JPH07195533A - Sheet laminating and shaping apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply shape three-dimensional matter with higher accuracy. CONSTITUTION:An apparatus shaping three-dimensional matter by laminating sheets is equipped with a placing stand 12 placing a lower sheet cut into an effective region and an unnecessary region, an interposing means 18 interposing an adhesive between the lower sheet and the upper sheet to be laminated thereto, a bonding means 30 fixed at a predetermined position bonding the upper and lower sheets on the upwardly moving placing stand and a cutting means 34 cutting the upper sheet bonded on the placing stand 12 into an effective region and an unnecessary region.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for adhering and laminating sheets to form a three-dimensional object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for forming a three-dimensional model having a complicated shape, there has been known a device for stacking paper sheets to which a heat-melting adhesive is applied in advance. In this apparatus, the sheets are adhered to each other by heating the sheets with a hot roller after stacking the paper sheets. Then, the upper-layer paper sheet is cut along the contour of the region forming the three-dimensional object.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned apparatus, it is difficult to laminate the sheets with high accuracy and adhere them to form a three-dimensional object with high forming accuracy. There is also an apparatus for accurately modeling a three-dimensional object by using a photo-curing molding method, but since a photo-irradiating step is required using a photo-curing resin, it is necessary to prepare equipment for carrying out the above method. The initial cost is high and it is necessary to clean the molding surface with alcohol. Furthermore, it is difficult to model such a three-dimensional object in an ordinary office, for example, a secondary curing treatment is required after molding to obtain a complete polymerization rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet lamination molding apparatus capable of modeling a three-dimensional object with higher accuracy and more easily in order to solve the above problems in the prior art.

[0005]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present invention, in an apparatus for stacking sheets to form a three-dimensional object, have a lower layer cut into an effective area and an unnecessary area. The mounting table on which the sheet is placed, and an interposition means for interposing an adhesive between the upper layer sheet laminated on the lower layer sheet, and the upper layer on the mounting table which is fixed at a predetermined position and moves upward. A sheet laminating modeling apparatus is provided, which comprises: an adhesive means for adhering a sheet and a lower layer sheet; and a cutting means for cutting the upper layer sheet adhered on the mounting table into an effective area and an unnecessary area. did. Further, the present inventors have stated that the mounting table is formed to be movable in the vertical direction, the bonding means is fixed vertically above the mounting table, and the cutting means is the mounting table and the bonding means. The above-described sheet additive manufacturing apparatus is created so that the sheet additive manufacturing apparatus is arranged so as to be horizontally movable at a predetermined height between them. Further, the inventors of the present invention are characterized in that, as the adhesive, at least an adhesive that exerts an adhesive force by pressurization is used, and the adhering means has a pressurizing surface for pressurizing the upper layer sheet. The sheet additive manufacturing apparatus was created. Further, the present inventors have created the above-described sheet lamination molding apparatus, wherein the interposition means supplies the adhesive onto the upper layer sheet by electrostatic transfer.

The sheet may be a sheet body capable of forming a three-dimensional object by adhesive lamination. The adhesive can be appropriately selected depending on the type of the sheet, the method of supplying the adhesive, the strength required for the three-dimensional object to be molded, and the like. The electrostatic transfer means to attach particles to an electrostatic latent image formed on a drum by an electrostatic recording method, an electrophotographic method, a laser recording method or the like, and then electrostatically transfer the particle image onto a sheet. It means moving.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the sheet on the mounting table is moved to the bonding position and the cutting action position by the vertical movement of only the mounting table, and a single movable portion is provided. Easy control of working height. According to the second aspect of the invention, the working height can be controlled more easily by moving the mounting table, which is a single movable part, only in the vertical direction. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sheets are adhered to each other by applying pressure using at least an adhesive that exerts an adhesive force by applying pressure, so that light irradiation or the like is not necessary. Further, the adhesive strength can be controlled by the upper moving position of the mounting table. According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the adhesive is supplied by electrostatic transfer, a normal electrostatic transfer means can be used as an intermediary means for the adhesive.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the sheet 2 has a thickness of 0.1 mm and is 297 mm × 420.
Plain paper (fine paper) having a size of mm is used. Note that a continuous sheet may be cut and used instead of a single-cut sheet. As the adhesive 4, an adhesive obtained by removing a pigment from an electronic toner and having a polyethylene-based thermoplastic resin as a main component was used. The electronic toner is usually composed mainly of a thermoplastic resin as a binder and a pigment, and the electronic toner itself can be used as the adhesive of the present invention. Further, an adhesive (toner, for example, a capsule toner for developing an electrostatic latent image disclosed in JP-A-59-189354) which can be fixed to the sheet 2 only by pressurization which does not require heating can be used. . When an adhesive that can be pressure-fixed is used, a mere plate is sufficient instead of the heater plate 32 described later, so that the device cost can be reduced, and higher safety can be achieved for unmanned molding, and the heating time of the plate can be increased. There is a merit that is unnecessary.

FIG. 1 shows a sheet lamination molding apparatus according to this embodiment. This layered modeling apparatus mainly includes a data processing section 8, a control section 9, and a sheet layered modeling section (hereinafter, simply referred to as a modeling section) 10.

The data processing unit 8 creates two-dimensional information data representing the cross-sectional shape of the three-dimensional object based on the information representing the shape of the three-dimensional object, and supplies this data to the modeling unit 10. The information representing the shape of the three-dimensional object supplied to the data processing unit 8 is the three-dimensional CA in this embodiment.
It is supplied by the D system, and the two-dimensional shape information of the cross section is obtained based on the three-dimensional shape information.
It is well known in the field of CAD systems.

The data processing unit 8 converts the two-dimensional shape information supplied from the three-dimensional CAD system and input into raster data and supplies it to the laser printing unit 18 and the cutting plotter unit 34. Raster data is data representing the cross-sectional shape of a three-dimensional object, one side of the contour of the cross-sectional shape is an effective area forming the three-dimensional object, and the other side is an unnecessary area. The cross-sectional vector data and raster data are created for each sheet 2.

The control unit 9 performs sequence control of the laser printer unit 18 and the cutting plotter unit 34, height position control of the table 14, and the like.

The modeling unit 10 is composed of a table unit 12, a paper feed tray unit 16, a laser printer unit 18, a carrying unit 22, a heater plate unit 30, and a cutting plotter unit 34. The table portion 12 has a table 14 on which the laminated body being formed is placed and a motor (not shown) capable of moving the table in the vertical direction.
Further, the table unit 12 includes a detection device (not shown) for detecting the absolute position (height) of the table 14, and the height position is controlled by the control unit 9. The table 14 is vertically moved upward by directing the heater plate portion 30 described later each time one sheet 2 is stacked by the operation of the motor, and the height of the stacked sheets 2 is a predetermined height. Is moved down to the position. Each time the sheets 2 are stacked, the lower position is lowered by the thickness of the sheets 2 (more accurately, the thickness of the sheets 2 and the thickness of the adhesive 4).

The paper feed tray section 16 has a tray 17 on which the sheets 2 are stacked and placed, and a motor (not shown) for making the tray movable up and down. The paper feed tray unit 16 holds the sheets 2 cut in advance to a predetermined length and supplies the sheets to the laser printer unit 18 one by one. The laser printer unit 18 electrostatically transfers the adhesive 4 onto the sheet 2, and is the same as that used in a general laser printer or a copying machine. In the laser printer unit 18, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum by exposure with a laser beam according to the data given from the data processing unit 8, an image of the adhesive 4 is formed, and the adhesive image is further formed. It is to be electrostatically transferred onto the sheet 2.
The laser printer unit 18 has a fixing unit 20 for fixing the adhesive 3 transferred onto the sheet 2, and is conveyed by the conveying unit 22 after passing through the fixing unit 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport section 22 is formed of a chain 24, a sprocket 26, a sheet holding mechanism 27, and a motor (not shown) for driving the sprocket 26. The chain 24, the sprocket 26, and the holding mechanism 27 are provided on both sides of the sheet 2 to be conveyed in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the conveying direction). The holding mechanism 27 is provided so as to face the chains 24 on both sides and hold the seat 2. The humidity environment and the like around the transport unit 22 are adjusted by an air conditioner or a fan so that the sheet 2 can be moved from the laser printer unit 18 to the table unit without absorbing moisture.

Further, on the leading end side of the transport section 22, there is provided an intermediate tray section 28 for reversing and temporarily placing the sheet 2. The intermediate tray unit 28 includes a tray 29a and a jogger 29.
The sheet 2 that has a sheet b and is temporarily placed on the tray 29a is pushed and positioned by the jogger 29 from the left and right front and rear sides, and then the sheet 2 is supplied to the table portion 12. Further, the intermediate tray section 28 is also a tray for adjusting the operation of the laser printer section 18 and the cutting plotter section 34 by the control section 9.

The heater plate section 30 is a table section 1.
A plate 32 fixedly arranged at a predetermined height directly above 2 and having a size sufficient to press the entire surface of the laminate T on the lower surface side, and the plate 32 which can be heated to a predetermined temperature (not shown) And a heater unit. The table 14 on which the laminated body T is placed is lifted from below and pressed against the pressing surface of the plate 32, so that the upper layer sheet 2Y on the surface of the laminated body T and the lower layer sheet 2X immediately below it are adhered to each other. To be done. The heating temperature of the plate 32 is appropriately set depending on the types of the sheet 2 and the adhesive 4 used, the degree of pressurization, and the like. The pressing surface of the plate 32 is subjected to a peeling process using a fluororesin or silicon so that the pressed upper layer sheet 2Y does not adhere to the pressed sheet when the table T is moved downward and the laminated body T is moved downward. ing.

The cutting plotter section 34 includes the cutter 3
5 and an XY plotter 36 to which the cutter 35 is fixed and moves horizontally based on the data supplied by the data processing unit 8. Cutting plotter section 3
Reference numeral 4 is provided below the heater plate portion 30 and at a predetermined height above the table portion 12 and at a position where there is no problem in vertical movement of the table 14 and sheet feeding on the table 14. The cutter 35, which is the acting portion, two-dimensionally cuts only the outermost sheet 2 of the sheets 2 stacked on the table 14 at a constant height position by the XY plotter 36. Is. That is, the cutter 3
The working height of 5 is always constant, never moved up and down,
By controlling the height of the table 14, the cutter 35
Can act.

As the cutting means, a laser cutter, an ultrasonic cutter or the like can be used in addition to the cutter 35. In particular, the advantages of using the cutter 35 are that the initial cost can be reduced, it is necessary to prepare dust removal equipment, there is no risk of fire, and the cutting depth can be easily controlled.

The modeling unit 10 thus formed is housed in a cabinet, and the humidity and thermal environment around the seat 2 are controlled. In this embodiment, an air conditioner (not shown) is also provided in the cabinet in order to accurately manage heat and humidity generated in the modeling unit 10.

The steps of forming a three-dimensional object using the forming apparatus thus formed will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a process cross-sectional view showing a procedure for stacking the sheets 2 and modeling the three-dimensional object M by the present apparatus. First, the tray 1 is used as the lower layer sheet 2 that constitutes the laminated body T.
The sheet 2 on the sheet 7 is supplied to the printer unit 18. This lower layer sheet 2X is conveyed to the table 14 without transferring the adhesive 4, is set on the table 14, and is cut into an effective area and an unnecessary area by the cutter 35. And
The sheet moves downward by the thickness of the lower sheet 2X, and waits until the next sheet 2Y is supplied. The lower layer sheet 2Y is shown as the lower sheet in FIG. 2 (B).

FIG. 2A shows an upper sheet 2Y to be laminated on the lower sheet 2X on the table 14 and an adhesive layer 40 formed by transferring the adhesive 4 on the surface thereof. ing. The data of the cross-sectional shape of this sheet 2Y is
It is obtained by slicing the three-dimensional object M from below with the thickness of the sheet 2X. The adhesive layer 40 is formed based on this two-dimensional information.

The adhesive layer 40 is formed of an effective adhesive layer 42 and an auxiliary adhesive layer 46. First, 3D CA
The areas of the effective adhesive layer 6 and the auxiliary adhesive layer 8 are defined on the D system. The area of the effective adhesive layer 42 is the overlap area D.
And the preliminary region A. Effective areas V2 and V1 of the upper layer sheet 2Y and the lower layer sheet 2X to be laminated
The area in which the effective adhesive layer 42 is formed is a range that bulges outward with a predetermined width from the overlapping area D included in any of the above. This width is set in consideration of a transfer error of the effective adhesive layer 42, a heat shrinkage of the sheet 2, an error when the sheet 2 is conveyed to the table 14 and positioned, and a heat shrinkage of the sheet 2. In this embodiment, it is set to 0.5 mm. The area outside the formation area of the effective adhesive layer 42 becomes the formation area of the auxiliary adhesive layer 46, and the adhesion amount of the adhesive 4 is determined depending on the degree of patterning in these areas 42 and 46 (shading, density, pattern distribution, etc.). And the adhesion site can be adjusted.

In this embodiment, the area where the effective adhesive layer 42 is formed transfers the adhesive 4 to the entire area, and the area of the auxiliary adhesive layer 46 transfers the adhesive 4 into a thin linear shape to form a mesh shape. Shall be formed.

The formation areas of the effective adhesive layer 42 and the auxiliary adhesive layer 46 thus defined are supplied from the three-dimensional CAD system to the laser printer section 18 as information corresponding to the upper sheet 2Y, and the area of the exposure section is supplied. The photosensitive drum charged with the laser beam is scanned and exposed to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum. Further, the electrostatic latent image is converted into an adhesive image by attaching the adhesive 4 instead of the electronic toner. Further, the adhesive image on the drum is displayed on the paper feed tray section 16
Is transferred onto the upper layer sheet 2Y supplied by, and is fused and fixed by heating or the like to form the adhesive layer 40.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the upper layer sheet 2Y is held by a sheet holding mechanism, and is turned over and adjusted in position through the intermediate tray 28, and the table portion 12 is moved.
Supply to. The sheet 2Y is conveyed from the laser printer unit 18 to the table unit 12 in a few seconds to a few seconds.
Further, since the humidity and temperature environment around the transport unit 22 are adjusted, the sheet 2Y is not distorted due to moisture absorption during transport.

Then, the sheet is stacked on the lower sheet 2X which is cut and laminated into the effective area V1 and the unnecessary area U1 which are already placed on the table 14. In the upper layer sheet 2Y, which is reversed during conveyance, the adhesive layers 42 and 46 are in contact with the surface of the lower layer sheet 2X (see FIG. 2C).

Then, the table 14 is moved upward, and toward the lower surface of the plate 32 disposed above and heated to a predetermined temperature, the laminated body T (the lower sheet 2X and the upper sheet 2).
Y) is pressed with a predetermined pressure. As a result, the lower sheet 2
The adhesive 4 interposed between X and the upper sheet 2Y is melted, and the two sheets 2X and 2Y come into close contact with each other via the adhesive layer 40 (see FIG. 2D). The upward movement amount (upward movement position) of the table 14 is controlled by the control unit 9 so that the predetermined pressure set for the lamination adhesion is always obtained. At this time, the plate 32 also has an effect of flatly molding the adhesive layer 40 interposed between the sheets 2X and 2Y via the sheet 2Y. Therefore, the sheets 2X and 2Y are bonded together and a layer for suppressing deformation such as warpage is formed. Further, the pressing by the plate 32 is repeatedly performed, and the repulsion of the sheet 2 that gradually occurs after stacking can be repeatedly suppressed, so that the three-dimensional object M without deformation can be formed. Further, the repeated pressurization also suppresses the curing shrinkage of the adhesive layer 40. The adhesive layer 40 itself is also the sheet 2
Acts to suppress Y warpage. As a result, the sheets 2Y are reliably maintained in a flatly stacked state even after being stacked. The pressure applied by the plate 32 also has the effect of making the paper thickness of the sheet 2 itself constant.

The plate 32 is the upper sheet 2Y.
Since the entire sheet is pressed at the same time, the sheet 2Y is not displaced. Furthermore, the already cut lower layer sheet 2X
The unnecessary area U1 is also placed on the table 14 and supports the entire upper sheet 2Y from below, so that the entire range of the sheet 2Y is uniformly pressed.

After that, the table 14 is moved downward, the adhesive 4 is cooled and solidified, and the first sheet 2X and the second sheet 2 are
Glue with Y. In this thermocompression bonding step, the adhesive 4 is melted, and no harmful substances are vaporized or a bad odor does not occur and the surrounding environment is not deteriorated.

Vertical movement of the table 14 is controlled by the detection device and the control unit 9, and the action portion of the cutter 35 which is two-dimensionally moved by the XY plotter 36 can cut only the upper sheet 2Y laminated and adhered. It moves down to such a position. That is, the pressing position (up position) and the cutting position (down position) are controlled only by the vertical movement of the table 14, that is, the movable portion in the vertical direction is moved to the table 14.
By only doing so, it is possible to easily achieve fine height adjustment of the thickness of each sheet (accurately, the total thickness of the sheet 2 and the adhesive layer 40) due to the sheets 2 being sequentially laminated, and the error Is kept to a minimum.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (E), the cutter 35 operated by the XY plotter 36 based on the data from the data processing section 8 moves the upper sheet 2Y into the effective area V2 and the unnecessary area U2. Disconnect. Since the effective adhesive layer 6 and the auxiliary adhesive layer 8 adhere to each other around the contour of the effective area V2, the upper sheet 2Y is not displaced or turned over with respect to the movement of the cutter 35. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper sheet 2Y is cut into a plurality of pieces at predetermined intervals from the outer periphery of the contour of the effective area V2 toward the outer peripheral edge of the upper sheet 2Y. The dividing line 50 is for facilitating the removal of the unnecessary area U after the completion of modeling, and the unnecessary area U can be three-dimensionally divided and removed. Particularly, if the dividing lines 50 are provided on the concave and convex portions, the dividing lines 50 can be easily removed, and in the case of an object having a lot of concaves and convexes, many dividing lines 50 can be arranged. The dividing line 50 is formed based on the data supplied to the cutting plotter unit 34 after the input information from the three-dimensional CAD system is converted by the data processing unit 8.

In this way, all the steps of stacking the upper sheet 2Y are carried out, and this step is repeated to stack the sheets 2 one after another. The cross-sectional shape of the sheet 2 to be stacked next to the sheet 2Y is corrected each time the sheets are stacked, based on the stack height of the sheet 2Y detected by the detector. That is, when there is a difference between the detected stacking height and the predicted stacking height, the cross-sectional shape is obtained by slicing the three-dimensional object at the slice position (height) obtained based on the detected stacking height position. . Further, the table 14 is displaced downward by the height of the stacked sheet 2Y and the adhesive layer 40 and waits for the next sheet 2 to be supplied. In this way, the sheet 2 is stacked on the table 14 as shown in FIG. 1, and the three-dimensional object M is formed in the stacked body T on the table 14. After all the sheets 2 are stacked, the stacked body T is taken out from the table 14 and the stacked portion of the unnecessary area U is removed along the dividing line 50. Unnecessary areas U can be removed in a lump form at a flat portion, and the sheet 2 can be peeled off one by one at a particularly uneven portion.

The three-dimensional object M that has appeared after all the unnecessary regions U have been removed has a similar shape to the three-dimensional shape designed by the three-dimensional CAD system. Also, 3
The outer surface of the three-dimensional object M is hard to be peeled off because the overlapping region D between the sheets 2 is surely adhered by the adhesive 4 of the effective adhesive layer 42. Further, the three-dimensional object M can be obtained as a model M immediately after modeling because it can obtain sufficient adhesive strength without heat treatment for a certain period of time after lamination, unlike the case of using a photocurable resin.

In this embodiment, the heater plate portion 30 is used as the adhering means, but an adhesive agent that exhibits adhesiveness by pressurization is used, and the adhering means that only pressurizes is used. can do. Further, in this embodiment, the adhesive 4 is interposed between the sheets 2, but the adhesive 4 is applied to the upper and lower sheets 2 by a large pressing force.
It is also possible to form a bonding layer by directly impregnating the upper and lower sheets 2 impregnated with the adhesive 4 without interposing the adhesive layer 40 between the upper and lower sheets 2. in this case,
Since the adhesive 4 is not interposed, the amount of the adhesive 4 used can be reduced, and the three-dimensional object M is firmly bonded.
Can be shaped. It should be noted that this bonding layer is also formed by pressing similarly to the adhesive layer 40, and has the same effect.

In this embodiment, plain paper is used as the sheet 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. But,
Plain paper is effective in reducing running costs, and has the advantage that it is easily impregnated with the adhesive 4 because it is made of pulp and that it has sufficient heat resistance for hot pressing. It should be noted that the impregnation of the sheet 2 with the adhesive 4 is effective in that the formability and the adhesiveness of the sheet 2 are enhanced.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the height of the three-dimensional object being laminated and molded to adjust the bonding strength and the working height position of the cutting means by the vertical movement of the mounting table. The adjustment can be easily performed according to the change in the height. Therefore, it is possible to reduce an operation error at the time of adhering or cutting, and further, a modeling error. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the mounting table, which is a single movable part, is moved only in the vertical direction, the working height can be controlled more accurately and accurately, and the modeling error can be further increased. To reduce
It is possible to form a highly accurate three-dimensional object. According to the invention described in claim 3, since the sheets are laminated by pressure bonding, the bonding strength and the like can be controlled by the vertical movement of the mounting table, and light irradiation or the like is unnecessary. , 3D objects can be easily modeled even in a normal office. According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, since the adhesive is supplied by electrostatic transfer, no special adhesive intermediary means is required, and a simple device configuration in which a commonly used electrostatic transfer means can be diverted Can be

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sheet lamination modeling apparatus configuration in an example of the present invention.

2A to 2E are cross-sectional views of a sheet stacking process in an example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cut state of a sheet by a cutter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2X ... Lower layer sheet 2Y ... Upper layer sheet 4 ... Adhesive agent 12 ... Mounting table (table section) 18 ... Interposition means (laser printer section) 30 ... Adhesion means (heater plate section) 34 ... Cutting means (cutting plotter section) U1 ... Unnecessary area of upper layer sheet U2 ... Unnecessary area of lower layer sheet V1 ... Effective area of upper layer sheet V2 ... Effective area of lower layer sheet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a device for stacking sheets to model a three-dimensional object, a vertically movable mounting table for mounting a lower layer sheet cut into an effective area and an unnecessary area, and a lower layer sheet on the lower layer sheet. An interposition means for interposing an adhesive between the upper-layer sheets to be laminated, an adhesion means for adhering the upper-layer sheet and the lower-layer sheet on the mounting table fixed at a predetermined position and moving upward, and the above-mentioned mounting table. A sheet laminating and shaping apparatus comprising: a cutting unit that cuts the upper layer sheet adhered in step 1 into an effective area and an unnecessary area. 2. The mounting table is movably formed in a vertical direction, the bonding means is fixed vertically above the mounting table, and the cutting means is provided between the mounting table and the bonding means. The sheet lamination molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet lamination molding apparatus is arranged at a predetermined height so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. 3. The adhesive is at least an adhesive that exerts an adhesive force by pressurization, and the adhering means has a pressurizing surface for pressurizing the upper layer sheet. The sheet additive manufacturing apparatus according to item 1. 4. The sheet lamination molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate means supplies the adhesive onto the upper layer sheet by electrostatic transfer.