System and method for controlling electroplating

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a system and method for controlling electroplating, the method including: measuring current applied to an object to be plated at the time of electroplating, by a current sensor; receiving current data corresponding to the current applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed current data to the HMI, by the measurement system; receiving the current data from the measurement system to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed data to the PLC, by the HMI; receiving the data from the HMI and storing the data in a memory, and then comparing and computing the stored current measurement value and a set current value, to control an output of the rectifier, by the PLC; and controlling the current supplied to the electroplating bath according to the control of the PLC, by the rectifier.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for controlling electroplating, the system comprising:
 an electroplating bath for performing electroplating on an object to be plated therein, the electroplating bath having a current sensor installed at one side of a body thereof, the current sensor measuring a current applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating;   a measurement system receiving current data corresponding to the current applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating, which are measured by the current sensor, from the electroplating bath to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed current data to a subsequent apparatus;   a human machine interface (HMI) receiving the current data applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating, from the measurement system, to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed data to a subsequent apparatus;   a programmable logic controller (PLC) receiving the data from the HMI and storing the data in a memory, and comparing and computing the stored current measurement value and a set current value of a rectifier to control an output of the rectifier; and   a rectifier controlling the current supplied to the electroplating bath according to the control of the PLC.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the electroplating bath and the measurement system are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through wireless communication. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 2 , wherein the wireless communication is Zigbee. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the measurement system and the HMI are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through OLE for process control (OPC) communication. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein for the OLE for process control (OPC) communication between the measurement system and the HMI, the measurement system is defined as an OPC client and the HMI is defined as an OPC server. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein for the OLE for process control (OPC) communication between the measurement system and the HMI, an OPC distributed component object model (DCOM) is set. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 6 , wherein the OPC DCOM includes security configurating, access permissions setting, firewall setting, password setting, and OPC port additive setting. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the HMI and the PLC are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through Ethernet communication. 
     
     
         9 . A method for controlling electroplating by a system for controlling electroplating including an electroplating bath, a measurement system, a human machine interface (HMI), a programmable logic controller (PLC), and a rectifier, the method comprising:
 a) measuring current applied to an object to be plated at the time of electroplating, by a current sensor installed at the electroplating bath;   b) receiving current data corresponding to the current applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating, which are measured by the current sensor, to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed current data to the HMI, by the measurement system;   c) receiving the current data applied to the object to be plated at the time of electroplating, from the measurement system, to execute necessary processing, and transmitting the processed data to the PLC, by the HMI;   d) receiving the data from the HMI and storing the data in a memory, and then comparing and computing the stored current measurement value and a set current value of the rectifier, to control an output of the rectifier, by the PLC; and   e) controlling the current supplied to the electroplating bath according to the control of the PLC, by the rectifier.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the electroplating bath and the measurement system are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through wireless communication. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the wireless communication is Zigbee. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the measurement system and the HMI are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through OLE for process control (OPC) communication. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein for the OLE for process control (OPC) communication between the measurement system and the HMI, the measurement system is defined as an OPC client and the HMI is defined as an OPC server. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein for the OLE for process control (OPC) communication between the measurement system and the HMI, an OPC distributed component object model (DCOM) is set. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the OPC DCOM includes security configurating, access permissions setting, firewall setting, password setting, and OPC port additive setting. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the HMI and the PLC are configured to perform data transmission and reception therebetween through Ethernet communication.