JPH0562579B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical modeling method for forming a solid body of a desired shape using light and a photocurable fluid material.

Conventional technology and its problems Conventionally, models corresponding to the product shape required during mold production, models for controlling the profile of cutting descent, or models for die-sinking electrical discharge machining electrodes have been produced by hand processing or using an NC milling machine. This was done by NC cutting using tools such as. However, when using manual machining, there is a problem in that it requires a lot of time and skill, and when using NC machining, it is necessary to create a complex machining program that takes into account replacement and wear to change the shape of the cutting edge. In addition, there is a problem in that additional finishing machining may be required to remove steps formed on the machined surface.

In order to solve this problem, the present inventor has proposed an optical modeling method shown in FIG.
In one embodiment of the method, the photocurable fluid material A is contained in a container 51, and the base plate 2 supported by the support rod 3 is irradiated with light from above to form the fluid material A.
It is immersed in the fluid material A to a depth that provides a continuous hardened portion extending from the upper surface to the upper surface of the base plate 2, and selectively irradiated with light from above the fluid material A via a light converging device 4 such as a convex lens. , forming a hardened portion extending from the upper surface of the fluid material A to the upper surface of the base plate, and further sinking the base plate 2 into the fluid material A so as to form a depth corresponding to the depth above the hardened portion; Selective light irradiation is performed from above to form a hardened portion that extends upward continuously from the hardened portion, and the settling of the base plate 2 and the formation of the hardened portion are repeated to form a solid having a desired shape. . The hardened portion B shown in FIG. 4a is one in which stepwise hardening is repeated during the formation of a solid having the desired shape.

In such a method, as shown in FIG. 4b, when the base plate 2 is lowered to a predetermined depth, the immersion volume of the support rod 3 in the fluid material A increases, and the position of the upper surface of the fluid material A increases. It gets expensive. As a result, the depth from the upper surface of the fluid substance A to the upper surface of the hardened portion B is determined by the base plate 2 with respect to the container 51.
is greater than the amount of fall. Therefore, in order to obtain an appropriate settling distance of the base plate 2, it is necessary to set the distance by taking into consideration the increase in the volume of the support rod 3 immersed in the fluid substance A, and it is necessary to set the distance by taking into account the increase in the volume of the support rod 3 immersed in the fluid substance A. In some cases, this consideration becomes troublesome. In addition, since the position of the upper surface of the fluid material A gradually becomes higher, the light concentrator 4 or the container 5
It is necessary to control the movement of at least one of them using a sensor, a drive device, etc., which is a problem in that the work is time-consuming and the device becomes large-scale.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an optical modeling method that can easily form a solid body of a desired shape without requiring the above-mentioned complicated labor.

Means for Solving the Problems The object of the present invention is to house a photocurable fluid material that is cured by light in a container, and to place a base plate supported by the lower end of a vertically extending support rod into the fluid material. In the optical modeling method, the container is lowered in stages and selectively irradiated with light from above the fluid material at each stage to form a solid part in a desired shape on the base plate in order. An outlet is provided in the upper part of the side wall for overflowing the photocurable fluid material, and the photocurable fluid material is caused to overflow from the outlet by the immersion amplification of the support rod that is lowered for the base plate to settle. An optical modeling method characterized by forming the solid material while keeping the height of the upper surface of the fluid material constant, and placing a photocurable fluid material that hardens with light in a container. The base plate, which is accommodated and supported by the lower end of a support rod extending in the vertical direction, is lowered stepwise in the fluid material, and selectively irradiated with light from above the fluid material at each step. In an optical modeling method in which a solid portion having a desired shape is obtained by sequentially forming hardened portions on the container, an overflow tank is provided surrounding the outer periphery of the side wall of the container, and an overflow tank is provided to surround the outer periphery of the side wall of the container, and the immersion volume of the support rod that is lowered to settle the base plate is increased. The optical modeling method is characterized in that the photocurable fluid material overflows from the container and is received in the overflow tank, and the solid formation is performed while maintaining a constant height of the top surface of the fluid material. achieved.

As the photocurable fluid substance, various substances that are cured by light irradiation can be used, such as modified polyurethane methacrylate, oligoester acrylate, urethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, photosensitive polyimide, and amino alkyd.

The photocurable fluid substance may be mixed with a modifying material such as pigment, ceramic powder, metal powder, etc. in advance.

As the light, various types of light such as visible light and ultraviolet light can be used depending on the photocurable material used. Although the light may be ordinary light, using laser light has the advantages of increasing the energy level, shortening the modeling time, and improving the modeling accuracy by utilizing good light focusing. can.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention. This device consists of a container 1 containing a photocurable fluid material A, a base plate 2 supported at the lower end of a support rod 3 extending in the vertical direction, and a light emitted from a light source above the container 1 into the container 1. A light converging device 4 is provided to converge the light into a point near the upper surface of the fluid material A, and the light irradiation position is moved relative to the fluid material A. The container 1 has its side wall 1
1 is provided with an outlet 5 for causing the fluid substance A to overflow from the container 1 and for keeping the height of the top surface of the fluid substance A constant. The height of the outlet 5 is set higher than the combined height of the shaped solid 6 to be obtained and the base plate 2. A receiver 7 is arranged below the outlet 5 to receive the fluid material overflowing from the outlet.

The light source and light concentrator 4 are fixed outside the container 1 and move mainly in the horizontal direction with respect to the container 1.
The light converging device 4 in this optical modeling apparatus is a convex lens, but may also be a concave mirror that reflects and converges light, for example.

Further, a support rod 3 that supports the base plate 2 is also fixed outside the container 1 and moves in a direction perpendicular to the container 1.

The movement control of the light source and light converging device 4 or the movement control of the support rod 3 can be performed as appropriate, such as automatic control such as NC, manual control, etc.

In order to form a solid 6 of a desired shape using this apparatus, first the photocurable fluid material A is placed in the container 1 to the extent that it overflows from the outlet 5 (see FIG. 2a).
Next, lower the support rod 3 and lower the base plate 2.
is immersed in the fluid material A, and the base plate 2 is immersed in the fluid material A to a depth that allows a continuous hardened portion extending from the top surface of the fluid material A to the top surface of the base plate 2 by irradiating light from above, as shown in FIG. 2b. Position. In this case, the fluid material A corresponding to the immersion volume of the base plate 2 and the support rod 3 overflows from the outlet 5, so that the upper surface of the fluid material A is maintained at the predetermined height. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2c, a light source emits light having an energy level necessary for curing the fluid material A, and the light converger 4 converges the light into a point shape while the fluid material on the base plate 2 is being focused. Concentrate irradiation on A. In this state, the light concentration point is moved relative to the container 1, and light is irradiated selectively in accordance with the shape of the shaped solid to be obtained. As a result, a hardened portion 60 is obtained. Note that if the depth exceeds the depth at which the continuous hardened portion described above can be obtained, the hardened portion will not adhere to the upper surface of the base plate 2 and will float or settle in the fluid material A, making it impossible to obtain a shaped solid of the desired shape. It disappears. Hardened part 6
0 is obtained, as shown in FIG. 2d, the depth from the upper surface of the fluid substance A in the container 1 to the upper surface of the hardened portion 60 is the depth that can be obtained by light irradiation if the continuous hardened portion extends between these two surfaces. The support rod 3 is lowered and the base plate 2 is lowered to the same depth as that at which the hardened portion 60 was formed. By lowering the support rod 3, the support rod 3 is immersed in the fluid substance A.
The volume of the fluid substance A increases, but along with this the volume of the fluid substance A increases.
However, the fluid material A overflows from the outlet 5 and the upper surface of the fluid material A is maintained at a constant height as shown in FIG. 2b. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2e, the fluid substance A
The cured portion 60 is selectively irradiated with concentrated light from above through the light concentrator 4 similar to that described above.
A new, continuous hardened portion 61 can be obtained on top. Further, by repeating the settling of the base plate 2 as the support rods 3 are lowered to the above-mentioned depth and the formation of a hardened portion by light irradiation, it is possible to form a shaped solid 60 having a desired shape. During this time, the fluid material A overflowing from the outlet 5 is received by the receiver 7.

A plurality of light sources and light concentrators 4 may be used integrally, or the position may be controlled such that the container 1 is moved horizontally with respect to fixed light irradiation.

As described above, in the optical modeling method of the present invention, the upper surface of the photocurable fluid material in the container is always at a constant height when the fluid material is irradiated with light, regardless of the increase in the immersion volume of the support rod. This results in
The distance from the light concentrator to the top surface of the fluid substance is maintained at an appropriate convergence distance, and there is no need to control the vertical movement of the light concentrator or container, and sensors, drive devices, etc. for this purpose can be omitted, and the device is simple. Become something. In addition, the descending distance of the support rod need only be set to a distance corresponding to the above-mentioned appropriate depth, without the need for calculations taking into account the rise of the upper surface of the fluid material.

Note that the optical modeling apparatus described above can also use a container 20 shown in FIG. 3 instead of the container 1 used therein. The container 20 has a predetermined height above the upper surface of the photocurable fluid material A, that is, the shaped solid 6 to be obtained and the base plate 2 that holds it.
The container body 21 has the same height as the height at which the main body 21 can be immersed in the fluid substance A, and the overflow tank 22 extends upward so as to go around the opening periphery of the main body 21. This container 20 receives the fluid substance A overflowing from the container body 21 in an overflow tank 22.
The fluid material A received in the overflow tank 22 is discharged from an outlet 23 provided in the overflow tank 22. Therefore, the container 20 is also the same as the container 1 described above.
Similarly, regardless of the increase in the immersion volume of the support rod 3,
The upper surface of the fluid material A is maintained at a constant height, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above, according to the method of the present invention, the immersion volume of the support rod, which is lowered together with the base plate that holds the cured portion, is increased into the photocurable fluid material, thereby increasing the flow rate of the photocurable fluid material in the container. Since the substance is caused to overflow and a solid is formed while maintaining the height of the upper surface of the fluid material in the container, there is no need for complicated efforts to adjust the distance between the light converging device and the upper surface of the fluid material, and
It is possible to provide an optical modeling method that can easily form a solid in a desired shape without considering the rise of the upper surface of the fluid material when the support rod is lowered.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view schematically showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out an optical modeling method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 a to 2 e are explanations showing the implementation status step by step. Figures 3 and 3 are longitudinal sectional front views showing other examples of containers used in the above device, and Figures 4a and 4b are explanatory diagrams schematically showing conventional optical modeling methods. 1, 20... Container, 2... Base plate, 3
... Support rod, 4 ... Light converging device, 5, 23 ... Outlet, 6 ... Shaped solid of desired shape, 60, 61 ...
Cured portion, A...photocurable fluid material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A photocurable fluid material that is hardened by light is housed in a container, and a base plate supported by the lower end of a support rod extending in the vertical direction is lowered in steps into the fluid material. In an optical modeling method, in which a solid portion having a desired shape is obtained by sequentially forming hardened portions on a base plate by selectively irradiating light from above the fluid material in a step, the light hardening material is applied to the upper part of the side wall of the container. providing an outlet through which the fluid substance overflows, and causing the photocurable fluid substance to overflow from the outlet and be received in a receiver by increasing the immersion volume of the support rod that is lowered for settling the base plate; An optical modeling method characterized in that the solid formation is performed while the height of the upper surface of the fluid substance is maintained constant. 2. A photocurable fluid material that is hardened by light is housed in a container, and a base plate supported by the lower end of a support rod extending in the vertical direction is lowered stepwise into the fluid material, and at each step, the fluid material is In an optical modeling method that sequentially forms hardened portions on a base plate to obtain a solid having a desired shape by selectively irradiating light from above, an overflow tank surrounding the outer periphery of the side wall of the container is provided,
By increasing the immersion volume of the support rod that is lowered to settle the base plate, the photocurable fluid material overflows from the container and is received in the overflow tank, and the height of the top surface of the fluid material is maintained constant. An optical modeling method characterized in that the solid formation is performed while the solid state is formed.