High speed plating method and apparatus

Claim 1

A METHOD OF APPLYING A PLURALITY OF PROCESSING SOLUTIONS TO A WORKPIECE AT A PLURALITY OF PROCESSING STATIONS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MOUNTING THE WORKPIECE IN FIXED RELATIONSHIP WITH A PALLETIZED PROCESSING FIXTURE FOR MOVMENT OF THE WORKPIECE IN A FIXED POSITION ON SAID PALLETIZED PROCESSING FIXTURE BETWEEN SAID PROCESSING STATIONS, FORMING A PROCESSING CELL BY SURROUNDINGLY ENGAGING THE PELLETIZED PROCESSING FIXTURE WITH AN ENCLOSING HOUSING, POSITIONING AN ANODE IN A PREDETERMINED SPATIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID WORKPIECE WITHIN SAID PROCESSING CELL TO DEFINE PROCESSING SOLUTION APPLYING PASSAGE BETWEEN SAID ANODE AND SAID WORKPIECE, MOVING THE PALLETIZED PROCESSING FIXTURE FROM STATION TO STATION FOR APPLICATION OF VARYING PROCESS SOLUTIONS, STOPPING THE PALLETIZED PROCESSING FIXTURE AT THE PROCESS STATIONS FOR PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVALS, APPLYING PROCESSING SOLUTION UNDER PRESSURE TO THE WORKPIECE WITH THE PROCESSING CELL AT THE PROCESS STATIONS DURING THE PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVALS, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ELECTRICALLY ENERGIZING SAID ANODE AND SAID WORKPIECE AT SOME OF SAID STATIONS TO PROVIDE FOR ELECTROLYTIC PROCESSING OF SAID WORKPIECE.