IP Library Granted Patent US 11,220,047
Granted Patent B2
US 11,220,047 · App. 15/611,796 · Granted Jan 11, 2022

Shaping device and shaping method

Inventors: Eiichi Ohara (Nagano, JP); Akira Takeuchi (Nagano, JP)
Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
B29C64/20B29C64/209B29C64/241B29C64/245B33Y30/00B29C35/0805B29C64/112B29C64/393B29C2035/0827B33Y10/00B33Y50/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,220,047
App. No.
15/611,796
Granted
Jan 11, 2022
Kind
B2
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.

Claims (34)

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, which is a liquid droplet of a material for the 3D object;

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 discharging head;

a platform that is rotatable along a platform rotating shaft using the platform rotating shaft as a center, wherein the platform rotating shaft is a shaft parallel to a layering direction, which is a direction in which the material is layered in the 3D object being shaped;

a layering direction driving section that moves the discharging head in the layering direction; and

a control section that controls the layering direction driving section, wherein

the circling driving section causes the region to be discharged to circle the circling path plural times;

the discharging head discharges the material liquid droplet onto the region to be discharged circling on the circling path;

the circling path is a path set within a plane facing the discharging head;

the 3D object being shaped is mounted on the platform;

the discharging head is arranged at a position facing a top surface of the platform;

the circling driving section rotates the platform with the platform rotating shaft as the center to circle the 3D object being shaped along the circling path, which is a circumferential shaped circling path having the platform rotating shaft as the center, and with the layering direction perpendicular to the plane facing the discharging head, so as to circle the region to be discharged along the circling path, and

wherein the platform is provided with a non-shaping area and a shaping area, which is an area other than the non-shaping area, the non-shaping area is an area where the shaping of the 3D object is not performed, the shaping area is an area where the shaping of the 3D object is performed, a size of the non-shaping area is corresponding to a size of the 3D object, the discharging head is in a non-operating state at a timing of facing the non-shaping area, and the control section controls the layering direction driving section to move the discharging head in the layering direction in the non-shaping area.

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 , wherein the layering direction driving section relatively moves the discharging 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 , 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.

7. The shaping device according to claim 1 , 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.

8. The shaping device according to claim 7 , 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.

9. The shaping device according to claim 1 , further comprising a 3D object rotation driving section that rotates the 3D object being shaped with a 3D object rotating shaft, which is 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.

10. The shaping device according to claim 9 , 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.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 9, 2017
From: OHARA, EIICHI; TAKEUCHI, AKIRA
To: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 042656/0589 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170348902A1 · Dec 7, 2017