JP4382529B2 - Mold press molding apparatus and optical element manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mold press for heating and softening a plurality of molding materials (preliminarily preformed preforms and the like) in a manufacturing process of optical elements and the like, and press molding with a molding die to mold optical elements (lenses and the like) The present invention relates to a molding apparatus and a method for manufacturing an optical element.

Molding materials in a heat-softened state, such as glass materials, are press-molded in a mold that is precisely processed into a predetermined shape and heated to a predetermined temperature, and the molding surface is transferred to the glass material. A high optical element can be obtained.
In this case, in order to improve production efficiency, a method of simultaneously press-molding a plurality of glass optical elements using a plurality of molds has been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 11-29333 A

  In the pressing method described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of forming dies are arranged in a straight line, and induction heating is generated from both sides of the forming dies. It can be carried out. As a result, it is possible to obtain a glass optical element having high surface accuracy and good surface quality without causing problems such as partial stretch failure.

However, in the molding apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the same number of glass preforms is not always supplied to the mold in the molding process. For example, when there is no glass preform in the material tray during continuous pressing, there is a mistake in adsorption of the glass preform by the suction pad, there is a mistake in supplying the glass preform to the mold, etc. In this case, the number of glass preforms placed in the mold during pressing is less than the normal number.
In optical element press molding, the press load is optimally adjusted based on the number of glass preforms placed in the mold, so if the number of preforms placed is less than the regular number, The press load applied to each reform is increased.
In a precision mold press, the management of the press load is extremely important for achieving surface accuracy and lens thickness accuracy. In particular, in press molding of concave meniscus lenses, convex meniscus lenses, or biconcave lenses, control of the load schedule in the initial press and subsequent additional presses, and the load schedule in the cooling process after the initial press are appropriately controlled. Otherwise, the surface accuracy and lens thickness may deviate from the values (specifications) that achieve the desired optical performance.

  In an apparatus in which the press schedule is controlled by the time after the start of pressing, if the preform is pressed in a state where the number of preforms is less than the regular number, the time required to deform the glass by a predetermined amount is shortened. For this reason, the cycle operation of the molding apparatus is disturbed. In addition, when pressing a high temperature preform with a lower temperature mold, if the time required to deform the glass by a predetermined amount is short, the initial press is finished while the preform temperature is higher than the normal case, Since the process proceeds to the cooling process, the molding conditions change and the lens thickness is distorted.

The present invention is for solving the above-described problems. When a large number of glass preforms (molding materials) are press-molded at a time, the glass preform is arranged in a mold due to a glass preform supply error or the like. Even when the number of glass plates changes , press molding can be performed with a press load corresponding to the number of glass preforms to be press-molded at a time so that an optical element with a desired thickness and surface accuracy can be obtained. An optical element manufacturing apparatus is provided. Another object of the present invention is to obtain a highly accurate optical element using this manufacturing apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, a mold press molding apparatus according to the present invention comprises a molding material detection means for detecting the number of molding materials to be press-molded in a mold press molding apparatus for simultaneously molding a plurality of molding materials by a molding die. Drive means for driving the mold and performing press molding; and drive control means for selecting a press load based on the detected number of molding materials and driving the drive means in accordance with the selected press load. As a configuration.
With such a configuration, molding can be performed with a press load corresponding to the detected number of molding materials, so that an optical element excellent in surface accuracy and thickness accuracy can be obtained.
Here, the “number of molding materials” does not simply mean the number of molding materials, but also includes a detection signal amount corresponding to the number of molding materials output by the detecting means.

Further, the present invention is configured such that the drive control means selects a press stop position based on the detected number of molding materials or a selected press load, and drives the drive means according to the selected press stop position. .
With such a configuration, when the thickness of the glass optical element fluctuates due to a slight change in the amount of elastic deformation of the press device accompanying a change in the press load, the fluctuation can be corrected, and a more accurate optical An element can be obtained.

Further, in the present invention, when the supply of the molding material is sucked and held by the suction supply unit, a pressure detection unit is provided in the suction path of the suction supply unit, and the pressure of the molding material supplied by the pressure detection unit is It is configured to detect the number. In this case, a suction path of the suction supply means may be formed for each of the plurality of molding materials, and a pressure detection means may be provided for each of the plurality of suction paths.
With such a configuration, a molding material supply error or the like that occurs when the molding material is supplied or conveyed by the suction pad is detected, and molding is performed with a press load or the like based on the number of supply materials. be able to.
In addition, the number of molding materials is detected by performing suction with a plurality of suction pads through a single suction path, and obtaining the relationship between the pressure value and the number of molding materials in the suction path in advance. You can also.
The number of molding materials detected in these cases is a signal amount corresponding to the detected pressure from the pressure sensor, and a specific number derived as a result of determining the presence or absence of the molding material based on this signal amount.

In the present invention, optical detection means for optically detecting the molding material is disposed at the supply position of the plurality of molding materials, and the number of supplied molding materials is detected by the optical detection means. It can also be configured.
With such a configuration, it is possible to detect the presence / absence of the molding material and the total number in a non-contact state. In this case, a plurality of optical detection means may be arranged for each molding material to be detected, and the presence or absence of a plurality of molding materials is detected by one sensor using an optical detection means such as a line sensor. May be.
In the case of using these optical detection means, the number of detected molding materials is the amount of signal corresponding to the amount of light detected by the optical sensor, as well as the pressure sensor, and the presence or absence of molding material by this signal amount. It is a specific number derived as a result of the judgment.

The optical element manufacturing method in the present invention is a method for press-molding a molding material that has been softened by heating, using any of the mold press molding apparatuses described above.
Further, the present invention is such that the press molding step includes an initial press and a second press that performs pressing with a load smaller than the initial press, and the initial press is in accordance with the selected press load. This is a method of manufacturing by driving the driving means. In this case, it is preferable to perform said 2nd press with cooling.
According to such an optical element manufacturing method, even when a plurality of optical elements are manufactured at the same time, the optical element can be molded with an appropriate press load according to the number of molding materials. An excellent optical element can be manufactured.

According to the present invention, when a large number of molding materials are pressed at once, even if the number of molding materials arranged in the mold changes due to a molding material supply error or the like , Since press molding can be performed with a press load corresponding to the number, an optical element having a desired thickness and surface accuracy can always be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following, the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a glass optical element manufacturing apparatus. However, the mold press molding apparatus of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and is a resin optical element. The present invention can also be applied to manufacturing or parts manufacturing other than glass and resin optical elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view when the mold press molding apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a glass optical element manufacturing apparatus.
The manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 presses a spherical glass preform to manufacture a small collimator lens. In general, a plurality of glass preforms (six in the example shown in the figure) are simultaneously supplied into the manufacturing apparatus casing, then softened by heating, pressed, cooled by a mold, and carried out of the casing. Is done. By repeating this, a large number of collimator lenses are continuously manufactured.

As shown in FIG. 1, the glass optical element manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a heating chamber 20 and a molding chamber 40. The heating chamber 20 and the molding chamber 40 are communicated with each other through a passage 60 provided with an opening / closing valve 61, and the heating chamber 20, the molding chamber 40 and the passage 60 form a single sealed space that is blocked from the outside. ing. The outer wall of the sealed space is formed of stainless steel or other members, and the hermeticity is maintained by a sealing material. The sealed space formed by the heating chamber 20, the molding chamber 40, and the passage 60 is set to an inert gas atmosphere when the glass optical element is molded. That is, the air in the space is exhausted by a gas exchange device (not shown) and filled with an inert gas instead. As the inert gas, it is preferable to use nitrogen gas or a mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen (for example, N ₂ +0.02 vol% H ₂ ).

The heating chamber 20 is an area for preheating prior to pressing the glass preform to be supplied. In this area, a preform supply device 22, a preform transport device 23, and a preform heating device 24 are installed. The A supply preparation chamber 21 for supplying the glass preform from the outside into the heating chamber 20 is provided.
In order to prohibit the inflow of air into the heating chamber 20, the supply preparatory chamber 21 is sealed and replaced with an inert gas atmosphere after the glass preform is placed on the receiving tray.
In the supply preparation chamber 21, six trays (not shown) are arranged, and six glass preforms are placed thereon using a robot arm (not shown).

  The preform supply device 22 installed in the supply preparation chamber 21 has six suction pads 221. These suction pads 221 are each provided with six suction paths 223 connected to the vacuum pump 222, as shown in FIG. Further, a pressure sensor 224 is connected to each of the suction paths 223, and the pressure in each suction path 223 is measured. The pressure sensor 224 outputs the measurement result to a control unit (drive control means) 50 described in detail later.

  By the preform supply device 22 having such a configuration, the glass preform on the tray in the supply preparation chamber 21 is adsorbed and carried into the heating chamber 20. At this time, if any of the six suction pads 221 does not suck the glass preform, the degree of vacuum in the corresponding suction path 223 decreases, and the pressure sensor 224 detects this. Based on the signal from the pressure sensor 224, the control means 50 detects the position of the suction pad 221 that has not sucked the glass preform and also detects the number of glass preforms sucked by the entire preform supply device 22. To do.

The preform conveying device 23 receives the glass preform carried in from the supply preparation chamber 21, conveys the glass preform to a heating region by the preform heating device 24, and further conveys the heat-softened glass preform to the molding chamber 40. The preform conveying device 23 includes six plates 26 at the tip of the arm 25, and holds the glass preform thereon.
In the embodiment, the arm 25 including the dish 26 is horizontally supported by the drive unit 23a fixed in the heating chamber 20, and the arm 25 is rotated in the horizontal direction with a rotation angle of approximately 90 degrees. In addition, the arm 25 is configured to be capable of withdrawing and retracting in the radial direction with the drive unit 23 a as the center, and thereby, the held glass preform is conveyed to the molding chamber 40.

The preform conveying device 23 includes an arm opening / closing mechanism (not shown) in the drive unit 23a, thereby opening the tip of the arm 25 and dropping the glass preform onto the mold.
When the glass preform is preheated and transported in a softened state, if the glass surface is defective due to contact with the transport jig, the shape accuracy of the optical element after molding is impaired. Is preferably provided with a levitation jig for conveying the glass preform in a gas levitation state. For example, it is possible to use a split type floating dish that is supported by a separable arm.

  The preform heating device 24 is for heating the supplied glass preform G to a temperature corresponding to a predetermined viscosity. In order to stably raise the glass preform G to a certain temperature, it is preferable to use a heating device (for example, Fe—Cr heater) by resistance heating using a resistance element. The preform heating device 24 has a substantially U-shape when viewed from the side, and includes heater members on the upper and lower surfaces thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the preform heating device 24 is installed on the movement locus of the glass preform held on the arm 25.

  The arm 25 is placed in the preform heating device 24 except when the glass preform G is received from the preform supply device 22 and when it is transported to the molding chamber 40. The heater temperature of the preform heating device 24 can be about 1100 ° C., and the atmosphere in the furnace, that is, the atmosphere between the upper and lower heaters can be about 700 to 800 ° C. In the present embodiment, the arm 25 is prevented from warping in the vertical direction by providing a temperature difference between the upper and lower heaters.

  On the other hand, the molding chamber 40 is an area for pressing the glass preform G preliminarily heated in the heating chamber 20 to mold a glass optical element having a desired shape. An optical element carry-out device 42 is installed. Further, a take-out preparation chamber 43 is provided for carrying out the press-molded glass optical element to the outside.

  The pressing device 41 simultaneously receives six glass preforms G conveyed from the heating chamber 20 by the preform conveying device 23 and presses them to obtain a glass optical element having a desired shape. The pressing device 41 includes an upper die (not shown) and a lower die 420, and simultaneously presses the six glass preforms G supplied therebetween by their molding surfaces. The six glass preforms G on the arm 25 of the preform conveying device 23 are dropped onto the lower mold 420 by opening the tip of the arm, and immediately after the arm retracts from between the molds, the lower mold 420 rises toward the upper mold, whereby the glass preform G sandwiched therebetween is pressed. The lower mold 420 is press-molded by a predetermined load with a predetermined load by a driving unit (servo motor) 51 driven based on a command from the control unit 50.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, optical sensors 421 are disposed on the side portions of the six lower molds 420 of the press device 41. The optical sensor 421 includes a projector 421a that is disposed on one side of the lower mold 420 and projects a laser beam, and a light receiver 421b that is disposed on the other side of the lower mold 420 and receives light from the projector 421a. Yes. The light projector 421a and the light receiver 421b are connected to the control means 50, and output an operation signal to the light projector 421a and a measurement signal from the light receiver 421b.

According to this optical sensor 421, when there is no glass preform G on the lower mold 420, the light receiver 421b receives the maximum amount of light. On the other hand, when the glass preform G is present on the lower mold 420, a part of the light projected from the projector 421a is reflected by the surface of the glass preform G, and the rest is refracted and passes through the glass preform G. In this case, since the transmitted light is diffused light, it is possible to considerably reduce the amount of light received by the light receiver 421b by separating the light receiver 421b from the glass preform G to some extent (see FIG. 4A). . In particular, depending on the shape of the glass preform G, if the height position of the glass preform G is shifted from the optical axis, the direction of transmitted light becomes oblique and the amount of received light can be further reduced (FIG. 4B). reference).
Therefore, whether or not the glass preform G exists on the lower mold 420 can be detected by detecting the amount of light received by the light receiver 421b.

  In addition, since a semiconductor laser light source, a semiconductor photoelectric element, etc. are used for the light projector 421a and the light receiver 421b, it is preferable to keep away from a press part as much as possible. In this way, temperature control becomes easier and the influence (noise) of the high-frequency heating current is reduced compared to the case where the semiconductor laser or the semiconductor photoelectric element is placed near the mold.

Here, the control means 50 inputs a measurement signal from a sensor (pressure sensor 224, optical sensor 421 (light receiver 421b)), determines a number 501 for determining the number of glass preforms G, and the number of preforms. The initial press load (torque), the initial press completion position, the second press load, the third press load, and the like corresponding to the storage unit 502 and data (table) stored in advance and stored from the determination unit 501 Based on the signal and data stored in the storage unit 502, a setting unit 503 for determining a load at the time of molding (and an initial press end position), and a signal corresponding to an output from the setting unit 503 are a servo motor (driving means). And a servo controller 504 that outputs to 51.
The servo motor 51 has an encoder 51a for detecting whether or not the lower mold 420 has moved by the press stroke.

  In addition, an induction heating coil 410 using a high frequency for heating the mold is provided around the mold. Prior to pressing the glass preform G, the mold is heated by the induction heating coil 410 and maintained at a predetermined temperature. The temperature of the mold at the time of pressing may be substantially the same as or lower than the temperature of the preheated glass preform G.

The carry-out device 42 delivers the glass optical element pressed by the press device 41 to the take-out preparation chamber 43. The carry-out device 42 includes six suction pads 42c at the tip of an arm 42b that is rotatably supported with respect to the drive unit 42a. The suction pad 42c vacuum-sucks the six glass optical elements on the lower mold of the mold so that the suction pad 42c can be transported by the carry-out device 42. The glass optical element adsorbed by the rotation of the arm 42b is transported under the take-out preparation chamber 43 and placed on a lifting means (not shown) installed here. After the arm 42 b is retracted, the elevating means is raised, and the glass optical element is delivered to the take-out preparation chamber 43.
The unloading device 42 can also be provided with a pressure sensor type detection device provided in the preform supply device 22. In this way, it is possible to detect an adsorption error of the glass optical element from the lower mold 420.

  In this embodiment, the lens mounting surface of the elevating means closes the opening of the take-out preparation chamber 43 that communicates with the molding chamber 40, thereby disabling gas exchange between the take-out preparation chamber 43 and the molding chamber. Become. By opening the upper part of the take-out preparation chamber 43, the glass optical elements inside the robot arm and other carrying-out means are sequentially carried out to the outside. After carrying out the glass optical element, the take-out preparation chamber 43 is sealed and filled with an inert gas.

  In the above embodiment, the number of preforms is detected by the pressure change of the suction path 223 in the preform supply device 22 and the number of preforms placed on the lower mold 420 is detected by the optical sensor 421. Although an example has been described, there is no problem even if only one of the detection means is used.

The optical element manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above operates as follows.
The glass preform G is conveyed onto the arm 25 of the preform conveying device 23 at the glass preform supply position while being adsorbed by the six suction pads 221 of the preform supply device 22 at the upper part of the heating chamber. Thereafter, the suction pad 221 rises after the suction is stopped and the preform is dropped on the tray 26 of the arm 25. Next, the arm 25 rotates to preheat the glass preform G with the preform heating device 24. The glass preform G is levitated by the gas blown from the lower part of the levitating plate 26 through the arm 25. When the glass preform G is preheated to a desired temperature by the heating device 24, the arm 25 is further rotated and the passage 60 is rotated. To stop. Thereafter, the gate 61 opens, the arm 25 moves forward and moves onto the lower mold 420 of the press device 41, where the arm 25 opens, and the glass preform G is dropped and supplied from the floating plate 26 onto the lower mold 420. Thereafter, the arm 25 moves backward and rotates to return to the glass preform G supply position.

In the molding chamber 40, after the glass preform is supplied to the lower mold 420, the lower mold is raised and pressing by the upper and lower molds is started. When pressing is finished and mold release / lower mold lowering starts, the glass optical element carrying-out device 42 rotates from the standby position (preheating position) and moves onto the lower mold 420, and the molded product is adsorbed and taken out by the pad.
Continuous press molding is performed by repeating the above steps.

During the press molding process, when the glass preform is supplied from the preform supply device 22 to the conveying device 23, the number of glass preforms is detected. At this time, the pressure in each suction passage 223 in the preform supply device 22 is measured by the pressure sensor 224, and this measurement data is sent to the control unit 50.
Further, when the glass preform supplied to the lower mold 420 is measured by the optical sensor 421 to detect the number of glass preforms, the projector is estimated by the timing at which the glass preform is supplied from the arm 25 to the lower mold 420. Laser light is projected from 421 a and measurement data from the light receiver 421 b is input to the control unit 50.

The control unit 50 selects the initial press load to the third press load (and the initial press completion position) from the table stored in the storage unit 502 based on the input measurement data (number), and sets it as output data. . A drive signal is output from the servo controller 504 to the servo motor 51 based on the set data, and the lower mold drive shaft (not shown) is raised to perform initial press with a set press load. Then, when the predetermined thickness is reached, the initial press is completed.
Here, whether or not the predetermined thickness has been reached is determined by a predetermined lower die moving stroke. That is, a press stroke corresponding to a predetermined thickness is obtained in advance, and is detected by the encoder 51a of the servo motor 51, and it is determined that the predetermined thickness has been reached.

When a load is applied during pressing, slight elastic deformation may occur in the structure of the pressing device, for example, the fixing member of the mold or the press shaft. The amount of deformation changes when the load is changed. Therefore, if the load is changed according to the number of preforms, the thickness of the glass optical element may fluctuate, so that the amount of change due to elastic deformation must be corrected by the amount of press stroke. Therefore, when there is a possibility that such a phenomenon may occur, the initial press end position is obtained for each load value for selecting a stroke for which correction is anticipated in advance, and after the initial press is completed, Until the drive shaft is moved.
Here, the predetermined thickness refers to a thickness that allows for shrinkage of the product due to subsequent cooling, and is a thickness that is approximately 0 to 200 μm, preferably 10 to 100 μm larger than the thickness of the final product.

Next, the load is reduced and pressing is performed with the second press load. At this time, cooling is also performed at the same time. Furthermore, when cooling is performed to a predetermined temperature, pressing is performed with a third press load. The third press load is preferably smaller than the load during the initial press and greater than the load during the second press. A third press is performed while cooling to increase the thickness of the final product.
It is preferable to select and set the press load in the second and third presses according to the number of preforms.

In this embodiment, the upper mold is fixed and the lower mold is movable. However, the upper mold may be movable and the lower mold may be fixed, or both the upper mold and the lower mold may be movable.
Further, the suction path 222 of the suction pad 221 in the preform supply device 22 is not provided independently for each suction pad 221, but can be sucked by a single suction path. In this case, the number of preforms is detected by measuring the pressure in the single suction path.
Further, in addition to one optical sensor provided for each lower mold, a line sensor can also be used. In this case, the number of glass preforms is determined based on the amount of light received by the light receiver.

  The optical element produced by the method of the present invention can be, for example, a lens, and there is no particular limitation on the shape, and it can be a biconvex, concave meniscus, convex meniscus, or the like. In particular, even when the lens has a medium outer diameter of about 15 to 25 mm, the thickness and the eccentricity accuracy can be maintained well. For example, the thickness accuracy is within ± 0.03 mm. As for the eccentricity accuracy, the present invention can be suitably applied to the manufacture of a tilt within 2 minutes and a decenter within 10 μm.

Next, the Example and comparative example which manufactured the glass optical element using the shaping | molding apparatus and manufacturing method of this invention are shown.
(Example)
The example which press-molded the concave meniscus lens using the press molding apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is shown. In this press molding apparatus, the method shown in FIG. 2 is used in which the preform supply device 22 detects the suction pressure when the glass preform is supplied to the arm 25.
As the glass preform, a sphere-shaped preform of borosilicate barium-based glass M-BaCD5N (Tg515 ° C.) was used. Six glass preforms were arranged on the supply tray in the supply preparation chamber 21, and the preform supply device 22 adsorbed the six glass preforms. The glass preform is supplied from the preform supply device 22 to the arm 25 of the preform conveying device 23, and is preheated to 610 ° C. by the heating device 24 and is preheated to 580 ° C. while being floated and held by the arm 25. Supplied on mold 420. Subsequently, the lower mold 420 was raised and initial pressing was performed with a predetermined load. This initial pressing is performed until the center thickness is about 70 μm thicker than the desired value. After the initial press was completed, a second press was performed with a predetermined load. At this time, cooling was started, and when the temperature reached 555 ° C., a third press was further performed with a predetermined load. Thereafter, the mold was released when the lower mold fell below Tg. At this time, the values for the six glass preforms were selected and set for the initial press to third press load and the initial press completion position.
Next, four glass preforms G were arranged on the supply tray in the supply preparation chamber 21 so that the number of the glass preforms G adsorbed by the preform supply device 22 was four. When continuously pressed, the pressure sensor 224 detects that the number of the glass preforms G is four, and the initial press to third press load and the initial press completion position corresponding to the four are selected and set. Press molding was performed based on the data. The center thickness of the four lenses molded in this way is 1.195mmt, 1.192mmt, 1.193mmt, 1.189mmt, and each lens has a surface accuracy within 0.5 habits. It was equivalent to the case of pressing, and a non-defective product was obtained.
The results of obtaining the initial press to the third press load and the initial press completion position in advance so that the center wall thickness becomes about 1.20 mm according to the number of presses at one time are shown in Table 1. , Sliding resistance is added.)

(Comparative example)
Only the conditions for the six glass preforms in Table 1 were set so that the glass preform G number detection and control system would not work. In this state, four glass preforms were supplied and molded. Except that, it was molded in the same manner as in the example. The four lenses supplied with the cycle are 1.165mmt, 1.161mmt, 1.162mmt, 1.157mmt and the center wall thickness is less than the specification range of 1.200mm ± 0.03mm. became.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of a mold press forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an example in which a pressure sensor is used as a molding material detection unit and this pressure sensor is provided in a molding material supply apparatus. FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views of an example in which an optical sensor is used as a molding material detection unit and the optical sensor is provided on the side of the lower mold. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are explanatory diagrams when the presence or absence of a molding material is detected by an optical sensor. FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the control means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical glass manufacturing apparatus 20 Heating chamber 22 Preform supply apparatus 221 Suction pad 222 Vacuum pump 223 Suction path 224 Pressure sensor 40 Molding chamber 41 Press apparatus 420 Lower mold | type 421 Optical sensor 50 Drive control means (control part)

Claims (7)

In a mold press molding apparatus that simultaneously press-molds a plurality of molding materials with a molding die,
Molding material detection means for detecting the number of molding materials to be press-molded ,
Drive means for driving the mold and performing press molding;
A mold press molding apparatus comprising: a drive control unit that selects a press load based on the detected number of molding materials and drives the driving unit according to the selected press load.   2. The mold press molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive control means selects a press stop position based on the detected number of molding materials or a selected press load, and drives the drive means according to the selected press stop position. .   When the supply of the molding material is sucked and held by a suction supply unit, a pressure detection unit is provided in a suction path of the suction supply unit, and the number of the supplied molding materials is detected by the pressure detection unit. The mold press molding apparatus of 1 or 2.   The mold press molding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a suction path of the suction supply means is formed for each of the plurality of molding materials, and a pressure detection means is provided for each of the plurality of suction paths.   The optical detection means which optically detects the molding material is arranged at the supply position of the plurality of molding materials, and the number of supplied molding materials is detected by the optical detection means. Mold press molding equipment.   A method for manufacturing an optical element, wherein the optical element is manufactured by press-molding a softened molding material by heating using the mold press molding apparatus according to claim 1.   The press molding step includes an initial press and a second press that presses with a smaller load than the initial press, and the initial press drives the driving means according to the selected press load. The manufacturing method of the optical element of Claim 6 performed by these.

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