Patent ID: 6821473
Filing Date: 2004-11-23
Classification: B29C,B29K

Abstract:
A three-dimensional laminated product forming apparatus for forming a three-dimensional laminated product from a photo-curable liquid by progressively superposing solid laminae, one on top of another, with each lamina of the solid laminae having a specified thickness, and being provided by photo-curing a surface layer of the photo-curable liquid, said three-dimensional laminated product forming apparatus comprising:a container for holding a photo-curable liquid therein; a product table on which a three-dimensional laminated product is built up in progressive steps, said product table being mounted in the container to lie sunken beneath a working surface of the photo-curable liquid in the container, and adapted to be incrementally advanced into the photo-curable liquid step-by-step, each step being equal to the specified thickness of each lamina; a liquid surface leveling device defining an elongated narrow capillary working gap at a bottom of the device in communication with a reservoir within the device for holding photo-curable liquid, said liquid surface leveling device being vertically movable to and from the working surface of the photo-curable liquid contained in the container, and when contacting the working surface, photo-curable liquid is drawn into the reservoir of the device by capillary action; a driving mechanism for causing said liquid surface leveling device while in contact with the working surface of the photo-curable liquid to run over the working surface of the photo-curable liquid in said container to supply said photo-curable liquid from said reservoir via the capillary working gap to form a smoothed and leveled surface layer of photo-curable liquid over a three-dimensional laminated product that is being built up on the product table; and an irradiating head for irradiating said smoothed and leveled surface layer of photo-curable liquid with a beam spot of reactive stimulation to cure and convert the smoothed and leveled surface layer of photo-curable liquid into a lamina a the three-dimensional laminated product being built up on said product table.