymerized state, a direct polymerization relationship (surface contact state) is formed in a portion where the concave portion 25 is not provided, and a rectangular shape is formed inside the portion where the concave portion 25 is provided. The opening formed by the recess 25 becomes a water-permeable hole for circulating the plating solution during plating.
Such a non-conductive cylinder structure 10A can be manufactured with high efficiency and low cost by casting or the like if it is made of resin. By appropriately setting the opening size and the formation density of the recess 25 at this time, the number of water permeable holes generated in the main body 2, that is, the water permeability (opening ratio) of the barrel 1 can be changed.

The recess 25 provided in the non-conductive cylinder structure 10A is provided only on one surface side of the plate thickness as shown in FIG. 11, or the opening of the recess 25 is enlarged as shown in FIG. The water permeability (opening rate) may be increased. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, the recessed part 25 can be provided also with respect to the conductive cylinder structure 10B.
By the way, this invention is not limited to each above-mentioned embodiment, It can change suitably according to embodiment.
For example, the type of plating is not limited at all, and may be nickel, gold, silver, copper, zinc, or the like.

The main body 2 may have a cylindrical shape such as a cylindrical shape or a square cylindrical shape, or other various cylindrical shapes.
As shown in FIG. 13, the number and arrangement of the conductive cylinder constituting body 10 </ b> B in the main body 2 are not limited at all, such as providing three or more conductive cylinder constituting bodies 10 </ b> B. There may be one conductive cylinder constituting body 10B. Further, the material and dimensions of the conductive cylinder structure 10B are not limited. Further, as the inner peripheral surface of the main body 2, the inner peripheral surface (that is, the conductive surface 20) formed by the conductive cylindrical member 10 </ b> B protrudes one step from the inner peripheral surface formed by the nonconductive cylindrical member 10 </ b> A. It is also possible to increase the chance of contact between the conductive surface 20 and the article W to be plated.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the conductive cylinder structure 10B is self-generated when a conductive surface 20 formed of a conductive material such as metal and a backup frame 27 formed of a non-conductive material such as resin are poured. It is also possible to form by integrating with two-color molding using The integration may be an adhesive or an insert.

It is the perspective view which showed 1st Embodiment of the barrel which concerns on this invention. It is front sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a front view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 4 is a right side view corresponding to FIG. 3. It is a side view of a conductive cylinder structure. It is the perspective view which showed 2nd Embodiment of the barrel which concerns on this invention. FIG. 7 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 6. It is the side view which showed the electroconductive cylinder structure used in 2nd Embodiment. It is the side view which showed the nonelectroconductive cylinder structure used in 2nd Embodiment. It is an enlarged view of each A part shown in FIG. It is the enlarged view which showed another embodiment of the recessed part. It is the enlarged view which showed the recessed part used as another embodiment different from FIG. It is front sectional drawing which showed 3rd Embodiment of the barrel based on this invention comprised by employ | adopting another embodiment of an electroconductive cylinder structure. It is the side view which showed another embodiment of the electroconductive cylinder structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Barrel 2 Main-body part 3 End wall 10A Nonelectroconductive cylinder structure 10B Conductive cylinder structure 12a Rod through-hole of nonconductive cylinder structure 12b Rod through-hole of conductive cylinder structure 13 Connecting rod 20 Conductive surface 21 Non-conductive Conductive coating 23 Power supply means

Claims (7)

A main body (2) having a cylindrical body with both ends open by a permeable peripheral wall and an end wall (3) provided with both ends of the main body (2) closed. 2) Plating to be used in a state in which the product to be plated (W) can be accommodated within and partially immersed in the plating solution while rotating around the rotation axis set along the cylinder axis of the main body (2). In the barrel for
The main body (2) includes a non-conductive cylinder structure (10A), a conductive cylinder structure (10B) with the conductive surface (20) exposed toward the inner peripheral surface as the main body (2), and And is formed by connecting these along the rotation axis,
A plating barrel characterized by being provided with a power feeding means (23) that allows energization to the conductive surface (20) of the conductive cylindrical structure (10B) from the outside of the main body (2). The non-conductive cylinder structure (10A) and the conductive cylinder structure (10B) include at least one connecting rod (13) parallel to the rotation axis of the main body (2). (10A) and the conductive cylinder structure (10B) are connected to the rod through-holes (12a, 12b) respectively provided in a skewered manner.
The power feeding means (23) keeps a conductive state between the hole inner surface of the rod through hole (12b) provided in the conductive cylindrical structure (10B) and the conductive surface (20) and connects the connecting rod (13). The plating barrel according to claim 1, wherein power is supplied to the conductive surface (20) by forming the electrode with a conductive material.   The said electroconductive cylinder structure (10B) is formed as a frame body which made the main-body part (2) orthogonal to a rotating shaft, and was cut into a thin plate shape, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Barrel for plating.   There are two or more non-conductive cylinder structural bodies (10A), and the conductive cylindrical structure (10B) is interposed between the non-conductive cylindrical structural bodies (10A). The barrel for plating according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:   The non-conductive cylinder structure (10A) is formed by directly superimposing a plurality of frames along the rotation axis, such as a thin plate shape with the main body (2) orthogonal to the rotation axis. The plating barrel according to claim 1, wherein the plating barrel is formed.   The plating barrel according to claim 5, wherein the non-conductive cylinder structure (10 </ b> A) is formed of only a non-conductive material.   The said conductive cylinder structure (10B) is formed with the electroconductive material, and the outer surface as a main-body part (2) is coated with the nonelectroconductive film (21) at least. The barrel for plating according to claim 6.

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