JP7495870B2 - Molding method and molding device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to planarization processing in three-dimensional additive manufacturing.

Various techniques have been proposed in the past for forming objects by three-dimensional additive manufacturing using a curable viscous fluid such as an ultraviolet-curable resin. The three-dimensional object forming device of Patent Document 1 below forms an object by curing ink ejected onto a forming table with ultraviolet light. The three-dimensional object forming device also includes a flattening roller that flattens the ink ejected onto the forming table. The three-dimensional object forming device performs a flattening process while rotating the flattening roller in contact with the ink. In the flattening process using the flattening roller, the three-dimensional object forming device moves the forming table and the flattening roller in the vertical direction to adjust the inclination of the contact surface of the flattening roller.

JP 2017-109325 A

In a flattening process that uses a flattening member such as the flattening roller described above, if a local defect occurs in the flattening member, the ink cannot be spread to an even thickness, resulting in flattening defects. For example, if there are irregularities in part of the flattening member that comes into contact with the ink, the thickness of that part after flattening may be thicker or thinner. Even if there is no defect in the flattening member itself, for example, if the ink scraped off by the flattening member is not sufficiently collected by a recovery mechanism, the flattening process may be performed with some of the ink that has not been recovered still attached to part of the flattening member. As a result, some of the ink after flattening may become thicker.

If such areas of planarization defects accumulate and build up during printing, the thickness of part of the printed object will be greater than or less than expected, resulting in defective printing dimensions. Furthermore, if part of the printed object is printed with a thickness different from the expected thickness, there is a risk that the printed object will interfere with other parts such as the planarization member or ink head.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and aims to provide a modeling method and modeling device that can prevent areas of poor planarization from accumulating and stacking when planarizing a hardenable viscous fluid using a planarizing member.

This specification relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: a discharge step of discharging a hardenable viscous fluid onto an upper surface of a stage; a first flattening step of contacting a flattening member having a predetermined member width along a width direction with the hardenable viscous fluid discharged by the discharge step to flatten the hardenable viscous fluid; and a position adjustment step of, after performing the first flattening step, moving at least one of the stage and the flattening member in the width direction of the flattening member by a sliding distance shorter than the member width to shift the position of the flattening member relative to the hardenable viscous fluid flattened in the first flattening step. The present invention discloses a molding method that includes a second flattening process in which, after performing the position adjustment process, the flattening member is shifted in position and brought into contact with the hardenable viscous fluid flattened in the first flattening process or the hardenable viscous fluid ejected onto the hardenable viscous fluid to flatten it, wherein, when the length along the width direction of the ejectable area on the upper surface of the stage from which the hardenable viscous fluid can be ejected is defined as an ejection area width, one of the member width and the ejection area width is longer than the other by an excess distance, and the sliding distance is shorter than the excess distance .
The present disclosure is not limited to being embodied as a modeling method, and may be embodied in various forms. For example, the present disclosure may be beneficially embodied as a modeling apparatus.

According to the modeling method and modeling device disclosed herein, by performing position adjustment, at least one of the stage and the flattening member is moved in the width direction by the sliding distance, and the position of the flattening member relative to the flattened hardenable viscous fluid is shifted. Then, after shifting by the sliding distance, the hardenable viscous fluid is flattened by the flattening member. As a result, even if a localized defect occurs in the flattening member, more uniform flattening can be achieved by performing the flattening process while shifting the flattening member. This makes it possible to prevent flattening defects from accumulating during modeling.

FIG. 2 is a plan view that illustrates a schematic plan view of the manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a manufacturing apparatus. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an example of a discharging step, a planarizing step, and a curing step. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the state of an ultraviolet curing resin before and after a planarization process. 1A to 1C are diagrams showing a process of forming a conductor in an insulating layer. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a process of mounting electronic components on an insulating layer. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a planarization defect occurs; 1A and 1B are a top view and a side view of a first planarization process and a second planarization process that is subsequently performed. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a manufacturing apparatus.

(1. Configuration of manufacturing apparatus 10)
1 shows a plan view of a manufacturing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the molding apparatus of the present disclosure. The manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a conveying device 20, a molding unit 22, a mounting unit 23, an inspection unit 24, and a control device 26 (see FIG. 2). The conveying device 20, the molding unit 22, the mounting unit 23, and the inspection unit 24 are disposed on a base 28 of the manufacturing apparatus 10. The base 28 is generally rectangular. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the base 28 is referred to as the X-axis direction, the lateral direction of the base 28 is referred to as the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is referred to as the Z-axis direction.

The transport device 20 includes an X-axis slide mechanism 30 and a Y-axis slide mechanism 32. The X-axis slide mechanism 30 includes an X-axis slide rail 34 and an X-axis slider 36. The X-axis slide rail 34 is disposed on the base 28 so as to extend in the X-axis direction. The X-axis slider 36 is held by the X-axis slide rail 34 so as to be able to slide in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, the X-axis slide mechanism 30 includes an electromagnetic motor 38 (see FIG. 2), and the X-axis slider 36 is moved to any position in the X-axis direction by driving the electromagnetic motor 38.

The Y-axis slide mechanism 32 also has a Y-axis slide rail 50 and a stage 52. The Y-axis slide rail 50 is disposed on the base 28 so as to extend in the Y-axis direction. One end of the Y-axis slide rail 50 in the Y-axis direction is connected to the X-axis slider 36. As a result, the Y-axis slide rail 50 can move in the X-axis direction with the sliding movement of the X-axis slider 36. The stage 52 is held by the Y-axis slide rail 50 so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction. Furthermore, the Y-axis slide mechanism 32 has an electromagnetic motor 56 (see FIG. 2), and the stage 52 is moved to any position in the Y-axis direction by driving the electromagnetic motor 56. As a result, the stage 52 can be moved to any position in the X-axis and Y-axis directions on the base 28 by driving the X-axis slide mechanism 30 and the Y-axis slide mechanism 32.

The stage 52 has a base 60, a holding device 62, and an elevating device 64. The base 60 is shaped like a flat plate, with an upper surface parallel to the X-axis and Y-axis directions, on which a base member 70 (see FIG. 3) is placed. The base member 70 is a metal plate such as iron or stainless steel. The holding devices 62 are provided on both sides of the base 60 in the Y-axis direction. The holding devices 62 sandwich both edges of the base member 70 in the Y-axis direction placed on the base 60, thereby holding the base member 70 fixedly relative to the base 60. The elevating device 64 is disposed below the base 60, and raises and lowers the base 60 in the Z-axis direction.

The modeling unit 22 is a unit that models a model on the base member 70 placed on the base 60 of the stage 52, and has a printing unit 72 and a curing unit 74. As shown in FIG. 3, the printing unit 72 has an inkjet head 75, and ejects a thin film of fluid onto the base member 70 placed on the base 60. The fluid ejected by the inkjet head 75 can be an ultraviolet curable resin 76 (see FIG. 3) that is cured by ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet curable resin 76 is an example of the curable viscous fluid of the present application. In addition to the ultraviolet curable resin, other viscous fluids such as thermosetting resin can be used as the curable viscous fluid. The upper surfaces of the base 60 and the base member 70 are examples of the upper surfaces of the stage 52 of the present disclosure.

In addition to the UV-curable resin 76, the inkjet head 75 can also eject, for example, metal ink 77 (see FIG. 5). The metal ink 77 is, for example, nanometer-sized metal (silver, etc.) particles dispersed in a solvent, and is baked and hardened by heat. The surface of the metal particles is, for example, coated with a dispersant to prevent aggregation in the solvent.

When the inkjet head 75 ejects the ultraviolet curable resin 76, the inkjet head 75 ejects the ultraviolet curable resin 76 from multiple nozzles, for example, by a piezoelectric method using a piezoelectric element. The inkjet head 75 is not limited to the piezoelectric method, and may eject the ultraviolet curable resin 76 from multiple nozzles by a thermal method in which the ultraviolet curable resin 76 is heated to generate bubbles and ejected from the nozzle. When the inkjet head 75 ejects the metal ink 77, the inkjet head 75 ejects the metal ink 77 from multiple nozzles, for example, by a piezoelectric method using a piezoelectric element. The ejection device is not limited to the inkjet head 75 having multiple nozzles, and may be, for example, a dispenser having one nozzle. The inkjet head 75 may have separate nozzles for ejecting the metal ink 77 and the ultraviolet curable resin 76, or may share a nozzle for ejecting the two curable viscous fluids.

As shown in FIG. 2, the curing unit 74 has a flattening device 78, an irradiation device 81, and a heater 82. The flattening device 78 is a device that flattens the ultraviolet curing resin 76 that has been ejected onto the base member 70 by the inkjet head 75. As shown in FIG. 4, the flattening device 78 has a roller 79 and a recovery mechanism 80.

3 shows an example of the ejection process, the planarization process, and the curing process. FIG. 4 shows the state of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 before and after the planarization process. Note that FIG. 3 does not show the base 60, the holding device 62, the recovery mechanism 80, and the like. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a release film 91 that can be peeled off by heat is attached to the upper surface of the base member 70, and a molded object (such as an electronic device) is manufactured on the release film 91. The release film 91 is a member that is peeled off from the base member 70 by, for example, being heated to a predetermined temperature or higher. By peeling the release film 91 from the base member 70, the molded object can be separated from the base member 70. Note that the method of separating the base member 70 and the molded object is not limited to the method using the release film 91. For example, a member that melts by heat (such as a support material) may be placed between the base member 70 and the molded object, and the member may be melted to separate them. Additionally, the object may be formed directly on the base member 70 without using a separating member such as the release film 91.

The roller 79 is, for example, cylindrical along the Y-axis direction and is made of a metal material. The roller 79 is held by the moving mechanism 90 so as to be rotatable around the Y-axis direction as a rotation axis. The moving mechanism 90 holds the roller 79 rotatably at both ends in the Y-axis direction, and can move the roller 79 in a rotatable state in each of the X, Y, and Z axes based on the control of the flattening device 78. The moving mechanism 90 rotates the roller 79 while contacting the surface of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 in a flowable state and moves it in the X-axis direction based on the control of the flattening device 78, thereby flattening the surface of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 (see FIG. 4). In the following description, for example, the operation of flattening the ultraviolet curing resin 76 by scanning the roller 79 once along the X-axis direction will be referred to as a flattening process. Note that the manufacturing apparatus 10 may perform the flattening of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 by moving the stage 52 in the X-axis direction without moving the roller 79 in the flattening process. Additionally, the manufacturing device 10 may perform the flattening process by moving both the roller 79 and the stage 52.

The left side of FIG. 4 shows the state before the flattening process, in which the ultraviolet curing resin 76 discharged from the inkjet head 75 is discharged onto the insulating layer 93 on which the ultraviolet curing resin 76 has hardened. The discharged ultraviolet curing resin 76 varies in thickness in the Z direction, for example, due to variations in the amount of discharge from each nozzle of the inkjet head 75. In this state, the flattening device 78 moves the roller 79 in contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 while rotating it in the X-axis direction. The flattening device 78 scans the roller 79 in the X-axis direction while maintaining a predetermined height in the Z direction. The roller 79 rotates while leveling the ultraviolet curing resin 76 and attaching excess ultraviolet curing resin 76 to the surface so that the thickness is uniform.

The recovery mechanism 80 has, for example, a blade 95 that protrudes toward the surface of the roller 79, and collects and discharges the UV-curable resin 76 scraped off by the blade 95 from the surface of the roller 79. The recovery mechanism 80 discharges the recovered UV-curable resin 76, for example, into a waste liquid tank. As a result, the flattening device 78 flattens the UV-curable resin 76 to a uniform thickness by scraping off and discharging the excess UV-curable resin 76 while leveling the surface of the UV-curable resin 76.

The flattening device 78 is not limited to a configuration in which flattening is performed by the roller 79. For example, the flattening device 78 may be configured to perform flattening processing by applying a plate-shaped member such as a squeegee to the surface of the ultraviolet curing resin 76. Alternatively, the flattening device 78 may be configured to flatten the surface of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 using a brush or a rake. The flattening device 78 may also perform flattening of the metal ink 77, not limited to the ultraviolet curing resin 76. The recovery mechanism 80 may return the recovered ultraviolet curing resin 76 to the supply tank again. The recovery mechanism 80 is not limited to a configuration in which the ultraviolet curing resin 76 attached to the surface of the roller 79 is scraped off by the blade 95. For example, the recovery mechanism 80 may be configured to absorb and recover the ultraviolet curing resin 76 attached to the roller 79 with a cloth or the like.

The irradiation device 81 of the curing unit 74 irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the ultraviolet curing resin 76 discharged onto the base member 70. The ultraviolet curing resin 76 is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays to form an insulating layer 93 (see Figs. 3 and 4). As shown in Fig. 3, the manufacturing apparatus 10 repeats a discharge process of discharging the ultraviolet curing resin 76 onto the base member 70 from the inkjet head 75, a flattening process of performing a flattening process by the roller 79, and a curing process of irradiating the flattened ultraviolet curing resin 76 with ultraviolet rays from the irradiation device 81 to harden it, multiple times, to form an insulating layer 93 of a desired thickness. The manufacturing apparatus 10 performs the flattening process once or multiple times in one discharge process between the discharge process and the curing process, for example. The manufacturing apparatus 10 may perform the flattening process each time the discharge process is performed multiple times, without performing the flattening process every time after the discharge process. For example, the manufacturing apparatus 10 may perform the flattening process only when a specific layer is formed.

The heater 82 of the curing unit 74 applies heat to the metal ink 77 discharged from the inkjet head 75 to bake it, and forms a conductor such as a metal wiring. FIG. 5 shows a process of forming a conductor in the insulating layer 93. FIG. 6 shows a process of mounting an electronic component on the insulating layer 93. As shown in FIG. 5, the manufacturing device 10 appropriately executes a process of discharging the metal ink 77 from the inkjet head 75 (an example of the second discharge process of the present disclosure) in the process of forming the insulating layer 93, for example. As shown in FIG. 6, the manufacturing device 10 executes a process of baking the discharged metal ink 77 by the heater 82, hardening the metal ink 77, and forming a conductor (an example of the second curing process of the present disclosure). The conductor is, for example, the wiring 97 arranged on the upper surface of each layer of the insulating layer 93, the through hole 98 that connects the wiring 97 of each layer to each other, the connection terminal 99 that connects the electronic component 100 to the wiring 97, etc.

The heater 82, for example, includes a heating element (such as a filament), and supplies power to the heating element to heat and bake the metal ink 77 with infrared rays. Baking the metal ink 77 is a phenomenon in which, for example, by applying energy, the solvent is evaporated and the protective film of the metal particles, i.e., the dispersant is decomposed, and the metal particles come into contact or fuse together, thereby increasing the conductivity. Then, by baking the metal ink 77, a conductor such as the wiring 97 can be formed. Note that the device for heating the metal ink 77 is not limited to the heater 82. For example, the manufacturing device 10 may include a laser irradiation device that irradiates the metal ink 77 with laser light as a heating device, or an atmospheric furnace that places the insulating layer 93 onto which the metal ink 77 has been ejected and heats it in the furnace.

The manufacturing apparatus 10 may also use different metal inks 77 for forming the wiring 97, through holes 98, and connection terminals 99. For example, a conductive resin paste may be used in a location where adhesive strength is required to fix electronic components 100, such as the connection terminals 99. The conductive resin paste referred to here is, for example, a resin that is cured by heating and has micrometer-sized metal particles (such as silver) dispersed therein. The metal particles are, for example, in the form of flakes. The conductive resin paste is cured by applying heat, causing the resin to shrink, and the flake-shaped metal particles dispersed in the resin come into contact with each other. This allows the conductive resin paste to exhibit conductivity. The connection terminals 99 formed from the conductive resin paste have a lower conductivity than the wiring formed from the metal ink 77 in which the above-mentioned nanometer-sized metal particles are dispersed in a solvent, but have strong adhesive strength and excellent adhesion due to the hardening of the resin. Therefore, the manufacturing device 10 can form conductors suitable for the application, such as wiring 97 and connection terminals 99, by selectively using metal ink 77 with high conductivity and conductive resin paste (metal ink 77) with high adhesion.

The mounting unit 23 shown in FIG. 1 is a unit that mounts various electronic components 100 to be connected to the wiring 97 formed by the modeling unit 22, and includes a mounting section 83 and a supply section 84. The mounting section 83 has, for example, a suction nozzle (not shown) that sucks the electronic components 100, and mounts the electronic components 100 held by the suction nozzle to a model. The supply section 84 has, for example, multiple tape feeders that feed the taped electronic components 100 one by one, and supplies the electronic components 100 to the mounting section 83. Note that the supply section 84 is not limited to a device that supplies the electronic components 100 from a tape feeder, and may be a tray-type supply device that picks up and supplies the electronic components 100 from a tray.

When the base member 70 moves to a position below the mounting section 83 with the movement of the stage 52, the mounting unit 23 moves the mounting section 83 to the component supply position of the supply section 84 and drives the supply section 84 to supply the required electronic component 100. The mounting section 83 sucks and holds the electronic component 100 from the component supply position of the supply section 84 with a suction nozzle, and mounts the electronic component 100 on the insulating layer 93 formed on the base member 70. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the mounting head 116 positions the electronic component 100 so that the electrode 101 of the electronic component 100 and the wiring 97 are connected via the metal ink 77 (such as the conductive resin paste described above). Then, the manufacturing device 10 moves the stage 52 to the modeling unit 22, and bakes the metal ink 77 with the heater 82 to form the connection terminal 99. The electronic component 100 is fixed by the connection terminal 99 and electrically connected to the wiring 97.

The inspection unit 24 is a unit that inspects the structure (such as an electronic device) manufactured by the molding unit 22 and the mounting unit 23. The inspection unit 24 includes an imaging device such as a camera. The manufacturing apparatus 10 can determine whether the electronic component 100 is properly mounted on the insulating layer 93 based on the image data captured by the inspection unit 24.

2, the control device 26 includes a controller 102, a plurality of drive circuits 104, and a storage device 106. The plurality of drive circuits 104 are connected to the electromagnetic motors 38, 56, the holding device 62, the lifting device 64, the inkjet head 75, the flattening device 78, the irradiation device 81, the heater 82, the mounting unit 83, the supply unit 84, and the inspection unit 24. The controller 102 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc., and is mainly a computer, and is connected to the plurality of drive circuits 104. The storage device 106 includes a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, etc., and stores a control program 107 that controls the manufacturing device 10. The controller 102 can control the operation of the conveying device 20, the modeling unit 22, etc. by executing the control program 107 with the CPU. In the following description, the controller 102 that executes the control program 107 with the CPU may be simply described as the device name. For example, the statement "the controller 102 controls the modeling unit 22" may mean that "the controller 102 controls the modeling unit 22 by executing the control program 107 on the CPU."

The manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, with the above-mentioned configuration, manufactures an electronic device having an insulating layer 93, wiring 97, electronic components 100, etc. (see FIG. 6) by curing the ultraviolet curing resin 76 and the metal ink 77. The controller 102 of the manufacturing apparatus 10 controls the molding unit 22, and can mold an electronic device of any shape by changing the shape of the insulating layer 93, wiring 97, etc. The controller 102 also controls the mounting unit 23 during the molding process to mount the electronic components 100 on the insulating layer 93. The memory device 106 also stores three-dimensional data 108 (which can also be called design data) of the finished electronic device and each layer obtained by slicing the electronic device. The controller 102 determines the ejection position of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 based on the three-dimensional data 108 of the memory device 106, and molds the insulating layer 93 having wiring 97, etc. In addition, the controller 102 determines the layer and position on which the electronic component 100 is to be placed based on the three-dimensional data 108, and mounts the electronic component 100 on the insulating layer 93. This makes it possible to manufacture an electronic device on which the electronic component 100 is mounted.

(2. Planarization Process Operation)
Here, the above-mentioned metal roller 79 may have minute irregularities on its surface due to, for example, the precision of the cutting process during manufacturing. Even if there were no irregularities during manufacturing, the roller 79 may be scratched when used by a user. If such a local defect occurs on the roller 79, the ultraviolet curing resin 76 cannot be spread to an even thickness, resulting in poor flattening.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a flattening defect occurs. Note that FIG. 7 does not show the collection mechanism 80 and the like. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, a recess 79A is formed in a part of the roller 79. In this case, the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened by the roller 79 has a thickness that is thicker at the part leveled by the recess 79A than at other parts, causing a flattening defect (see the part filled in black in FIG. 7). Even if the roller 79 itself is not defective, for example, if a contact defect occurs between the roller 79 and a part of the blade 95 (see FIG. 4) of the collection mechanism 80, the flattening process is performed with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 that has not been collected adhering to a part of the roller 79. As a result, a part of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 after flattening may become thick. Then, if scanning in the X-axis direction is repeated without changing the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction, the thickness of the part with the flattening defect increases cumulatively.

Conversely, for example, if there is a protrusion on part of the roller 79, there is a possibility that part of the UV-curable resin 76 will become thin after planarization. Furthermore, if scanning is repeated without changing the position of the roller 79, there is a possibility that the thickness of the defective planarization part will cumulatively decrease. If such defective planarization accumulates during modeling, the thickness of part of the modeled object will become thicker or thinner than expected. For example, if part of the insulating layer 93 protrudes, there is a risk that the protruding part will interfere with the roller 79 or the inkjet head 75. In addition, there is a risk that cracks or breaks will occur in part of the wiring 97 formed on the insulating layer 93.

The manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment therefore prevents accumulation of planarization defects by shifting the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction relative to the discharged UV curable resin 76 during the planarization process. In more detail, FIG. 8 shows a top view and a side view of the first planarization process and the second planarization process that is subsequently performed.

For example, the width of the roller 79 along the Y-axis direction is the member width 120. In this case, the Y-axis direction is an example of a width direction in the present disclosure, and is perpendicular to the X-axis direction (movement direction) in which the roller 79 moves, and is parallel to the upper surface of the stage 52 (base 60, base member 70). In other words, the member width 120 is a width along a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the roller 79. The width direction and the movement direction do not have to be perpendicular to each other. For example, the movement mechanism 90 may perform scanning by moving the roller 79 in a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the X-axis direction. The width direction may also be a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the upper surface of the stage 52 (base 60) (a direction that is not parallel).

When the area on the upper surface of the stage 52 where the UV-curable resin 76 can be ejected from the inkjet head 75 is defined as the ejectable area 122, the length of the ejectable area 122 along the Y-axis direction is defined as the ejection area width 121. In this embodiment, for example, the member width 120 is longer in the Y-axis direction than the ejection area width 121 by an excess distance 123. Note that FIG. 8 shows, as an example, a state in which the UV-curable resin 76 has been ejected over the entire ejection area 122.

The ejectable area 122 is, for example, an area of the same size as the release film 91 attached to the upper surface of the base member 70. Alternatively, the ejectable area 122 may be an area that is smaller by a predetermined distance inward from the end of the release film 91. This predetermined distance is a distance at which the ultraviolet curing resin 76 or metal ink 77 ejected into the ejectable area 122 does not spread to the outside of the ejectable area 122. Specifically, this predetermined distance is a distance at which the ultraviolet curing resin 76 does not spread to the outside of the release film 91 when the ultraviolet curing resin 76 or the like is ejected to the end of the ejectable area 122, and is a distance that can be set depending on the viscosity of the ultraviolet curing resin 76 and the metal ink 77, the amount of droplets, the contact angle with respect to the release film 91, and the like. In addition, for example, when the movable range of the inkjet head 75 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is smaller than the release film 91, the ejectable area 122 may be the movable range of the inkjet head 75.

For example, in the first flattening process, the controller 102 performs the flattening process in a state where the right end of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction in FIG. 8 is aligned with the right end of the discharge area width 121 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the initial state). In this case, the left portion of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction protrudes from the left end of the discharge area width 121 along the Y-axis direction by an excess distance 123. The controller 102 performs the first flattening process by, for example, controlling the movement mechanism 90 to move the roller 79 in the X direction while in contact with the ultraviolet curable resin 76.

For example, after performing the first flattening process, the controller 102 controls the moving mechanism 90 to raise the roller 79 along the Z-axis direction and separate the roller 79 from the ultraviolet curing resin 76. The controller 102 returns the roller 79 to the initial state position and performs the second flattening process. Alternatively, after performing the first flattening process, the controller 102 may move the stage 52 to the position of the irradiation device 81 and harden the ultraviolet curing resin 76. After hardening the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened in the first flattening process, the controller 102 moves the stage 52 to the printing unit 72 and ejects the ultraviolet curing resin 76 onto the hardened ultraviolet curing resin 76. The controller 102 may then perform the second flattening process on the ultraviolet curing resin 76 ejected after hardening.

Before performing the second flattening process, the controller 102 controls the movement mechanism 90 (see FIG. 3 ) to, for example, move the roller 79 to the right by a sliding distance 125 along the Y-axis direction, and performs a position adjustment to shift the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction relative to the ultraviolet curable resin 76 flattened in the first flattening process (an example of a position adjustment process of the present disclosure). As a result, the position of the recess 79A is shifted relative to the dischargeable area 122 in the Y-axis direction. The sliding distance 125 is, for example, a distance shorter than the excess distance 123 and a distance longer than the width of the roller 79 (defective area) along the Y-axis direction.

Then, the controller 102 moves the roller 79 in the X-axis direction while contacting the ultraviolet curing resin 76 at a position shifted by the slide distance 125, and executes the second flattening process. This makes it possible to prevent flattening defects from accumulating during modeling. For example, as shown in the side view of the first flattening process in FIG. 8, a thick portion 93A that is thicker in the Z-axis direction than other portions is formed in the portion that is leveled by the recess 79A in the first flattening process. Also, as shown in the side view of the second flattening process in FIG. 8, a thick portion 93B that is thicker in the Z-axis direction than other portions is formed in the portion that is leveled by the recess 79A in the second flattening process. By shifting the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction by the slide distance 125 before executing the second flattening process, for example, the position of the thick portion 93B formed in the second flattening process is shifted by the slide distance 125 in the Y-axis direction compared to the position of the thick portion 93A formed in the first flattening process.

The controller 102 sequentially executes, for example, a discharge process by the inkjet head 75, a first flattening process, a position adjustment process in which the roller 79 is shifted in the Y-axis direction by the moving mechanism 90, a hardening process by the irradiation device 81, a discharge process by the inkjet head 75, a second flattening process, and a hardening process by the irradiation device 81. In this case, the first flattening process and the second flattening process of the present disclosure are separate flattening processes with a discharge process and a hardening process sandwiched between them.

In addition, when the controller 102 performs a plurality of flattening processes in one flattening process, the controller 102 may perform the first flattening process, the position adjustment process, and the second flattening process in one flattening process. In this case, the first flattening process and the second flattening process of the present disclosure are the same flattening process. In addition, the controller 102 may perform a position adjustment process to further shift the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction by the slide distance 125 after the second flattening process, and perform the flattening process at the shifted position. That is, the flattening process and the position adjustment process may be repeated many times. In addition, the controller 102 may appropriately return the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction. For example, the controller 102 may return the position of the roller 79 to the position (initial state) of the first flattening process in FIG. 8 each time the controller 102 performs the second flattening process. In addition, the controller 102 may return the position of the roller 79 to the initial state, for example, each time the controller 102 performs the flattening process a predetermined number of times. Alternatively, the controller 102 may execute the position adjustment process multiple times to move the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction, and when the roller 79 is moved to a position where the surplus distance 123 is zero, the controller 102 may return the roller 79 to its initial state.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the length along the Y-axis direction of the dischargeable area 122 on the upper surface of the stage 52 where the ultraviolet curable resin 76 can be discharged is defined as the discharge area width 121, the member width 120 is longer than the dischargeable area width 121 by the excess distance 123, and the slide distance 125 is shorter than the excess distance 123. According to this, the slide distance 125 is made shorter than the excess distance 123, and the roller 79 is moved by the slide distance 125. When the roller 79 is longer than the dischargeable area 122 in the Y-axis direction, the roller 79 is longer by the excess distance 123. In this case, the flattening process can be performed while shifting the roller 79 by the slide distance 125, while covering the entire dischargeable area 122 in the Y-axis direction with the roller 79.

In addition, the member width 120 and the ejection area width 121 may be the same length in the Y-axis direction. The ejection area width 121 may be longer than the member width 120. In this case, the controller 102 may shift the roller 79 by the slide distance 125 each time the flattening process is performed. If the ejectable area 122 is longer than the roller 79, the ejectable area 122 becomes longer by the surplus distance 123. The flattening process can be performed while moving the roller 79 within the range in which the ejectable area 122 exists in the Y-axis direction.

The controller 102 may also execute a position adjustment process and move the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction each time a flattening process (such as the first flattening process or the second flattening process described above) is executed. In this case, the controller 102 may move at least one of the stage 52 and the roller 79 by the same slide distance 125 in the Y-axis direction each time a position adjustment process is executed. The value of this same slide distance 125 may be stored in advance in the storage device 106, for example, and used by the controller 102.

For example, a test model can be formed without shifting the stage 52 or the rollers 79, and the unevenness actually formed in the formed object can be measured according to the defective area, and the slide distance 125 in the Y-axis direction can be determined. However, in this case, the user is required to form a test sample, measure the unevenness, and input the measurement results, which reduces usability. Therefore, a slide distance 125 shorter than the member width 120 is set in advance, and the same slide distance 125 is used as the slide distance 125 used for each position adjustment process. This improves usability. Furthermore, by using the same slide distance 125, the process of performing position adjustment can be simplified, and the processing load of the manufacturing device 10 can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, as the flattening member of the present disclosure, a roller 79 is used that has a cylindrical shape elongated in the width direction with the Y-axis direction as the width direction and rotates with the width direction as the axial direction. With the cylindrical roller 79, if the processing accuracy during manufacturing is low, there is a risk of unevenness occurring on part of the surface. In addition, there is a risk of flattening defects occurring even if scratches or the like occur on part of the surface during use of the roller 79. In addition, if the scraping by the recovery mechanism such as the blade 95 is insufficient, there is a risk of ultraviolet curing resin 76 remaining on the surface of the roller 79. Therefore, when the roller 79 is used as the flattening member, there is a high possibility of localized defects occurring in parts in the axial direction. Therefore, by shifting the position of the roller 79 relative to the ultraviolet curing resin 76 in the axial direction in accordance with the execution of the flattening process, it is possible to prevent the accumulation and stacking of flattening defects due to such localized defects.

In addition, in the position adjustment process, the controller 102 fixes the position of the stage 52 in the Y-axis direction, and controls the movement mechanism 90 to move the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction by the slide distance 125. In this way, by fixing the position of the stage 52 and moving the roller 79, it is possible to shift the position of the roller 79 relative to the UV-curable resin 76. In other processes, such as the discharge process and the curing process, fixing the position of the stage in the Y-axis direction also eliminates the need for a movement mechanism that moves the stage 52 in the Y-axis direction.

For example, FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a different example of a manufacturing apparatus 10A. Unlike the manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 9 does not have a Y-axis slide mechanism 32. Also, the modeling unit 22, the mounting unit 23, and the inspection unit 24 are each arranged in a row in the X-axis direction, which is the movement direction of the X-axis slide mechanism 30. In this configuration, in the curing section 74, the position of the roller 79 can be shifted relative to the discharged ultraviolet curable resin 76 simply by shifting the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction. Furthermore, by eliminating the Y-axis slide mechanism 32, it is possible to miniaturize the manufacturing apparatus 10A.

The controller 102 may control the Y-axis slide mechanism 32 to move the stage 52 (base member 70) in the Y-axis direction by the slide distance 125 without moving the rollers 79. In this case, the manufacturing apparatus 10 may not be provided with a movement mechanism 90 that moves the rollers 79. Alternatively, the controller 102 may move both the rollers 79 and the stage 52 in the Y-axis direction to adjust the slide distance 125.

Therefore, in the position adjustment process, the controller 102 may fix the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction and control the Y-axis slide mechanism 32 to move the stage 52 in the Y-axis direction by the slide distance 125. In this case, by fixing the position of the roller 79 and moving the stage 52, it is possible to shift the position of the roller 79 relative to the ultraviolet curing resin 76. Furthermore, by fixing the position of the roller 79, a moving mechanism 90 for moving the roller 79 is not required, and the structure of the flattening device 78 can be simplified.

The controller 102 may also shift the roller 79 in stages. For example, the excess distance 123 is set to 15 cm. The controller 102 may also execute the flattening process and the position adjustment process five times in one flattening process. In this case, the controller 102 may set the slide distance 125 to 3 cm (= 15 cm/5 times) and execute the flattening process while sliding the roller 79 by 3 cm for each position adjustment process. The controller 102 may also move the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction by 3 cm for each position adjustment process when repeatedly executing the discharge process, flattening process, curing process, and position adjustment process. After executing the position adjustment process five times, the controller 102 may return the controller 102 to its original position (initial state in FIG. 8) and repeat the same operation.

The controller 102 may also change the slide distance 125 each time the position adjustment process is performed. For example, before performing the position adjustment process, the controller 102 may calculate the difference between the width along the Y axis direction of the area where the UV curable resin 76 is discharged from the inkjet head 75 (the area where the resin is actually discharged) and the member width 120. This difference is the excess distance of the member width 120 relative to the width along the Y axis direction of the area where the resin is actually discharged. The slide distance 125 may then be changed according to the difference between the width along the Y axis direction of the area where the resin is actually discharged and the member width 120.

The controller 102 may also receive a setting value for the slide distance 125 from the user. For example, the user fixes the position of the roller 79 in the Y-axis direction as a test, and causes the manufacturing device 10 to form an object. The user measures the width in the Y-axis direction of the convex and concave portions (accumulated thick portion 93A, etc.) formed in the completed object, and inputs this to the manufacturing device 10. The controller 102 then sets the input width, or a distance equal to or greater than the width, as the slide distance 125. This allows the slide distance 125 to be set according to the size of the convex portions, etc., that are actually formed, and the position of the roller 79 to be shifted efficiently.

In addition, in this embodiment, an insulating ultraviolet curable resin 76 is used as the curable viscous fluid. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the controller 102 shifts the position of the roller 79 to harden the flattened ultraviolet curable resin 76 to form an insulating layer 93. The controller 102 also executes a process of ejecting metal ink 77 onto the insulating layer 93 (an example of the second ejection process of the present disclosure) and a process of hardening the ejected metal ink 77 to form wiring 97 on the insulating layer 93 (a second curing process of the present disclosure).

When the metal ink 77 is hardened to form the wiring 97 and through-holes 98 on the insulating layer 93, if unevenness occurs on the insulating layer 93 due to an accumulation of poor flattening areas, the thickness and width of the wiring 97, etc. will become uneven, and the wiring 97, etc. will be cut or cracked. As a result, it becomes difficult to form a conductor with the desired electrical characteristics. Therefore, by forming the insulating layer 93 while shifting the stage 52 or roller 79, a more flattened insulating layer 93 can be formed. The occurrence of cuts in the conductor can be suppressed.

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the manufacturing device 10 is an example of a manufacturing device. The inkjet head 75 is an example of an ejection device. The ultraviolet curable resin 76 is an example of a curable viscous fluid. The metal ink 77 is an example of a fluid containing metal particles. The roller 79 is an example of a flattening member. The moving mechanism 90 is an example of a moving device. The insulating layer 93 is an example of an insulating member. The wiring 97 is an example of a metal conductor. The Y-axis direction is an example of the width direction.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects are achieved.
The controller 102 of the manufacturing apparatus 10 executes a discharge step of discharging the ultraviolet curing resin 76 onto the upper surface of the stage 52 (see FIG. 3). The controller 102 executes a first flattening process (an example of the flattening process of the present disclosure) in which a roller 79 having a predetermined member width 120 along the Y-axis direction is brought into contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 discharged in the discharge step to flatten the ultraviolet curing resin 76 (see FIG. 8). After executing the first flattening process, the controller 102 executes a position adjustment process in which the roller 79 is moved in the Y-axis direction by a slide distance 125 shorter than the member width 120 to shift the position of the roller 79 relative to the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened in the first flattening process. The controller 102 executes a second flattening process (an example of the second flattening process of the present disclosure) in which the roller 79, whose position has been shifted, is brought into contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened in the first flattening process or the ultraviolet curing resin 76 discharged onto the flattened ultraviolet curing resin 76 to flatten it (see FIG. 8).

By performing the position adjustment, the roller 79 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the sliding distance 125, and the position of the roller 79 is shifted relative to the flattened ultraviolet curable resin 76. Then, after shifting by the sliding distance 125, the ultraviolet curable resin 76 is flattened by the roller 79. As a result, even if a localized defect (such as a recess 79A) occurs in the roller 79, more uniform flattening can be achieved by performing the flattening process while shifting the roller 79. This makes it possible to prevent areas with poor flattening from accumulating and stacking during modeling.

As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 102 of the control device 26 has an ejection unit 110, a first flattening unit 111, a position adjustment unit 112, and a second flattening unit 113. The ejection unit 110 and the like are processing modules that are realized, for example, by executing the control program 107 in the CPU of the controller 102. The ejection unit 110 and the like may be realized by hardware processing rather than software processing, or may be realized by a combination of software processing and hardware processing.

The ejection unit 110 is a functional unit that controls the inkjet head 75 to eject the ultraviolet curing resin 76 onto the upper surface of the stage 52. The first flattening unit 111 is a functional unit that brings the roller 79 into contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 ejected by the ejection unit 110 to flatten the ultraviolet curing resin 76. The position adjustment unit 112 is a functional unit that controls the movement mechanism 90 after flattening by the first flattening unit 111 to move the roller 79 in the width direction of the roller 79 by a slide distance 125 shorter than the member width 120, and shifts the position of the roller 79 relative to the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened by the first flattening unit 111. The second flattening unit 113 is a functional unit that brings the shifted roller 79 into contact with the ultraviolet curing resin 76 flattened by the first flattening unit 111 or the ultraviolet curing resin 76 ejected onto the ultraviolet curing resin 76 after adjustment by the position adjustment unit 112 to flatten it.

(3. Other)
The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be embodied in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.
The curable viscous fluid of the present disclosure is not limited to the ultraviolet curable resin 76, and various curable viscous fluids that are cured by light, heat, etc. can be used. Therefore, the method for curing the curable viscous fluid is not limited to ultraviolet light. In addition, metal ink 77 may be used as the curable viscous fluid of the present application.
Furthermore, the flattening member of the present disclosure is not limited to the roller 79, but may be any other member capable of flattening the hardening viscous fluid, such as a brush, a rake, or a squeegee.

Furthermore, the manufacturing apparatus 10 does not need to include the mounting unit 23 or the inspection unit 24. Therefore, the manufacturing apparatus 10 does not need to mount or inspect the electronic components 100.
In the above embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 10 for manufacturing an electronic device on which the electronic component 100 is mounted is used as the modeling apparatus of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. As the modeling apparatus of the present disclosure, various modeling apparatuses that flatten a hardenable viscous fluid to perform modeling can be used.
In addition, the three-dimensional additive manufacturing method is not limited to stereolithography (SL), and other methods such as selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition molding (FDM), etc., can be used. In this case, when flattening a medium used for modeling, a process of adjusting the position of the flattening member of the present disclosure may be performed.

10, 10A manufacturing apparatus (molding apparatus), 26 control device, 52 stage, 75 inkjet head (ejection device), 76 ultraviolet curing resin (curable viscous fluid), 77 metal ink (fluid containing metal particles), 78 flattening device, 79 roller (flattening member), 90 moving mechanism (moving device), 93 insulating layer (insulating member), 97 wiring (metal conductor), 110 ejection section, 111 first flattening section, 112 position adjustment section, 113 second flattening section, 120 member width, 125 slide distance.

Claims (7)

a discharge step of discharging the hardenable viscous fluid onto an upper surface of the stage;
a first flattening step of flattening the hardenable viscous fluid discharged in the discharge step by bringing a flattening member having a predetermined member width along a width direction into contact with the hardenable viscous fluid;
a position adjustment step of moving at least one of the stage and the flattening member in a width direction of the flattening member by a slide distance shorter than a member width after the first flattening step, thereby shifting a position of the flattening member with respect to the hardenable viscous fluid flattened in the first flattening step;
a second planarization step of, after performing the position adjustment step, bringing the planarization member, the position of which has been shifted, into contact with the hardenable viscous fluid planarized in the first planarization step or the hardenable viscous fluid ejected onto the hardenable viscous fluid, thereby planarizing the hardenable viscous fluid;
Including,
A modeling method in which, when the length along the width direction of the dischargeable area on the upper surface of the stage where the hardenable viscous fluid can be discharged is defined as the discharge area width, one of the member width and the discharge area width is longer than the other by an excess distance, and the slide distance is shorter than the excess distance . The position adjustment step is performed every time the first flattening step is performed,
The molding method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the stage and the flattening member is moved by the same slide distance in the width direction of the flattening member every time the position adjustment step is performed. The planarizing member includes:
The molding method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the roller is a cylindrical roller that is elongated in the width direction and rotates with the width direction as its axial direction. In the position adjustment step,
The method according to claim 3 , further comprising: fixing a position of the stage in the axial direction; and moving the roller in the axial direction by the sliding distance. In the position adjustment step,
The method according to claim 3 , further comprising: fixing a position of the roller in the axial direction; and moving the stage in the axial direction by the slide distance. The hardenable viscous fluid is
It is a resin having insulating properties,
a curing step of curing the curable viscous fluid planarized in the second planarizing step to form an insulating member;
a second ejection step of ejecting a fluid containing metal particles onto the insulating member hardened in the hardening step;
a second curing process in which the fluid containing the metal particles discharged in the second discharging process is cured to form a metal conductor on the insulating member;
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: A discharge device;
A flattening device including a flattening member having a predetermined member width along a width direction;
A mobile device;
A control device;
Equipped with
The control device includes:
a discharge unit that controls the discharge device to discharge the hardenable viscous fluid onto an upper surface of a stage;
a first flattening unit that flattens the hardenable viscous fluid by bringing the flattening member into contact with the hardenable viscous fluid discharged by the discharge unit;
a position adjustment unit that controls the moving device to move at least one of the stage and the flattening member in a width direction of the flattening member by a sliding distance shorter than the member width after flattening by the first flattening unit, thereby shifting a position of the flattening member with respect to the hardenable viscous fluid flattened by the first flattening unit;
a second planarizing unit that, after performing the adjustment by the position adjusting unit, brings the planarizing member, which has been shifted in position, into contact with the hardenable viscous fluid planarized by the first planarizing unit or the hardenable viscous fluid ejected onto the hardenable viscous fluid, thereby planarizing the hardenable viscous fluid;
Equipped with
A molding device in which, when the length along the width direction of the dischargeable area on the upper surface of the stage where the hardenable viscous fluid can be discharged is defined as the discharge area width, one of the member width and the discharge area width is longer than the other by an excess distance, and the slide distance is shorter than the excess distance .

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