Shaping device and shaping method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017348902-A1
Application number	US-201715611796-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 2, 2017
Priority date	Jun 2, 2016
Publication date	Dec 7, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

To efficiently and appropriately shape a 3D object. There is provided a shaping device that shapes a three-dimensional (3D) object through a layering shaping method, the shaping device including an inkjet head, which is a discharging head, that discharges a material liquid droplet, a liquid droplet of a material for the 3D object; and a circling driving section that relatively circles at least a region to be discharged, which is a region to which the material liquid droplet is discharged in the 3D object being shaped, along a circling path set in advance with respect to the inkjet head; where the circling driving section causes the region to be discharged to circle the circling path plural times; and inkjet head discharges the material liquid droplet onto the region to be discharged circling on the circling path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A shaping device that shapes a three-dimensional (3D) object through a layering shaping method, the shaping device comprising:
a discharging head that discharges a material liquid droplet, a liquid droplet of a material for the 3D object; and a circling driving section that relatively circles at least a region to be discharged, a region to which the material liquid droplet is discharged in the 3D object being shaped, along a circling path set in advance with respect to the discharging head, wherein the circling driving section causes the region to be discharged to circle the circling path plural times; and the discharging head discharges the material liquid droplet onto the region to be discharged circling on the circling path.

2 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the discharging heads are arranged; and
each of the discharging heads discharges the material liquid droplet onto the region to be discharged at positions different from each other in the circling path.

3 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , wherein the material of the 3D object is an ultraviolet curing type resin that cures by irradiation of an ultraviolet ray;
the shaping device further comprises an ultraviolet light source that emits the ultraviolet ray; and the ultraviolet light source irradiates the region to be discharged with the ultraviolet ray at a timing when the region to be discharged passes an ultraviolet irradiating position set in advance in the circling path.

4 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , further comprising a planarizing means that planarizes the layer of the material formed in the region to be discharged, wherein
the planarizing means planarizes the layer of the material at a timing when the region to be discharged passes a planarizing position set in advance in the circling path.

5 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , further comprising a layering direction driving section that relatively moves the inkjet head with respect to the 3D object being shaped in a layering direction, a direction in which the material is layered in the 3D object being shaped, wherein
the layering direction driving section relatively moves the inkjet head with respect to the 3D object being shaped in a direction of moving away from the 3D object being shaped according to a height in which the layer of the material is layered in the 3D object being shaped.

6 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , wherein
the circling path is a path set within a plane facing the discharging head; and the circling driving section circles the 3D object being shaped along the circling path with a layering direction, a direction in which the material is layered in the 3D object being shaped, perpendicular to the plane to circle the region to be discharged along the circling path.

7 . The shaping device according to claim 6 , further comprising a platform rotatable with a platform rotating shaft, a shaft parallel to the layering direction, as a center; wherein
the 3D object being shaped is mounted on the platform; the inkjet head is arranged at a position facing a top surface of the platform; and the circling driving section rotates the platform with the platform rotating shaft as a center to circle the 3D object being shaped along the circumferential shaped circling path having the platform rotating shaft as the center.

8 . The shaping device according to claim 7 , further comprising a position adjustment driving section that adjusts a relative position of the 3D object being shaped with respect to the discharging head, wherein
the discharging head includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles respectively discharging the material liquid droplet are lined in a nozzle row direction set in advance; and the position adjustment driving section adjusts the relative position of the 3D object being shaped such that a direction of relatively moving with respect to the discharging head becomes a direction orthogonal to the nozzle row direction at a timing when the 3D object being shaped passes a position facing the discharging head.

9 . The shaping device according to claim 6 , wherein the circling path is a path including a linear portion; and
the discharging head discharges the material liquid droplet to the 3D object being shaped while the 3D object being shaped moves along the linear portion.

10 . The shaping device according to claim 9 , wherein
the material of the 3D object is an ultraviolet curing type resin that cures by irradiation of an ultraviolet ray; the shaping device further comprises an ultraviolet light source that emits the ultraviolet ray; the circling path is a path further including a nonlinear portion; and the ultraviolet light source irradiates the 3D object being shaped with the ultraviolet ray while the 3D object being shaped moves along the nonlinear portion.

11 . The shaping device according to claim 6 , further comprising a 3D object rotation driving section that rotates the 3D object being shaped with a 3D object rotating shaft, a shaft parallel to the layering direction, as a center, wherein
the 3D object rotation driving section rotates the 3D object being shaped by an angle set in advance in the middle of the operation of shaping to change a direction of the 3D object being shaped circling on the circling path.

12 . The shaping device according to claim 11 , wherein the 3D object rotation driving section rotates the 3D object being shaped by 180 degrees at a timing set in advance to interchange a region facing an inner circumferential side and a region facing an outer circumferential side of the circling path in the 3D object being shaped.

13 . The shaping device according to claim 1 , wherein
the 3D object being shaped is held around a layering center shaft in a direction in which the layer of the material formed first is on an inner side and the layer of the material formed next is on an outer side with respect to the layering center shaft, the shaft perpendicular to the layering direction, the direction in which the material is layered in the 3D object being shaped; the circling driving section circles the region to be discharged with the region to be discharged directed toward the outer side with the layering center shaft as the center; and the discharging head is arranged at a position further spaced apart from the layering center shaft than the region to be discharged and discharges the material liquid droplet in a direction directed toward the layering center shaft.

14 . The shaping device according to claim 13 , wherein the 3D object is formed by layering a layer of the material for shaping at a periphery of a core material constituting an interior;
the circling driving section rotates the core material with the layering center shaft as a center; and the discharging head discharges the material liquid droplet onto the rotating core material.

15 . The shaping device according to claim 13 , wherein a plurality of the discharging heads are arranged;
when a size of the 3D object is greater than a size of a reference set in advance, shaping is carried out using a first number of the discharging heads; and when the size of the 3D object is smaller than or equal to the size of the reference, shaping is carried out using a second number of the discharging heads, the second number being fewer than the first number.

16 . A shaping method for shaping a three-dimensional (3D) object through a layering shaping method, the method comprising
using a discharging head that discharges

Assignees

• Mimaki Eng Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ohara Eiichi
• Takeuchi Akira

Classifications

• B29C64/393

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title

• B29C64/20 Primary

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B33Y50/02

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title