JP3578590B2 - Stereolithography equipment using lamps - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical molding apparatus for sequentially laminating photocurable resins by a curing reaction when irradiating a liquid photocurable resin with light, and accurately producing a predetermined molded object.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, this type of stereolithography apparatus scans a laser beam in accordance with graphic data designed by three-dimensional CAD, traces the photocurable resin, cures it one by one, and sequentially laminates a predetermined three-dimensional object. Techniques for making are known. In this type of optical shaping apparatus, laser light is used as a light source, and the laser light is mainly emitted at a wavelength in the ultraviolet region of about 325 nm or 360 nm.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, even with the same optical modeling, there are cases where high modeling accuracy is required depending on the shape and site of the modeled object, use of the modeled object, and the like, and cases where high accuracy is not required. However, in the conventional optical shaping apparatus, since the laser beam of a single wavelength is used for irradiation, the shaping is always performed under the same condition regardless of the shaping accuracy. In addition to the quality, it was not possible to shorten and adjust the molding time in proportion to the required accuracy. Furthermore, the laser is susceptible to the surrounding atmosphere, requires careful handling, and is expensive, leading to an increase in cost.
[0004]
Therefore, the present invention uses a light beam of a lamp that emits ultraviolet light such as an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp instead of the conventional laser light, and adjusts the curing depth according to the modeling accuracy by selecting and switching the wavelength of the lamp light, The purpose is to shorten the molding time. It is another object of the present invention to facilitate the handling of the light source and to reduce the cost.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an optical molding apparatus using a lamp according to claim 1 of the present invention is an optical molding apparatus that irradiates light from a lamp onto a photocurable resin and sequentially cures the resin to form a laminate. In the above, the wavelength of the lamp light is selected by a filter, a reflection mirror, or a coated lens disposed on the optical path, and the curing depth when the light curable resin is irradiated with the lamp light by the selection of the wavelength. Is adjusted.
[0007]
Further, the stereolithography apparatus using the lamp according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that the curing depth when the photocurable resin is irradiated with lamp light is 0.2 mm or less.
[0008]
Further, an optical shaping apparatus using a lamp according to claim 3 of the present invention is an optical shaping apparatus that irradiates light from a lamp onto a photocurable resin and sequentially cures the resin to form a laminate, One or two or more types of filters for selecting a wavelength are provided switchably on the optical path, and the wavelength of the lamp light is selected by switching the filters.
[0010]
Further, an optical shaping apparatus using a lamp according to claim 4 of the present invention is an optical shaping apparatus for irradiating light from a lamp onto a photocurable resin and sequentially curing the resin, thereby forming a laminate. One or two or more types of filters for selecting a wavelength on an optical path and two or more pinholes having different hole diameters are installed so as to be switchable, and these are switched independently or in conjunction with each other. .
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an optical shaping apparatus using a lamp according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of an optical shaping apparatus using a lamp. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a container for accommodating a liquid ultraviolet curable resin 2, 3 denotes a table which moves up and down in the container 1, and 4 denotes a cured resin laminated on the table 3. The vertical movement of the table 3 is controlled by a Z-axis moving table (not shown), and the table is lowered each time the photocurable resin is cured one by one.
[0013]
Above the container 1, a light irradiation means 5 is provided. The light irradiation means 5 uses a 250 W ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 6 as a light source unlike the conventional laser light, and extends the optical fiber 7 from the ultra high pressure mercury lamp 6 to a position above the container 1 to guide the lamp light. Like that. The light emitted from the ultrahigh-pressure mercury lamp 6 may be guided by a single fiber or a plurality of fibers may be bundled and guided. The irradiation energy can be adjusted according to the number of fibers or the diameter of the optical fiber 7.
[0014]
A filter 8 for selecting the wavelength of the lamp light is provided near the tip 7a of the optical fiber 7. The filter 8 selects a specific wavelength from various wavelengths of light emitted from the lamp light. For example, by extracting a wavelength in the ultraviolet region of 350 nm or less, the irradiation light having a hardening depth of 0.2 mm or less can be obtained. It is possible to obtain irradiation light having a deep curing depth of up to about 2 mm by taking out the wavelength in the visible light region of 400 nm or more. The hardening depth has an extremely deep relationship with the modeling accuracy and the lamination thickness. The shallower the hardening depth, the higher the shaping accuracy and the smaller the area layer thickness. The opposite is true for deep cure depths. Therefore, when there is a part (fine shape) and a part (simple shape) where the vertical precision of the modeled object is not required, the filter 8 is switched to select a wavelength, so that the desired accuracy and the modeling time are obtained. Can greatly reduce the molding time. Note that the filter 8 may be configured by only one filter and selecting a predetermined wavelength, or may be configured by combining a plurality of filters. By combining them, a desired wavelength can be accurately extracted. If the wavelength can be selected, the same operation and effect can be obtained by installing a reflecting mirror 12 capable of selecting a specific wavelength on the optical path as shown in FIG. Obtainable. In addition, it is also possible to directly irradiate the light from the optical fiber 7 without selecting the wavelength with the filter 8 or the reflection mirror. In this case, irradiation with a low curing depth but a deep curing depth can be obtained.
[0015]
In the vicinity of the lower portion of the filter 8, a shutter 9 for mechanically turning on and off when the filter 8 is switched is provided, and a plurality of condenser lenses 10 are provided below the shutter 9. Light that has passed through the filter 8 is formed as a condensed beam 11 by the condensing lens 10 and condensed on the liquid surface of the photo-curable resin 2. In addition, it is also possible to select a specific wavelength instead of the filter 8 by applying a special coating to the condenser lens 10.
[0016]
3 and 4 show an embodiment in which two or more types of filters 8 can be switched. In this embodiment, a disk 15 is arranged near the tip 7a of the optical fiber 7, and filters 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d with different wavelength selections are incorporated in four places around the disk 15 as in the above embodiment. It is a structure of. A rotation shaft 16 is provided at the center of the disk 15, and the four filters 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, and 8 d are switched by manually or automatically rotating the disk 15 and set on the optical path. Therefore, in this embodiment, by incorporating four types of filters 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d having different wavelength selections appropriately from the wavelength in the ultraviolet light region to the wavelength in the visible light region, the molding accuracy and the lamination thickness are appropriately adjusted. The curing time can be reduced while adjusting the temperature. As described above, by simply switching the filters 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d, it is possible to easily select a wavelength from the ultraviolet light region to the visible light region without increasing the number of light sources having different wavelength regions. Each of the filters 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d may be composed of only one filter to select a specific wavelength, or may be a combination of a plurality of filters to select a wavelength. In the above embodiment, four types of filters 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d have been described. However, two or three types of filters may be used, and five or more types may be used if necessary. Further, one of the four positions of the disk 15 may be left empty without providing a filter.
[0017]
Next, the operation of the optical shaping apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6. FIG. First, the modeling data designed on the CAD system is divided for each of the filters 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d described above, and based on the modeling data, the lamp light is light-cured while switching the filters 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d. Scan on the liquid surface of the conductive resin 2. For example, when trying to obtain a resin molded product 4 having a shape as shown in FIG. 2, first switch to a filter for selecting a wavelength in the ultraviolet region, and as shown in FIG. The side surface 18 is formed by ultraviolet light. In this case, the lamination thickness is reduced as much as possible and the connection is made smooth to secure the molding accuracy. Next, the filter is switched to a wavelength including the visible light region, and as shown in FIG. 6, the inside 19 of the resin molded product 4 whose shape in the height direction does not change is formed. At a wavelength that includes the visible light region, the depth of one cure is deep, so that the lamination thickness can be several times greater than in the case of the ultraviolet light, and the molding can be performed efficiently in a short time. That is, in the case of the ultraviolet light, a place where the lamination must be performed many times can be performed by a single lamination, so that the molding time can be significantly reduced.
[0018]
7 and 8 show a case where a pinhole 20 is provided in place of the filter 8. By passing the light beam through the pinhole 20, the light energy of the lamp light coming out of the tip 7a of the optical fiber 7 can be adjusted, and the effect is particularly large when the optical fibers 7 are bundled. In this embodiment, pinholes 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d having different sizes are provided at four locations around the rotatable disk 21 as described above. Therefore, by rotating the disk 21, the pinholes 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d can be switched, and the irradiation area of the condensed beam 11 that scans the liquid surface of the photocurable resin 2 can be changed. it can. This embodiment irradiates light in which various wavelengths are mixed, and thus is not suitable for modeling that requires precision in the vertical direction. However, when the inside of the modeled object is painted, the pinhole 20 is enlarged. As a result, a hardened area can be gained, and the molding time can be shortened accordingly.
[0019]
FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the above-described filter 8 and the pinhole 20 are combined, and the above-described discs 12 and 21 are arranged vertically close to each other. 8 is provided, and the other is provided with four types of pinholes 20 having different hole sizes. The vertical positional relationship between the filter 8 and the pinhole 20 does not matter. In this embodiment, after the irradiation amount of the lamp light emitted from the distal end 7a of the optical fiber 7 is adjusted by the pinhole 20, a specific wavelength can be further selected by the filter 8, so that the filter 8 can be selected based on the CAD data. And the combination of the pinhole 20 can be set to an optimum one. In this case, a combination of the filter 8 and the pinhole 20 is registered in advance, and the switching is interlocked with each other so that a specific pinhole is selected for one filter selected based on the CAD data. It can be carried out. The filter 8 and the pinhole 20 can be independently switched. As described above, in this embodiment, by combining the filter 8 and the pinhole 20, it is possible to finely control the curing depth based on the accuracy of the molded object, and as a result, the molding time is significantly reduced. .
[0020]
In the above embodiment, the case where an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp is used as a light source has been described. However, a discharge lamp having a short distance between electrodes such as a metal halide lamp or a xenon lamp can be used. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the optical fiber is extended from the ultra high pressure mercury lamp and the tip thereof is moved on the photocurable resin has been described. However, the ultra high pressure mercury lamp itself may be directly moved.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the stereolithography apparatus using the lamp according to the present invention, since one lamp light is used as a light source and its wavelength is selected, the curing depth can be controlled, so that the molding is performed. The curing time can be shortened by appropriately selecting the accuracy and the lamination thickness.
[0022]
In addition, the use of lamp light as a light source facilitates handling and significantly reduces the cost as compared with the case where laser light is used.
[0023]
Further, by arranging the pinholes on the optical path, the irradiation amount and the irradiation area on the photocurable resin can be appropriately controlled, and this is effective for a solid molding that does not require molding accuracy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of an optical shaping apparatus using a lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus in which a reflection mirror is used instead of a filter.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the optical shaping apparatus using the lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a filter.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram when stereolithography is performed using light rays in an ultraviolet light region.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when stereolithography is performed using light rays in a visible light region.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a third embodiment of the optical shaping apparatus using the lamp according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a pinhole.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a fourth embodiment of the optical shaping apparatus using the lamp according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Photocurable resin 4 Resin molding 6 Ultra-high pressure mercury lamp 8 Filter 20 Pinhole

Claims (4)

In a photolithography device that irradiates light from a lamp to a photocurable resin and sequentially cures the photocurable resin to form a laminate,
The wavelength of the lamp light is selected by a filter, a reflection mirror, or a coated lens installed on the optical path, and the curing depth when the lamp light is irradiated on the photocurable resin is adjusted by selecting the wavelength. An optical shaping apparatus using a lamp, characterized by performing the following. The stereolithography apparatus using a lamp according to claim 1, wherein a curing depth when the photocurable resin is irradiated with lamp light is 0.2 mm or less. In a photolithography device that irradiates light from a lamp to a photocurable resin and sequentially cures the photocurable resin to form a laminate,
It is characterized in that one or two or more filters for selecting a wavelength are switchably installed on the optical path of the lamp light, and the depth of curing when irradiating the light curable resin with the lamp light by switching the filters is adjusted. Stereolithography device using a lamp that emits light. In a photolithography device that irradiates light from a lamp to a photocurable resin and sequentially cures the photocurable resin to form a laminate,
One or two or more filters for selecting a wavelength and two or more pinholes having different hole diameters are provided so as to be switchable on the optical path of the lamp light, and these are switched independently or in conjunction with each other. An optical shaping apparatus using a lamp, characterized by the following.

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