JP2010094938A - Stereolithography apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stereolithography apparatus which quickly hardens a curable resin in forming a three-dimensional resin model and does not cause damages on the model being in the forming process. <P>SOLUTION: The stereolithography apparatus produces the three-dimensional model by repeating to form an uncured resin layer with a specific thickness by coating a resin on a photocured layer and to photocure the uncured resin layer so as to stack cured layers one after another. The stereolithography apparatus has: a sweeping device which is provided with a sweeper 23 which is arranged to be movable in parallel with the liquid surface of a photocurable resin, and moves on the liquid surface of the photocurable resin by the sweeper 23; and a bow 25 which forms a shape of an isosceles triangle protruding toward the moving direction; an edge 26 which protrudes toward the moving direction of the sweeping device and is formed at the bottom edge of the bow and second edge 27 which is smaller than the edge and arranged at the edge on the opposite side of the edge. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical modeling apparatus that molds a three-dimensional resin model by curing a photocurable resin by laser irradiation, and in particular, suppresses damage to a model to be formed and has high dimensional accuracy and high speed and high accuracy. The present invention relates to an optical modeling apparatus capable of modeling.

  Conventionally, as a technique for producing a shape model from three-dimensional CAD data in a short period of time, a so-called stereolithography technique is already known from the following patent documents, for example. In other words, as shown in these documents, the photocurable resin is irradiated with laser light in accordance with the contour line data converted by cutting the CAD shape data, and the layering is repeated for each layer. Thus, a desired three-dimensional model is produced.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-69724 Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-69726 JP 56-144478 A

  As described above, in optical modeling, the photocurable resin is cured by irradiating laser light at a predetermined pitch. And in order to laminate | stack the hardened layer for this predetermined pitch one by one, it is necessary to apply | coat uncured resin by fixed thickness on the said hardened layer, whenever it hardens | cures one layer. Therefore, generally, it is necessary to apply an uncured resin thickly on the cured layer once and then scrape off the surplus with a smoothing device.

  However, according to the smoothing operation by such a smoothing device, especially in a high viscosity resin, the resin diffusion time after coating is slow, so that the scraping amount of the resin increases. As a result, the liquid level fluctuation amount increases, and the time required for the liquid level to settle becomes long, that is, the modeling time increases.

  In particular, when forming a model having a liquid reservoir portion having a bowl shape, the resin stays in the liquid reservoir portion. Therefore, the surface of the liquid is not easily removed from the model. When the part is raised and laser-cured at the (swelled) part, the ridge (end) part of the model is hardened (higher) than the desired thickness, and the knife as a smoothing means collides with it. However, there is a problem that a defect called “volumed trap” that leads to deterioration of the surface accuracy of the model to be formed or damage to the model in the worst case occurs. Conventionally, as means for avoiding this volumed trap, for example, a method of increasing the number of times of operation of the smoothing device or an increase in the operating speed of the knife as the smoothing means can be considered. Even in the latter case, there was still a problem that caused molding defects due to excessive scraping of the resin surface.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the prior art, and its purpose is to apply an uncured resin on the cured layer at a constant thickness in a relatively short time. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical modeling apparatus capable of reducing modeling time, that is, capable of modeling with high speed and high accuracy.

  According to the present invention, according to the present invention, first, a container that holds a photocurable resin inside, a light irradiation unit that irradiates light for exposing and curing the photocurable resin, and light from the light irradiation unit. , A means for irradiating and curing according to the shape data of the three-dimensional model to be formed, guided to the liquid surface of the photocurable resin in the container, and a three-dimensional model exposed and cured by the exposure and hardening means in the container A mounting means mounted on the upper surface and capable of moving up and down in a direction perpendicular to the liquid surface of the photo-curing resin in the container, and at least controlling light irradiation according to the shape data of the three-dimensional model by the exposure curing means A control means for controlling the vertical position of the mounting means with respect to the liquid surface, and a liquid surface including an exposure-hardened portion of the three-dimensional model mounted on the mounting means in the container. A smoothing device for applying a non-cured resin layer having a predetermined thickness on the layer formed by exposure and curing, and repeatedly curing the uncured layer by exposing and curing the uncured layer. A stereolithography apparatus that stacks and manufactures the three-dimensional model, wherein the smoothing device in the stereolithography apparatus is provided with a smoothing section main body that is movable in parallel to the liquid surface of the photocurable resin, and the smoothing section. Moving the liquid level of the photo-curing resin by the main body, and forming the isosceles triangle shape protruding toward the traveling direction, and the lower end portion of the bow portion toward the traveling direction of the smoothing device There is provided an optical modeling apparatus including an edge portion formed to protrude.

  According to the present invention, in the optical modeling apparatus described above, it is preferable that the smoothing device includes the bow portion and the edge portion before and after the moving direction of the smoothing device. The bow part and the edge part constituting the smoothing device are integrally formed by different smooth parts, and the lower end part of the bow part is an end part opposite to the edge part. In addition, it is preferable to form a second edge portion smaller than the edge portion.

  In addition, according to the present invention, in the optical modeling apparatus described above, the bow portion and the edge portion constituting the smoothing device are at angles corresponding to different photo-curing resins that are held inside the container. It is preferable to form a plurality, so that the bow portion and the edge portion of the smoothing device can be replaced with different photo-curing resins.

  That is, in the present invention, the above-described problem is that a photocurable resin is accumulated in a modeling container, the liquid surface of the photocurable resin is exposed and cured according to shape data, and an uncured photocurable property is formed on the cured layer. The resin is applied in layers, smoothed by a smoothing device, and after the liquid surface stabilization time has elapsed, the uncured resin is repeatedly exposed and cured to form a three-dimensional model. This is solved by providing a portion, making the smooth portion corresponding to the front and rear portions in the moving direction into a bow shape, and further providing an arbitrary angle with respect to the bow-shaped tip protrusion and the liquid surface.

  According to the present invention described above, when an uncured resin is applied smoothly to the exposure-cured layer at a desired thickness, the resin is diffused over the entire liquid surface along with the movement of the smoothing device provided with the bow shape. It is possible to reduce the surface fluctuation amount. In addition, by increasing the amount of resin scraping of the liquid reservoir portion by the angle provided with respect to the resin liquid level at the tip of the plurality of smooth portions, by using the bow shape to promote the scraping out of the liquid reservoir portion, Swelling due to surface tension can be suppressed and volumed trap failures can be avoided, and smoothing operations previously required multiple times as a workaround for volumed trap failures can be realized with fewer operations (for example, once). it can. Thereby, it becomes possible to realize modeling time reduction and high precision modeling.

  Hereinafter, an optical modeling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, attached FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an optical modeling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a photocurable resin (in this example, an ultraviolet curable resin). Yes, reference numeral 2 indicates a cross section of a tank into which the photocurable resin 1 is injected.

  In addition, reference numeral 3 in the drawing is a table attached in parallel with the photocurable resin liquid surface in the tank 2, and the table 3 holds the modeling model 16 on the table 3 and also by the elevator device 4. In the tank 2, the movement is controlled in the vertical direction while maintaining the parallelism. Reference numeral 5 in the figure denotes a main body of a resin supply device for supplying a photocurable resin onto the model 16 at the time of liquid level creation, which is arranged on a slide rail 6 attached in parallel to the liquid level. ing. And the resin supply part 7 is provided in the lower end of the resin supply apparatus main body 5, and the said resin supply part 7 is provided with the mechanism which can be moved up and down, such as a motor and a cylinder (not shown). ing. In addition, the said resin supply part 7 sinks in the photocurable resin 1 at the time of standby, and raises at the time of supply. And this resin supply part 7 becomes a structure which, after pumping up the photocurable resin 1 by raising, the resin supply part main body 5 moves while moving on the slide rail 6, and can reciprocate. And a means for supplying resin onto the model 16 from a gap (not shown) provided in the lower part of the resin supply unit 7.

  Next, reference numeral 8 in the figure is a smoothing device for smoothing the uncured resin supplied onto the model 16 by the resin supply device body 5, and is horizontal to the liquid level of the photocurable resin 1. At the same time, it is disposed on a slide rail 9 different from the resin supply device main body 5, so that it does not interfere with the resin supply device main body 5 or the resin supply unit 7 and reciprocates from end to end of the tank 2. It has a structure that can operate. Further, reference numeral 10 in the figure is a laser oscillation device used for curing the photo-curable resin, and the laser oscillated from the oscillation device transmits light in the tank 2 via a galvano mirror indicated by reference numeral 11. Irradiates the surface of the curable resin. At this time, the galvanometer mirror 11 is controlled by a galvanometer mirror control device indicated by reference numeral 12 in the figure, that is, the laser scanning direction can be freely changed with respect to the X and Y directions shown in the figure. It is. Reference numeral 14 in the figure is a well-known CAD system capable of drawing a model three-dimensionally, and reference numeral 15 is a function of converting the three-dimensional model obtained from the CAD system 14 into contour line data necessary for stereolithography, etc. This is a main computer having a function of controlling operations of the elevator device 4, the galvanomirror control device 12, and further the resin supply unit body 5, the resin supply unit 7, and the smoothing device 8.

  Next, the operation of the optical modeling apparatus whose detailed structure has been described above will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  When the laser scanning of the model to be formed is completed, that is, when the hardening of the model is completed (the sixth layer in this example), the stereolithography apparatus described above, as shown in FIG. 15 refers to the contour data of the next layer, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the table 3 is deeper than the liquid surface of the photocurable resin 1 by the stacking pitch “P” via the elevator device 4 described above. Sink.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the uncured photo-curing resin 1 is newly formed on the already-cured layer (in this example, the sixth layer of the model) by the resin supply device 7 described above. The layer is applied (more specifically, the resin is supplied from a gap provided in the lower portion of the resin supply unit 7).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, by operating the smoothing device 8 (moving in the tank 2), the hardened layer (the sixth layer of the model) of the hardened layer as shown in FIG. Of the resin supplied above, the photocurable resin applied thicker than the predetermined liquid surface (specifically, the stacking pitch “P”) is scraped off, and the thickness of the predetermined stacking pitch P is flat. Form a layer. After the liquid level is smoothed, the liquid level of the photocurable resin is awaited.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the laser 13 is again irradiated with the laser 13, and scanning is performed according to the contour line data to cure a desired cross-sectional shape.

  Subsequently, FIG. 6 attached is an exploded perspective view showing a detailed structure of the smoothing device 8 of the optical modeling apparatus, which is a feature of the present invention. As is apparent from FIG. 6, the smoothing device 8 is attached to the front and rear in the moving direction along the smoothing portion main body 23 having an attachment portion to the optical modeling apparatus and the lower end portion of the smoothing portion main body 23. It consists of a pair of smooth parts 24, 24. Further, each of the pair of smoothing parts 24, 24 has a bow portion 25 having an isosceles triangle shape protruding from the upper surface with the central portion protruding in the moving direction of the smoothing portion main body 23, particularly in the traveling direction thereof. At the lower end thereof, an edge portion 26 is formed so as to protrude in the traveling direction of the smooth portion main body 23. In addition, each smooth component 24 is smaller at the lower end portion on the side opposite to its traveling direction as compared with the edge portion 26, but the second smooth portion 24 is formed so as to protrude toward the traveling direction of the smooth portion main body 23. The edge portion 27 is provided.

  Further, in FIG. 7, in particular, the bow portion 25 of the smooth portion main body 23 and the edge portion 26 formed to protrude from the lower end portion thereof are shown in an enlarged manner, and constitute the bow portion 25. The apex angle of the isosceles triangle shape and the angle of the edge portion 26 (angle with respect to the liquid surface) are indicated by θ25 and θ26, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the bow portion 25 and the edge portion 26 described above include an isosceles triangular apex angle (θ25) constituting the bow portion 25, and the edge portion 26. This angle (θ26) is set by factors including the viscosity of the photo-curing resin used. In this embodiment, smooth parts 24 having different angles (θ25, θ26) are prepared in advance, and a pair of smooth parts 24 having appropriate angles (θ25, θ26) are selected as necessary. By attaching to the lower end of the smoothing part main body 23, the smoothing part main body 23 having appropriate angles (θ25, θ26) is obtained.

  8A has a relatively large apex angle (θ25) of the bow portion 25 and an angle of the edge portion 26 (an angle with respect to the liquid surface), and therefore light having a relatively low viscosity. FIG. 8B shows an example of the smooth part 24 used in the case of a curable resin, while FIG. 8B shows the apex angle (θ25) of the bow part 25 and the angle of the edge part 26 (angle with respect to the liquid level). Is an example of the smooth component 24 used in the case of a photocurable resin having a relatively small viscosity. Although not shown in the drawing, the edge portion 27 formed to protrude from the lower end portion of each smoothing component 24 on the opposite side is also formed at an angle similar to the angle (θ26) of the edge portion 26. .

  The attached perspective view of FIG. 9 shows the appearance of the smoothing device 8 in a state where the pair of smoothing parts 24, 24 are attached to the lower end portion of the smoothing portion main body 23 described above. The main body 23 is attached to a part of the stereolithography apparatus (specifically, the slide rail 9 shown in FIG. 1) and reciprocated in the direction of the arrow in the figure to be supplied onto the already cured layer. Of the resin, a photocurable resin applied thicker than a predetermined liquid surface is scraped off to form a flat layer having a predetermined lamination pitch P thickness.

  In addition, FIG. 10 attached shows four views (a top view, a front view, a bottom view, and a side view) of the smoothing device 8 in which the pair of smoothing parts 24, 24 are attached to the lower end portion of the smoothing portion main body 23. Has been.

  Next, the operation of the smoothing device 8 whose detailed structure has been described above will be described. Here, for reference, the liquid level fluctuation state of the photocurable resin 1 when using a flat plate-like smoothing device 40 with a sharpened lower end is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 attached hereto. 12 shows a cross-sectional view when viewed from the side surface direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the smoothing device 40. FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11, in particular, in the case of modeling a large model with a resin having a high viscosity, the diffusion time of the resin supplied by the resin supply device 7 is slower than that of a low viscosity, and therefore the same timing. When the smoothing device 40 is operated at (reciprocating speed), the amount of residual resin on the model increases. The residual resin is scraped off by the flat plate-like smoothing device 40 and, as indicated by an arrow in the figure, the amount of resin increases as it moves while generating a turbulent flow that rotates upward. The resin scraped off in a large amount moves in one direction (that is, the moving direction of the smoothing device 40), and thereby the liquid level at both ends of the tank (that is, before and after the moving direction of the smoothing device 40). This results in a difference. In other words, when the flat smoothing device 40 is used, the resin in the tank 2 tends to increase the amount of fluctuation of the liquid level, and as a result, the liquid surface stabilization waiting time increases, It was a factor to lengthen the modeling time.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, a flat plate-like smoothing device 40 with a sharp lower end is moved in the direction of the arrow along the liquid level in the tank 2 filled with the photocurable resin 1 therein. In this case, the liquid level after passing through the smoothing device 40 is scraped off from the resin on the surface, accumulates in front of the flat plate, and moves with the movement of the smoothing device 40. At this time, due to the weight of the resin scraped and retained in front of the flat plate, a downward force (indicated by a broken arrow in FIG. 12) is applied to the resin, and as a result, the liquid level after passing through the smoothing device 40 Will show a tendency to gradually rise with respect to the moving direction of the smooth component 40.

  On the other hand, for the liquid level smoothing operation of the photocurable resin 1 when the smoothing device 8 whose detailed structure has been described above is used like the stereolithography apparatus according to the present invention, see FIGS. 13 and 14. While explaining.

  That is, as is clear from FIG. 13, according to the isosceles triangular bow portion 25 protruding from the central portion in the traveling direction, the smoothing device 8 is moved (see the arrow in the figure). , While scraping off the resin, it diffuses around it (on both sides in the direction of travel). As a result, compared to the case where the flat plate-like smoothing device 40 described above is used, the scraped resin moves not only before and after the direction of travel of the smoothing device 40 but also to both sides thereof. The amount of movement will be reduced. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the liquid level fluctuation amount and the liquid surface stabilization waiting time of the photocurable resin 1 in the tank 2, and it is possible to reduce the modeling time.

  In addition, as apparent from FIG. 14, according to the smoothing device 8 described above, the surface of the photocurable resin 1 is scraped off by the edge portion 26 formed so as to protrude in the traveling direction along with the movement. As mentioned above, many of them are diffused to both sides of the traveling direction by the action of the bow 25, but some of them are accumulated in the front, however, at this time, the scrapes are scraped forward. Since the obtained resin stays on the upper surface of the edge portion 26, even if the amount thereof increases, the weight does not add to the photocurable resin 1 below. As a result, the liquid surface after passing through the smoothing device 40 is kept flat and tends to gradually rise with respect to the moving direction of the smoothing component 40 as in the case of using the flat plate shape with the sharpened lower end described above. There is nothing.

  That is, according to the optical modeling apparatus according to the present invention provided with the smoothing device 8 whose detailed structure has been described above, particularly after the smoothing operation of the resin in the tank 2, the increase in the liquid level fluctuation amount and the liquid It is possible to reduce (reduce) the increase in the waiting time for surface stabilization, thereby further shortening the modeling time by the apparatus.

  Further, FIGS. 15 to 17 below show the effect of the smoothing device 8 according to the present invention on the phenomenon that the surface of the liquid reservoir 17 of the model 16 rises due to the surface tension of the resin. In addition, these figures show sectional views of the liquid level fluctuation state of the photocurable resin 1 in the tank 2 as seen from the side surface direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the smoothing device 8.

  First, FIG. 15 shows a phenomenon of surface swell due to the surface tension of the resin 1 in the liquid reservoir 17 of the model 16. In other words, reference numeral 31 in the figure indicates a portion where the resin has risen due to surface tension. When the laser is applied to the raised portion due to the surface tension, the model collar portion is hardened mainly, and as a result, the desired cured thickness cannot be obtained and the surface accuracy is deteriorated. Furthermore, the smoothing device collides with the hardened portion and damages the model. In other words, it becomes a cause of a problem called a volumed trap.

  When the flat smoothing device 40 having a sharp lower end is used, as shown in FIG. 16, at least a part of the resin that should have been scraped wraps downward from the tip of the smooth portion. (Refer to the arrows in the figure) The resin in the liquid reservoir 17 is difficult to come off. Therefore, the scraping operation by moving the smoothing device 40 is performed a plurality of times, or the operation speed is increased, thereby reducing the amount of resin that wraps around the tip of the smoothing portion, and the rising portion 31 of the resin There was a work around.

  However, as described above, a plurality of smoothing operations lead to an increase in modeling time, and if the moving speed of the smoothing device 40 is increased, bubbles are generated in the resin 1 or the resin is scraped off too much. There was a risk that it would lead to poor modeling, and it was not a good measure.

  On the other hand, according to the smoothing device 8 of the present invention described above, as shown in FIG. 17, the surface of the photocurable resin 1 is scraped off by the edge portion 26 that protrudes in the traveling direction. As described above, it is diffused to both sides in the traveling direction by the action of the bow portion 25 (see arrows in the figure). In addition, a part of the water will accumulate, but as described above, it stays on the upper surface of the edge portion 26, so that the weight is not added to the photo-curing resin 1 below and less smooth. The liquid level can be flattened by moving the apparatus and without increasing the operating speed.

  That is, the above-described smoothing device 8 of the present invention is an excellent measure against the phenomenon of the surface of the resin 1 in the liquid pool portion 17 of the model 16, and by adopting this in the stereolithography apparatus, the modeling time can be increased. In addition, it is possible to provide an excellent apparatus with less inconveniences called volume traps.

  As described above, the apex angle (θ25) of the bow portion 25 provided on the smoothing part 24 and the angle (θ26) of the edge portion 26 are selected according to characteristics such as the viscosity of the resin. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, as shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to scoop up the resin and prevent the resin from wrapping around. It will be apparent that the resin pumped up is sent out of the model liquid reservoir 17 by the action of the bow 25 described above.

  In the embodiment described above, the pair of smoothing parts 24, 24 are described as being attached to the lower end of the smoothing part main body 23. However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure. Instead, for example, the pair of smoothing parts 24 and 24 may be integrally formed, and further, the smoothing body 23 and the pair of smoothing parts 24 and 24 may be integrally formed. In this case, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same effect as described above can be obtained. Even in this case, the apex angle (θ25) of the bow portion 25 and the angle (θ26) of the edge portion 26 are prepared at an arbitrary angle according to characteristics such as the viscosity of the resin, and prepared. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these may be used selectively.

  However, in particular, in the structure in which the pair of smoothing parts 24, 24 are attached to the lower end of the smoothing part main body 23 as in the above-described embodiment, particularly at the lower end on the side opposite to the traveling direction of each smoothing part 24. The effect similar to that of the edge portion 26 can be obtained also by the provided small second edge portion 27, in particular, by the edge portion 27 of the smoothing component 24 located behind the smoothing device 8 in the traveling direction. Therefore, the structure is particularly suitable.

  That is, according to the present invention, when an uncured resin is to be applied smoothly with a desired thickness, the resin is diffused over the entire liquid level as the bow-shaped smoothing device moves, reducing the amount of liquid level fluctuation. It becomes possible to make it. In addition, by increasing the amount of resin scraped in the liquid reservoir by the angle provided with respect to the resin liquid level at the tips of the plurality of smooth portions, and using the bow shape to promote scraping out of the liquid reservoir, Swelling due to tension can be suppressed to prevent volumetric trap problems. As a result, the smoothing operation, which has been conventionally required a plurality of times as a measure for avoiding the defective volume trapping, can be made a single operation. From the above, it is possible to realize modeling time reduction and high-precision modeling.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the optical modeling apparatus which becomes one embodiment of this invention. It is drawing explaining the modeling principle by the said optical modeling apparatus, especially operation | movement of an elevator apparatus. It is drawing explaining the modeling principle by the said optical modeling apparatus, especially operation | movement of a resin supply apparatus. It is drawing explaining the modeling principle by the said optical modeling apparatus, especially operation | movement of a smoothing apparatus. It is drawing explaining the modeling principle by the said optical modeling apparatus, especially the irradiation of a laser. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the detailed structure of the smoothing apparatus of the said optical modeling apparatus used as the characteristic of this invention. It is a partially expanded perspective view which shows the smoothing apparatus of the said optical modeling apparatus, especially the bow part and edge part. It is a figure which shows an example of the angle of the bow part and edge part of the smoothing apparatus of the said optical modeling apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the whole external appearance of the smoothing apparatus of a state which attached a pair of smoothing components to the said smooth part main body. It is a four-plane figure (top view, front view, bottom view, side view) showing details of the smoothing device. In order to demonstrate operation | movement of a smoothing apparatus, it is a perspective view which shows the liquid level fluctuation | variation state at the time of using a flat smoothing apparatus as a reference. For explaining the operation of the smoothing device, as a reference, the smoothing device is a cross-sectional view when viewed from the side surface direction perpendicular to the moving direction. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid level fluctuation | variation state at the time of using the flat smoothing apparatus which becomes this invention in order to demonstrate operation | movement of the said smoothing apparatus which is the characteristics of this invention. In order to explain the operation of the smoothing device according to the present invention, it is a cross-sectional view of the smoothing device of the present invention as viewed from the side surface direction perpendicular to the moving direction. It is sectional drawing which shows the swelling part of the resin surface in order to demonstrate operation | movement of a smoothing apparatus. In order to demonstrate operation | movement of a smoothing apparatus, it is sectional drawing which shows the smoothing operation of the swelling part of the resin surface at the time of using a flat smoothing apparatus as a reference. In order to demonstrate operation | movement of the said smoothing apparatus of this invention, it is sectional drawing which shows the smoothing operation | movement of the swelling part of the resin surface at the time of using the flat smoothing apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photocurable resin, 2 ... Tank, 3 ... Table, 4 ... Elevator apparatus, 5 ... Resin supply apparatus main body, 6 ... Slide rail, 7 ... Resin supply part, 8 ... Smoothing apparatus, 9 ... Slide rail, 10 ... Laser oscillator, 11 ... Galvano mirror, 12 ... Galvano mirror control device, 13 ... Laser beam, 14 ... Dimensional CAD system, 15 ... Main computer, 16 ... Model, 17 ... Liquid reservoir, 23 ... Smoothing body, 24 ... Smooth parts, 25 ... bow, 26 ... edge, 27 ... second edge.

Claims (4)

A container that holds the photo-curing resin inside;
A light irradiation means for irradiating light for exposing and curing the photocurable resin;
Means for guiding the light from the light irradiation means to the liquid surface of the photocurable resin in the container, irradiating according to the shape data of the three-dimensional model to be formed, and exposing and curing;
In the container, the mounting model is mounted on the upper surface of the three-dimensional model exposed and cured by the exposure curing unit, and can be moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the liquid level of the photocurable resin in the container;
At least control means for controlling light irradiation according to the shape data of the three-dimensional model by the exposure curing means, and controlling a vertical position of the mounting means with respect to the liquid surface; and
In the container, a smoothing device for smoothing the liquid surface including the exposure cured portion of the three-dimensional model mounted on the mounting means is provided, and has a predetermined thickness on the layer formed by the exposure curing. An optical modeling apparatus for manufacturing the three-dimensional model by sequentially laminating a cured layer by repeatedly applying and forming an uncured resin layer and exposing and curing the uncured layer,
The smoothing device in the stereolithography apparatus is
A smooth body provided to be movable in parallel with the liquid surface of the photocurable resin;
A bow part that forms an isosceles triangle shape that moves in the liquid surface of the photo-curing resin by the smooth part main body and protrudes toward the traveling direction; and
An optical modeling apparatus, comprising: an edge portion formed to protrude toward a traveling direction of the smoothing device at a lower end portion of the bow portion.   The optical modeling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the smoothing device includes the bow portion and the edge portion before and after the smoothing device in the moving direction.   The stereolithography apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bow portion and the edge portion constituting the smoothing device are integrally formed by different smooth parts, and at the lower end portion of the bow portion. An optical modeling apparatus, wherein a second edge portion smaller than the edge portion is formed at an end opposite to the edge portion.   In the stereolithography apparatus according to claim 1, a plurality of the bow portion and the edge portion constituting the smoothing device are formed at an angle corresponding to different photo-curing resins that are held inside the container, An optical modeling apparatus characterized in that the bow portion and the edge portion of the smoothing device can be exchanged for different photo-curing resins.

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