An in-line deposition apparatus 200, 300, 301, 302, 400 for a cutting tool with a coating film including:
- a single in-line deposition chamber 212 in which a first carrier-waiting region C1, a first heating region H1, a first deposition region D, a second heating region H2, H3, and a second carrier-waiting region C2 are provided in an order, and a coating film is formed on the cutting tools W, the in-line deposition chamber 212 being free of a vacuum valve therein;
- a pre-treatment chamber 11 and post-treatment chamber 13, each of which is connected to the deposition chamber 212 through a first vacuum valve 52 and a second vacuum valve 53, respectively;
- and
- a conveying line T that conveys the cutting tools W from the pre-treatment chamber 11 to the post-treatment chamber 13 going through the in-line deposition chamber 212, the in-line deposition apparatus 200 using a conveyed carrier 80 on which a plurality of rods 82 supporting cutting tools W is provided in a standing state along a first conveying direction, wherein
- the conveyed-carrier 80 is configured to mount the cutting tools W,
- the conveyed-carrier 80 holding the cutting tools W are configured to be sent before forming a coating film in the deposition chamber 212,
- the conveyed-carrier 80 is configured to reciprocally move in the in-line deposition chamber 212 in the first conveying direction and a second conveying direction opposite to the first conveying direction, the conveyed-carrier 80 being moved from the first carrier-waiting region C1 to the second carrier-waiting region C2 in moving in the first conveying direction and from the second carrier-waiting region C2 to the first carrier-waiting region C1 in moving in the second conveying direction, and the cutting tools W being heated to a predetermined temperature suitable for coating in the first deposition region D, D1 at an end of the first heating region H1 in the first conveying direction and at an end of the second heating region H2, H3 in the second conveying direction,
- the conveyed-carrier 80 is configured to temporally stop in one of the first and second carrier-waiting regions C1, C2,
- first targets 23A, 24A are provided to the first deposition region D, D1 sandwiching the conveying line T from sides, and
- first heaters 22A and second heaters 25A are provided to the first heating region H1 and the second heating region H2, H3, respectively, sandwiching the conveying line from sides.