JP2000094530A - Apparatus and method for shaping - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a constitution and to broaden a selecting width of a shaping material by generating an induced current in a material by electromagnetic induction, partly thermosetting the material with a Joule heat by the induced current, and shaping the material in a desired shape. SOLUTION: A thermosetting conductive material 1 is mounted on a base constituted of a non-thermally conductive material 3, and an electromagnet 2 is disposed at an upper side of the material 1. The electromagnet 2 is provided on an X-Y table to be movable to a desired position on the material 1. The electromagnet 2 is disposed at a position to be solidified of the material 1 based on CAD data or the like, a direction of a magnetic flux by the electromagnet 2 is inverted, and a magnetic field strength is changed to generate an eddycurrent in the material 1. The eddycurrent generates a Joule heat in the material 1 to cure the material 1. After the curing is continuously conducted and the material 1 is cured in a desired shape, an uncured conductive material 1 is removed, thereby obtaining a desired shaped material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a molding apparatus and a molding method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional molding apparatus, a lamination molding apparatus will be described.

The following is an excerpt from a special feature of the Optical Alliance 1997.9 as a reference.

(Principle of modeling) This is a method of extracting slice data from a three-dimensional image designed by three-dimensional CAD and sequentially stacking the slice data to extract a three-dimensional image. In other words, this is the same method as creating a three-dimensional map by overlapping cardboard cut along contour lines. There is a feature of the additive manufacturing method in that each layer is automatically created based on the data of the three-dimensional CAD, and further, the lamination is automatically performed. Next, details of each lamination method will be described.

(Characteristics of each molding method) To briefly summarize the characteristics of each molding method, the "optical molding method" is the earliest invention, and can be made finer and more precise, but the apparatus is rather large and expensive. There is a disadvantage that it is. The greatest feature of the "powder sintering method" is that a mold can be directly formed, but it has the disadvantage that the apparatus is rather large and expensive.

[0006] The "ink-jet method" is the newest method, and the biggest special feature is that the apparatus is inexpensive. In recent years, the "resin extrusion method" has been trying to reduce the price of the apparatus, downsize the apparatus, and provide features, but it has difficulty in accuracy and strength. The "sheet laminating method" is characterized in that the molding speed is high, suitable for large molded objects, and the price is appropriate.

(Stereolithography) This is a molding method representative of the additive manufacturing method. "Stereolithography" means, by computer control,
Irradiate the photosensitive material (ultraviolet curing resin) with an ultraviolet laser,
This is a technique of creating a three-dimensional shape by curing in layers and laminating.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of this stereolithography.

First, based on the data, an ultraviolet laser scans the surface of the ultraviolet curable resin in the tank so as to draw a sectional shape. The portion hit by the laser beam hardens from a liquid to a solid, and a cross section for the first layer is formed on the elevator. Next, the elevator is lowered by one layer to form a second layer in the same manner as the first layer. By repeating this, a cross section is formed up to the final layer, and finally, the elevator is pulled up and post-processed, thereby completing the target three-dimensional model.

(Powder sintering method) Using powder as a raw material,
This is a method in which powder particles are combined with each other by beam heating to perform additive manufacturing.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the powder sintering method.

When the powder is irradiated with a laser beam such as CO ₂ or Nd-YAG for heating, the surface of the powder is melted, and the powders in contact with each other are joined to form a sintered powder layer. Next, the sintered layer is lowered, and a thin layer of powder is supplied on the upper surface again. Three-dimensional modeling is performed by repeating this operation. As the powder material, besides wax and resin, resin-coated metal and ceramic powder can also be used.

(Ink Jet Method) FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of the ink jet method.

A liquid such as wax melted by heating is continuously dropped from an ink jet nozzle to be deposited and solidified. There is also a method in which a binder for binding is dropped from a nozzle to combine powder.

(Resin Extrusion Method) FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of the resin extrusion method.

In the resin extrusion method, wax or resin is extruded from a fine nozzle, and a planar scan is performed while solidifying the fine linear resin, thereby enabling lamination molding. Raw materials are supplied as pellets or wires,
After being heated and melted, it is extruded from the nozzle. The feature of this method is that a wax model for lost wax casting can be produced, and a general-purpose resin such as ABS or nylon can be formed.

(Sheet Lamination Method) FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of the sheet lamination method.

The sheet laminating method is a method in which a sheet material such as paper or resin is cut by slice data and laminated. The roll sheet material coated with the adhesive is cut by a CO ₂ laser. Prior to cutting, heat bonding is performed with a hot roll, and multiple layers are cut by laser cutting only one surface. In the sheet lamination method, using the toner of the copier for the adhesive and its application,
A method using a knife blade for overlapping cutting after heating and bonding by a hot press has also been developed.

[0019]

Problems to be solved by the present invention will be described for each laminating method described in the conventional example.

In the optical shaping method, since the laminated material is composed of a combination of an ultraviolet laser and an ultraviolet curable resin, the laminated material is limited to a photocurable resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin. Chemical properties could not be obtained in some cases.

In the powder sintering method, CO ₂ or Nd-YA
Since a laser such as G is used, the device itself becomes large,
It was also expensive.

In the ink jet method, since the ink is heated and melted in the nozzle of the ink jet, the heat resistance of the molded article itself has been a problem.

The resin extrusion method was not suitable for forming a fine model due to the shape of the extrusion nozzle, and the strength of the formed product itself was low.

Although the sheet laminating method is suitable for shaping a large object, there is a problem that the apparatus itself for a small object is large.

In particular, since the molding material is limited in each laminating method, the characteristics of the molded article itself are also limited by the laminating method.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a molding apparatus and a molding method which can perform molding with a simple configuration and have a wide range of choice of molding materials.

[0027]

A molding apparatus and a molding method according to the present invention have the following features.

[1]: An electromagnetic induction generating means for applying a magnetic force to a conductive and thermosetting material or a material having a conductive material and a thermosetting material, and a position for applying the magnetic force to a desired position. A molding apparatus having positioning means for positioning, wherein an induced current is generated in the material by electromagnetic induction by the electromagnetic induction generating means, and the material is partially thermoset by Joule heat by the induced current, and the thermosetting is performed. Is performed at a desired position by the positioning means to form the material into a desired shape.

[2] The molding apparatus according to [1], wherein the material contains a ferromagnetic material.

[3] The molding apparatus according to [1] or [2], further comprising means for laminating the cured material, and performing three-dimensional molding by the lamination.

[4] A molding apparatus according to [1], [2] or [3], comprising a plurality of electromagnetic induction generating means.

[5] The shaping apparatus according to [4], wherein eddy currents are generated three-dimensionally by applying magnetic forces to the material from a plurality of directions.

[6] The molding apparatus according to any one of [1] to [5], further including means for reheating the molded article by the thermosetting.

[7]: An electromagnetic induction generating means for applying a magnetic force to a conductive and thermosetting material or a material having a conductive material and a thermosetting material, and a position for applying the magnetic force to a desired position. In a modeling apparatus having positioning means for positioning, an induced current is generated in the material by electromagnetic induction by the electromagnetic induction generating means, and the material is partially thermoset by Joule heat by the induced current, and the thermosetting is performed by the thermosetting. A shaping method characterized by shaping the material into a desired shape by performing the positioning at a desired position by a positioning means.

[8] The molding method according to [7], wherein the material contains a ferromagnetic material.

[0036]

[9]: A molding method according to [7] or [8], wherein three-dimensional molding is performed by laminating cured materials.

[10]: [7], [8] or

The molding method according to [9], wherein a plurality of electromagnetic induction generating means are used.

[11] The molding method according to [10], wherein eddy currents are three-dimensionally generated by applying a magnetic force to the material from a plurality of directions.

[12] The molding method according to any one of [7] to [11], wherein the molded object formed by the thermosetting is reheated.

[0040]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a drawing which often shows Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a thermosetting conductive material;
Reference numeral 2 denotes an electromagnet as an electromagnetic induction generating means, and 3 denotes a non-thermally conductive material.

In this embodiment, the thermosetting conductive material 1 is placed on a table made of the non-thermally conductive material 3, and the electromagnet 2 is arranged above the conductive material 1. The electromagnet 2 is provided on an XY table (not shown). The electromagnet 2 is moved in two directions (arrows X and Y directions) orthogonal to each other in a plane parallel to the conductive material 1, and moves to a desired position on the conductive material 1. It is possible to move to.

The electromagnet 2 based on the CAD data and the like
Is arranged at a position where the conductive material 1 is to be solidified, the direction of the magnetic flux by the electromagnet 2 is reversed, and the intensity of the magnetic field is changed, thereby generating an eddy current in the thermosetting conductive material 1. In the present embodiment, an electromagnet 2 is formed by winding a coil around an iron core, and the direction of magnetic flux is switched at high speed by flowing a high-frequency alternating current through the coil to generate an eddy current on the conductive material. The eddy current causes Joule heat in the thermosetting conductive material 1 to cure the thermosetting conductive material 1. Then, after the curing based on the CAD data is continuously performed to cure to a desired shape, the uncured conductive material 1 is removed, so that a desired molded article can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the molding material 1 may be a conductive and thermosetting material, or a material having a conductive material and a thermosetting material, such as an epoxy resin containing silver filler and a highly conductive polymer. . Further, since the molding material generates an induced current by the action of a magnetic force, it is preferable that the molding material is conductive and is a ferromagnetic material.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, modeling can be performed with a simple configuration by using the eddy current of electromagnetic induction. In particular, the means for conducting an electromagnetic current by passing an alternating current through the electromagnet of the present embodiment can be configured simply and inexpensively as compared with a laser device of the stereolithography method.

Further, since the shaping material of the present embodiment only needs to be a magnetic material and a conductive material, the range of choice of the shaping material is widened. This broadens the range in which desired physical properties can be selected for the modeled object.

<Embodiment 2> In the present embodiment, in addition to Embodiment 1 in which planar molding is performed, three-dimensional molding is performed by having means for laminating the planar molded object.
The same elements as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the present embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes a container filled with a thermosetting conductive material 1,
Reference numeral 5 denotes an elevator movably provided in the container in a vertical direction (Z direction).

First, the shape data input by CAD is converted to S
Converted to the TL format, and taken out as data sliced into N layers obtained by dividing the height of the modeled object by the thickness d to be cured in one scan, and according to the slice data of the lowermost layer, X
By scanning the electromagnet 2 on the Y table and controlling the current flowing through the electromagnet 2, the generation of the eddy current is controlled, and the conductive material 1 is cured to form a cross section for the first layer on the elevator. Next, the elevator 5 is lowered by one layer to form a second layer similarly to the first layer. By repeating this, a cross-sectional body is formed up to the final layer (N-th layer), and finally, the elevator 5 is pulled up and post-processed, thereby completing a target three-dimensional model.

As the post-processing, the uncured conductive material 1 is removed, unnecessary parts are cut, and the entire model is reheated.

Embodiment 3 This embodiment is different from Embodiment 1 in that the electromagnets 2 are arranged in an array. still,
Since other configurations are the same, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be repeated.

In the present embodiment, by arranging the electromagnets 2 in an array, eddy currents can be simultaneously generated in a plane and the curing speed by Joule heat can be increased.

By controlling the electromagnets 2 arranged in an array, it is possible to freely control the generation of eddy currents on a plane.

FIG. 3 shows this conceptual diagram.

The eddy current is generated in response to a change in the magnetic field. Further, the magnetic field induced from the plurality of electromagnets 2 is represented by a vector sum of the magnetic fields induced from each electromagnet. Therefore, the magnitude of the eddy current can be obtained by calculating the change in the magnetic field induced by each electromagnet 2 at each point of the conductive material 1. Joule heat generated from the magnitude of the eddy current is required, and curing of the molding material can be controlled.

<Embodiment 4> In this embodiment, the electromagnet 2 is
By three-dimensionally controlling the generation of eddy currents in a three-dimensional manner by arranging a plurality of them in a three-dimensional direction, three-dimensional modeling is performed collectively.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the present embodiment. Although FIG. 2 shows the electromagnet 2 only on the upper surface and the right side of the container 4 with a part of the electromagnet 2 omitted, the electromagnet 2 is actually arranged on the front and rear surfaces, the left side, and the lower surface.

As described in the third embodiment, the curing of the molding material can be similarly controlled by determining the change in the magnetic field induced from the plurality of electromagnets 2.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a three-dimensional object can be produced collectively by controlling the eddy current three-dimensionally.
High-speed three-dimensional modeling becomes possible. As a result, the size of the device itself can be reduced. Also, since the molding is performed in a lump,
Depending on the selection of the modeling material, the support column often seen in the additive manufacturing apparatus can be omitted, and use of useless modeling material and post-processing such as cutting and polishing of the column can be significantly reduced.

<Others> (1) In the second embodiment, the free liquid level method in which a magnetic force acts on the horizontal gas-liquid boundary surface opened above the container from the atmosphere side is described. Instead, as shown in FIG. 5, a magnetic force is applied from below the bottom of the container to cure the layered conductive material 1 sandwiched between the bottom and the elevator, and after this curing, the elevator 4 is raised to remove the cured portion from the bottom. A regulated liquid level method may be used in which the uncured conductive material 1 is separated between the cured portion and the bottom surface to form a next layer.

(2) FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram when a powdered conductive material is used.

The powder 1 as a magnetic material and a thermosetting conductive material is supplied from the powder cartridge 6 onto the cylinder 7, and the magnetic force generated by the electromagnetic induction generating means 2 generates Joule heat in the powder. 1 are melted and joined (hardened) to each other to form a thin layer. Next, the thin layer is lowered, a thin layer of powder is supplied again to the upper surface, and this is repeated to perform three-dimensional modeling.

(3) FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of the ink jet method.

A liquid thermosetting conductive material 1 is continuously dropped from an ink jet nozzle, and the dropped conductive material 1 is heated by applying a magnetic force to the dropped conductive material 1 by an electromagnetic induction generating means 2 to be deposited and hardened. .

(4) In the above embodiment, the electromagnetic induction generating means 2 is scanned based on CAD data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the operator can arbitrarily move and scan so as to have a desired shape. Like the thing and the shaving of a copying board,
The electromagnetic induction generating means 2 may be moved according to the displacement of the stylus applied to the mold.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, by utilizing the eddy current of electromagnetic induction, it is possible to provide a molding apparatus and a molding method which can perform molding with a simple configuration and have a wide range of selection of molding materials. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional stereolithography method.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional powder sintering method.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional inkjet method.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional resin extrusion method.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional sheet laminating method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. 1. Thermosetting conductive material Electromagnet 3. 3. Non-thermally conductive material Container 5. elevator

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An electromagnetic induction generating means for applying a magnetic force to a conductive and thermosetting material or a material having a conductive material and a thermosetting material, and a position for applying the magnetic force to a desired position. A shaping apparatus having positioning means, wherein an induced current is generated in the material by electromagnetic induction by the electromagnetic induction generating means, and the material is partially thermally cured by Joule heat by the induced current, and the thermal curing is performed by the thermal curing. A shaping apparatus, wherein the shaping is performed at a desired position by a positioning means to shape the material into a desired shape. 2. The molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material includes a ferromagnetic material. 3. The molding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for laminating a cured material, and performing three-dimensional molding by the lamination. 4. The molding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electromagnetic induction generating means. 5. The molding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an eddy current is generated three-dimensionally by applying a magnetic force to the material from a plurality of directions. 6. The molding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit for reheating the molded article formed by the thermosetting. 7. An electromagnetic induction generating means for applying a magnetic force to a conductive and thermosetting material or a material having a conductive material and a thermosetting material, and a position for applying the magnetic force to a desired position. A shaping apparatus having positioning means, wherein an induction current is generated in the material by electromagnetic induction by the electromagnetic induction generation means, and the material is partially thermoset by Joule heat by the induction current, and the thermosetting is performed by the positioning means. And forming the material into a desired shape by performing at a desired position. 8. The molding method according to claim 7, wherein the material includes a ferromagnetic material. 9. The molding method according to claim 7, wherein three-dimensional molding is performed by laminating cured materials. 10. The molding method according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein a plurality of electromagnetic induction generating means are used. 11. The molding method according to claim 10, wherein an eddy current is generated three-dimensionally by applying a magnetic force to the material from a plurality of directions. 12. The molding method according to claim 7, wherein the molded object formed by the thermosetting is reheated.