JP7123356B2 - Three-dimensional object modeling apparatus and three-dimensional object modeling method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a three-dimensional object molding apparatus for molding a three-dimensional object, and more particularly, when molding a three-dimensional object by ejecting a molding material such as resin from a nozzle, the surface of the object is kept clean. The present invention relates to a three-dimensional object shaping apparatus capable of finishing.

In recent years, 3D printers are often used to simply form a three-dimensional object (Patent Document 1, etc.).

In such a 3D printer, as shown in FIG. 7, a nozzle 82 for discharging resin or the like is moved in the XY directions on a flat base 81, and these are stacked in the Z-axis direction. It was made possible to form a three-dimensional object by moving. Using such a device has the advantage of being able to form three-dimensional objects from a comparative perspective without raising molds, etc., so it is advantageous when manufacturing sample products or small-lot products. be.

JP 2018-99845 A

However, when forming a three-dimensional object using such a 3D printer, there are the following problems.

That is, since a conventional 3D printer models a modeled object by layering resin or the like on a planar base 81, a step is inevitably created in the Z-axis direction. When molding objects with steps like this, it is good for making simple things such as sample products, but for industrial products (for example, automobile parts, etc.), precise dimensions and surface formation are required. Not very suitable for making products with demanding conditions.

On the other hand, there is also a method (Patent Document 1 above) in which the surface of a product manufactured using a 3D printer is eliminated, but even when such a method is used, the manufactured product Since a large-scale surface treatment must be applied to the finished product later, it takes a long time to manufacture the product, and it is difficult to improve the dimensional accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional object molding apparatus capable of forming a three-dimensional object while simultaneously making the surface condition of the object clean and finishing the dimensions accurately.

That is, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a nozzle for ejecting a modeling material to the surface of a mold having a three-dimensional shape, and a nozzle that moves three-dimensionally relative to the mold. and a heating means for heating the molding material applied to the mold by the nozzle .

Moreover, in such an invention, a heating means is provided inside the female mold.

Furthermore, when the moving mechanism is used to relatively move the nozzle, the nozzle is moved in a direction that intersects the application direction of the modeling material applied to the lower layer.

When the nozzle is used to eject the modeling material, the direction of the nozzle is controlled so that the modeling material is ejected in the direction normal to the surface of the mold.

According to the present invention, a molding material is applied to a mold having a clean surface to shape a model, the mold is melted, and then the model is removed from the mold to clean the surface. can do.

Schematic diagram of a three-dimensional object shaping apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing a state in which the sheet is attached to the same mold. Diagram showing other Me type Diagram showing resin application direction Diagram showing nozzle discharge direction The figure which shows the six-axis robot in other embodiment Diagram showing a 3D printer in a conventional example

A three-dimensional object shaping apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a three-dimensional object shaping apparatus 1 in this embodiment includes a main mold 2 having a three-dimensional shape (convex shape), a nozzle 4 for discharging a modeling material 5 onto the surface of the main mold 2, and a moving mechanism 6 for moving the nozzle 4 in the XYZ directions and depositing the modeling material 5 . By applying it, it is possible to form a three-dimensional modeled object. Then, heat is applied to the modeled object formed in this way, and vacuum pneumatic blow molding or the like is performed, and by removing it from the mold 2, the modeled part in contact with the mold 2 is made smooth. It is made to be able to shape the modeled object. The three-dimensional object shaping apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

First, the main mold 2 constitutes a part of the mold of the product, and has a three-dimensional shape with a smooth surface. It is configured so that the modeled object can be removed. In FIG. 1, the convex main mold 2 will be described as an example, but as shown in FIG.

When the molding material 5 is applied to the mold 2, the molding material 5 may be applied directly to the surface of the mold 2. Alternatively, the surface of the mold 2 may be coated with a coating agent such as gel coat, and the surface of the mold 2 may be coated with a coating agent such as gel coat. As indicated by the dashed line, a heating means 22 such as a hot wire may be provided inside the mold 2 to melt the modeling material 5 applied to its surface. When such a heating means 22 is provided, if the modeling material 5 is applied in a high temperature state, the modeling material 5 discharged from the nozzle 4 will melt. The molding part that becomes is gone. For this reason, preferably, when the molding material 5 is applied to the surface of the mold 2, it is not heated, or is heated at a low temperature, so that when the molding progresses or the molding is completed. Secondly, it is preferable to heat to melt the molding material 5 on the surface in contact with the mold 2 . Then, when removing the molded object from the secondary mold 2, the molded object is easily removed from the secondary mold 2 after the heating is stopped and the temperature is lowered.

When the molding material 5 is applied to the main mold 2, as shown in FIG. may When the film 3 is attached in this manner, the mold 2 is constructed by a vacuum forming machine, and air is sucked through the microholes 21 provided in the mold 2 to form the film 3 on the surface of the mold 2 . so that they adhere to each other. At this time, it is preferable to heat the film 3 to bring it into close contact with the mold 2, and further heat the film 3 using the heating means 22 provided on the mold 2 to bring the film 3 into close contact.

The molding material 5 piled up on the mold 2 is discharged from the nozzle 4 through a pump 41 in a linear or band-like manner, and may be made of ABS resin, ASA resin, PLA resin, acrylic resin, epoxy resin, or nylon. In addition to resin materials such as resin, materials such as gypsum, silicon rubber, and resin containing microfibers (fibers such as cellulose nanofiber, carbon nanofiber, glass fiber, etc.) are used, but are limited to these materials. is not. When selecting such a molding material 5, the material is selected according to the usage of the product and the usage environment. A film 3 or the like to be pasted is selected.

The nozzle 4 for applying such a molding material 5 heats and melts the molding material 5, and in this state, discharges the molding material 5 by extruding it from a pump 41. A part of the moving mechanism 6 is It is attached to the tip of the constituting robot 65 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the moving mechanism 6 includes linear rails 62 provided on the left and right sides of a base 61 on which the mesh die 2 is placed, and a linear rail 62 provided above the base 61 to move forward and backward along the linear rails 62 . A U-shaped arch 63 that moves in the direction (Y direction) and a robot 65 that moves in the horizontal direction along a beam 64 provided on the upper portion of the U-shaped arch 63 are provided. The robot 65 is composed of a plurality of arms 67 connected by joints 66, and is configured so that the arms 67 can rotate about the Y-axis with the joints 66 as the center. By attaching the nozzle 4 to the tip of the arm 67 of the robot 65, the direction of the nozzle 4 can be directed in all directions. Such a nozzle 4 is controlled by the control means 7 so as to discharge the modeling material 5 from a position a little away from the surface of the mold 2 , and gradually move away from the mold 2 while depositing the modeling material 5 . controlled by

The control means 7 controls the position of the nozzle 4 so that it is positioned slightly away from the surface of the mold 2 and the modeling material 5 piled up on the mold 2. By inputting the shape of 2 and designating the origin position, the position of the nozzle 4 can be controlled and the modeling material 5 can be piled up.

When the modeling material 5 is piled up in this way, if the application direction of the lower layer modeling material 5 coincides with the application direction of the upper layer modeling material 5, the strength of the modeled object is reduced. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, it is preferable to increase the strength by crossing the application direction of the lower layer modeling material 5 and the application direction of the upper layer modeling material 5 . In this way, crossing the application directions is particularly effective when using a resin containing fibers as the modeling material 5 . In FIG. 4, a gap is typically provided between the coating portions of the modeling material 5 of each layer, but in practice, the coating is performed without any gap. In addition, although FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which the liquid is applied in the orthogonal direction, the liquid may be applied by shifting it by a predetermined angle (30 degrees, 45 degrees, etc.).

Further, when the position of the nozzle 4 is controlled by using the moving mechanism 6 in this way, if the nozzle 4 is inclined with respect to the axial direction (ejection direction) and the normal direction of the coating surface, the modeling material 5 is applied. It becomes difficult to adhere to the surface, and there is a difference in the heaping height of the modeling material 5 when applied (see FIG. 5(b)). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, the direction of the nozzle 4 is controlled so that the axial direction of the nozzle 4 and the normal direction of the coating surface are aligned, and the molding material 5 is discharged from the nozzle 4. to

Then, in this manner, the moving mechanism 6 is used to move the nozzle 4 in all directions, and the molding material 5 is piled up on the mold 2 to form a modeled object.

After molding the object in this way, the heating means 22 of the secondary mold 2 is used to heat and melt the molding material 5 on the surface of the secondary mold 2 so that the molding material 5 on the surface of the secondary mold 2 is aligned with the secondary mold 2 . to Then, after cooling for a certain period of time, the molded object is removed from the mold 2 coated with the gel coat. As a result, it becomes possible to form a molded object having a smooth surface in close contact with the mold 2 . In addition, when fine dimensional accuracy is required, the amount of serving may be increased and the surface may be polished to achieve dimensional accuracy.

Thus, according to the above embodiment, the mold 2 having a three-dimensional shape, the nozzle 4 for discharging the molding material 5 onto the surface of the mold 2, and the nozzle 4 moving along the surface of the mold 2 and the heating means 22 for heating the molding material applied to the mold 2 by the nozzle 4, the mold having a smooth surface can be provided. By removing the modeled object from 2, it becomes possible to model a modeled object having a clean surface.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes.

For example, in the above embodiment, two robots 65 are provided on the beam 64, but as shown in FIG. A plurality of robots 65 may be attached to each of the beams 64 so that parallel operations can be performed with a plurality of nozzles 4 .

Further, when such a serving operation is performed, a nozzle 4 with a small diameter may be used for a portion with a large curvature, and a nozzle 4 with a large diameter may be used for a portion with a small curvature. . In this case, when the work is performed using a plurality of nozzles 4, the diameter of the nozzle 4 may be changed for each robot 65 to perform the serving work.

In addition, when a material such as a photocurable resin, a thermosetting resin, or a laser sintering material is used when stacking the modeling material 5, light, heat, laser, or the like may be applied to cure the molding material 5 each time the material is stacked. good.

In the above embodiment, the moving mechanism 6 is configured by attaching the robot 65 to the linear rail 62, the arch 63, or the like, but as shown in FIG. A six-axis robot 65 may be used to move the nozzle 4 in the XYZ directions.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the film 3 is attached to the mold 2 and the modeling material 5 is piled up. Therefore, the surface may be cleaned by a method of applying heat and pressure to the outer surface using a wrapping tape method, a backing molding method, an autoclave molding method, or the like, or by blow molding.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, gel coat is applied to the main mold 2 for serving, but a coating agent other than the gel coat that can be easily removed from the main mold 2 may be applied for serving. .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Modeling device 2 Mold 21 Microhole 22 Heating means 3 Film 4 Nozzle 41 Pump 5 Modeling material 6 Moving mechanism 61 Base 62 Linear rail 63 Arch 64 Beam 65 Robot 66 Joint 67 Arm 7 Control means

Claims (5)

a nozzle for discharging a modeling material to the surface of the mold having a three-dimensional shape;
a movement mechanism for three-dimensionally moving the nozzle relative to the mold to deposit the modeling material;
heating means for heating the molding material applied to the mold by the nozzle;
A three-dimensional object shaping apparatus comprising: 2. The three-dimensional object shaping apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the heating means is provided inside the mold . 2. The three-dimensional object modeling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism moves the nozzle in a direction crossing the application direction of the modeling material applied to the lower layer. 2. The three-dimensional object modeling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is provided so as to apply the modeling material from the normal direction to the surface of the mold. a step of forming a three-dimensional object by applying a modeling material discharged from a nozzle onto the surface of a mold having a three-dimensional shape ;
a step of heating the mold to melt the deposited modeling material;
A three-dimensional object modeling method.

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