WO2000030834A1

WO2000030834A1 - Stereolithography and stereolithographic apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2000030834A1
Application number: PCT/JP1999/006331
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shozo Kaieda; Noriyuki Suzuki
Original assignee: Afit Corporation
Priority date: 1998-11-25
Filing date: 1999-11-12
Publication date: 2000-06-02
Also published as: JP3068072B2; JP2000158544A

Abstract

A three-dimensional stereolithographic apparatus used for drawing a mask of high precision without adversely influencing other parts and having a simple structure, comprising applicating means (34) for applicating a photosetting material (38) to one side of a transparent plastic film (11) to form a thin layer (37), exposure means for exposing a light pattern onto the transparent plastic film to set the photosetting material in correspondence with the light pattern, and for laminating means for laminating the photoset material after peeling the photoset material from the transparent plastic film, wherein the exposure means includes thermal transfer means for forming an ink image (33) on the other side of the transparent plastic film by using an ink donner film (30) and a thermal print head (31) and illuminating means (43) for illuminating the other side of the transparent plastic film (11) having the thin layer (37) of the photoset material on the one side and the ink image (33) on the other side.

Description

Specification

Stereolithography method and stereolithography device

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus, in particular, after forming a photocurable material on a transparent plastic film and exposing and curing a light pattern of a three-dimensional object to be shaped into a circular slice. _u background on 3D stereolithography method and apparatus for laminating peeled

In recent years, as a device that can easily form complex three-dimensional objects such as models and models at the time of product development, a stereolithography device that forms a three-dimensional object (three-dimensional object) using photocurable resin. Is attracting attention. According to this method, a photocurable resin material layer having a predetermined thickness is selectively exposed to a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape obtained by cutting a three-dimensional object to be formed into a shape, and is cured. This is a method for obtaining a desired three-dimensional shape.

This type of stereolithography apparatus is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-164354. In this stereolithography apparatus, a material layer having a predetermined thickness made of a paste-like photocurable material is formed on a transparent sheet belt, and the material layer is supported by a transparent sheet belt and a molding base or a molding base. Exposure is performed through a transparent sheet belt sandwiched between the lower cured layer and a cured layer corresponding to the cross-sectional shape.After that, the transparent sheet belt and the material layer are uncured from the cured layer supported by the modeling base. By peeling off the parts, a three-dimensional object is formed by sequentially laminating hardened layers. At the time of this exposure, a toner image (mask) is formed on the surface of the transparent seat belt by electrophotography to shield the irradiated light.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-72153 includes a mask forming unit using a movable electrophotographic method. A toner image is formed on the mask and used as a mask, and exposed from below. The toner image is not fixed, the toner after exposure is collected, and the transparent drawing substrate is repeatedly used after the transparent drawing substrate bottom surface is tapped. However, the mask formation by the electrophotographic method has a problem in that the shaping accuracy cannot be improved due to collapse of an image edge (edge) peculiar to the electrophotographic method. Also, unlike ordinary applications such as copiers and printers, in the case of photolithography mask drawing, the image area to which toner adheres is extremely large, and the amount of toner used is large. In the case of drawing, there is a problem that the toner supply capacity in the developing device is insufficient, the image density is reduced due to insufficient charging of the toner, and the image is uneven, so that the modeling accuracy cannot be maintained. Furthermore, the toner used in the electrophotographic method is a fine powder, and there is a problem that the inside of the device is contaminated by toner dust, and the quality of a molded article is deteriorated due to mixing into a photocurable material.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to realize a three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus capable of drawing a high-precision mask with a simple configuration without adversely affecting other portions. Disclosure of the invention

In order to achieve the above object, the three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus of the present invention is characterized by using a thermal transfer method for forming an ink image by using an ink donor film and a thermal print head.

That is, the three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus of the present invention include a coating step for applying a photocurable material to one surface of a transparent plastic film to form a thin layer, and forming a thin layer of the photocurable material. A light pattern exposure process for exposing a light pattern to a transparent plastic film to cure the photocurable material in accordance with the light pattern, and a laminating process for peeling the cured photocurable material from the transparent plastic film and laminating it. A three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus, comprising: a light pattern exposure step, wherein a thermal transfer for forming an ink image on the other surface of the transparent plastic film by using an ink donor film and a thermal print head. Process / means and a transparent plastic film with a thin layer of photocurable material formed on one side and an ink image formed on the other side. Characterized in that it comprises a light irradiating step z means for irradiating light from the other surface side. According to the three-dimensional stereolithography method and apparatus of the present invention, since a mask image is formed by a thermal transfer method using an ink donor film and a thermal print head, the image end portion is not deteriorated and a large number of sheets are formed. Even when drawing a mask, high modeling accuracy can be obtained because there is no reduction in image density or image unevenness. Also, since it is ink, it does not adversely affect the surroundings _c

To apply a photocurable material to a transparent plastic film to form a thin layer, it is necessary to move the transparent plastic film while pressing it against a coating nozzle base to which the photocurable material is supplied from a slit-shaped gap. There is. Further, in order to form an ink image on a transparent plastic film by thermal transfer, it is necessary to move the transparent plastic film while pressing the transparent plastic film via the ink donor film and the thermal print head. Therefore, if the photocurable material is applied before the ink image is formed by thermal transfer, the photocurable material layer may be damaged at the time of thermal transfer, and if the photocurable material layer is damaged, the modeling accuracy will deteriorate. It is desirable to apply a photocurable material after forming an ink image by thermal transfer. However, when applying the photocurable material after forming the ink image by thermal transfer, it is necessary to prevent the ink image from being damaged during the application.

Therefore, in the present invention, the pressing member for pressing the transparent plastic film against the coating nozzle base when applying the photocurable material is made of a material in which a slidable fluororesin and metal are mixed. This prevents the ink image from being damaged when the photocurable material is applied. Lead is preferred as the metal to be mixed with the fluororesin

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic overall configuration and operation of an embodiment of an optical shaping apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing the mask forming means and a nozzle base made of a fluororesin material for protecting a mask image. FIG. 3 is a diagram using an ink donor film as a mask protection material. FIG. 4 is a diagram using a plastic film as a mask protection material. Figure 5 shows a nozzle that does not apply a load to the mask. It is a figure of a plate, (c) is the front view, (d) is a sectional side view. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In order to illustrate the invention in more detail, this will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5 are views showing an embodiment of the optical shaping apparatus according to the present invention. First, the configuration will be described. In Fig. 1, (11) is a transparent plastic film, and the supply bobbin

It is sent out from (12) and wound on a take-up bobbin (13). The transparent plastic film (11) is driven by a driven roller (14), a driving roller (15), and a moving roller (16). (19), driven rollers (20) and (21), moving roller (22), and driven roller (23). The ink donor film (30) is conveyed at the same time as the transparent plastic film (11), and the ink is thermally transferred to the surface of the transparent plastic film (11) by the thermal print head (31) and the mask (33) To form (34) is a material layer applying means for applying and forming an uncured material layer (37) having a constant thickness on the transparent plastic film (11). The material layer applying means (34) is composed of a nozzle plate (35), a nozzle base (36), and an uncured material layer (38). The transparent plastic film (11) is composed of the nozzle plate (35) and the nozzle base ( The uncured material is applied by a slit-shaped gap formed between the nozzle plate (31) and the upper surface of the transparent plastic film (11) when passing through the gap between the pieces (36). The material layer (37) is sandwiched between the transparent plastic film (11) and the molding base (41) or the lower hardened layer (42) supported by the transparent plastic film (11) via the transparent plastic film (11). After exposing (light irradiation device (43)) to form a cured layer of a predetermined shape, the transparent plastic film (11) and the uncured part of the material layer are peeled from the cured layer (42) supported by the modeling base. Thus, a three-dimensional object is formed by sequentially stacking the hardened layers (42). When the transparent plastic film (11) passes between the nozzle plate and the nozzle base, the nozzle plate (35) and the uncured material

Due to the weight of (38), the transparent plastic film (11) is pressed against the nozzle base (36), and the previously formed mask (33) is scraped off by friction with the nozzle base (36), resulting in an image (mask) 33 ') may be missing and the hardened layer cannot be modeled with high accuracy Power _c

To prevent the image on the transparent plastic film (11) from being damaged even if the image (mask (33)) is rubbed, lower the coefficient of friction on the nozzle base (36). (See Figure 2). The nozzle base (36) is made of fluororesin (PTFE, etc.) (39) having a low coefficient of friction. Attach a fluororesin sheet to the nozzle base (36) to provide mechanical strength. Further, a coating of a fluororesin or a plating containing a fluororesin in the coating may be performed. In particular, mixing metal powder (such as lead) with fluororesin to remove static electricity from the transparent plastic film is effective for image damage due to dust adhesion. As a result, image defects due to frictional rubbing were eliminated.

To avoid the drawn image coming into direct contact with the nozzle base (36),

—Use film (30) as a protective film for images. (See Fig. 13) After printing, the ink donor film 30 is a transparent plastic film

(11) is conveyed together with the nozzle plate (35) ■ nozzle carriage (36) passing between _c this time ink Donna first film (30) serves as a protective film of the image to prevent image defects.

In order to prevent the drawn image from coming into direct contact with the nozzle base (36), a plastic film (40) prepared separately is used as a protective film for the image. (See Fig. 4) After printing, the transparent plastic film (11) is conveyed together with the plastic film (40) formed in a closed circuit on the nozzle base (36), and the nozzle plate (35) · nozzle base ( 36) Pass between This plastic film (40) serves as a protective film for the image and prevents image defects. The use of the plastic film (40) in a closed circuit saves resources and may be used in an open circuit.

In order to reduce the friction with the image nozzle base (36), the load of the nozzle plate (35) is applied to the non-image areas at both ends of the transparent plastic film (11). This reduces image rubbing caused by the nozzle table (36) during transport of the transparent plastic film (11). The gap between the transparent plastic film (11) and the nozzle plate (35) in the image passage area is 0.01 to 0.05 mm from the point of the uncured material (38) flowing out. ₆ PC, preferably 9/06331 _c

Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the present invention, a high-precision three-dimensional object can be generated at a high speed at a low cost. Applicable to a range of industrial fields.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An application step of applying a photocurable material to one surface of the transparent plastic film to form a thin layer, and exposing a light pattern to the transparent plastic film having the thin layer of the curable material formed thereon to expose the light. A three-dimensional stereolithography comprising: a light pattern exposure layer for curing the photocurable material corresponding to the light pattern; and a laminating step of peeling and curing the cured photocurable material from the transparent plastic film. A light transfer step of forming an ink image on the other surface of the transparent plastic film by using an ink donor film and a thermal print head; and Irradiating light from the other surface side to the transparent plastic film having a thin layer of curable material formed thereon and the ink image formed on the other surface; And a process.

2. The three-dimensional stereolithography method according to claim 1, wherein the thermal transfer step is performed before the coating step, and in the coating step, a coating nozzle base is provided on the one surface of the transparent plastic film. The photocurable material is supplied from above, and the photocurable material is pressed while pressing the other surface of the transparent plastic film against the coating nozzle table with a pressing member made of a material obtained by mixing a fluororesin and a metal. A three-dimensional stereolithography method that applies a conductive material.

3. An application means for applying a photocurable material to one surface of the transparent plastic film to form a thin layer, and exposing a light pattern to the transparent plastic film having the thin layer of the photocurable material formed thereon. A three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus, comprising: an exposing means for curing the photocurable material in accordance with the light pattern; and a laminating means for peeling and laminating the cured photocurable material from the transparent plastic film. The exposing means comprises: a thermal transfer means for forming an ink image on the other surface of the transparent plastic film by an ink donor film and a thermal print head; and a thin layer of the photocurable material on one surface. Light irradiating means for irradiating the transparent plastic film on which the ink image is formed on the other surface with light from the other surface side. 3D optical modeling apparatus according to symptoms.

4. The three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the thermal transfer unit is arranged before the coating unit, and the coating unit is configured to cure the light on the one surface of the transparent plastic film. A three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus comprising: a coating nozzle table for supplying a conductive material; and a pressing member for pressing the other surface of the transparent plastic film made of a material obtained by mixing a fluororesin and a metal against the coating nozzle table.

5. The three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member is made of a material obtained by mixing a fluorine resin and lead.

6. The three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the photocuring agent material is applied by interposing an ink donor film between the pressing member and the transparent plastic film. .

7. The three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus according to claim 6, wherein another plastic film is interposed between the pressing member and the transparent plastic film to apply the photocuring agent. .

8. The three-dimensional stereolithography apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pressing member has a structure in which the transparent plastic film is supported at both ends where there is no ink image, and pressure is not applied to the ink image. 3D stereolithography machine being made.