Molding manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a method for manufacturing a film-like molding with reduced thickness unevenness.SOLUTION: The parallelism between a substrate 2 onto which a liquid resin material is applied and a substrate 3 that sandwiches the liquid resin material from above is adjusted to meet specified conditions. The adjustment is performed by setting at least three measurement base points on the circumference of a circle of a specified radius within the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3, measuring the distance from each measurement base point to the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2, and adjusting the distance and tilt between the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 such that the difference between the measured values satisfies the Equation (1): θ=tan-1 [(difference in measurements) / (radius of circle)×2], 0≤θ≤0.0025 (1).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a molded article in which a liquid material (hereinafter referred to as "liquid material") made of a photocurable resin composition is formed on the surface of a thin substrate to a uniform thickness. [Background technology]

[0002] Resin sheets (also called plastic substrates, etc.) are generally used in various fields because they are lightweight and have excellent impact resistance and processability. In particular, transparent resin sheets are widely used in fields where glass has traditionally been used as glass substitutes, eliminating the inherent fragility of glass. In fields where resin materials, glass materials, etc. have been used, transparent photocurable resins or thermosetting resins are often used for applications requiring transparency and heat resistance. In recent years, transparent photocurable resins or thermosetting resins have been used in a variety of applications, such as lenses, display substrates, optical waveguides, solar cell substrates, and optical disk substrates. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, resin sheets using photocurable resins or thermosetting resins have been produced by casting, injection molding, or the like.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing a plurality of resin sheets by sequentially performing and repeating the following steps: placing a photocurable resin on a first support; placing a second support on top of the photocurable resin placed on the first support to form a sandwiched body in which the photocurable resin is sandwiched between the pair of supports; curing the photocurable resin by irradiating active energy rays from one or both sides of the pair of supports while moving the sandwiched body; and separating the cured resin sheet from the supports. In this method, the photocurable resin between the pair of supports is in contact with only two supports, and at least one of the two supports is capable of transmitting active energy rays.

[0004] Patent document 2 describes an imprinting apparatus that forms a pattern on an imprinting material by bringing the imprinting material on a substrate into contact with a mold, and is characterized by having: a detection unit that detects a force in a direction along the contact surface between the mold and the imprinting material that occurs in at least one of the substrate and the mold when the substrate and the mold are aligned while the imprinting material on the substrate and the mold are in contact with each other; and a control unit that calculates the amount of change in the force detected by the detection unit and controls the alignment operation based on the amount of change.

[0005] Patent document 3 describes an imprinting apparatus that uses a mold to form an imprint material on a member, and that includes a first measurement unit that measures the height distribution of the surface of the mold that faces the member, a second measurement unit that measures the height distribution of the surface of the member that faces the mold, and a control unit that controls the relative drive amount between the mold and the member in a process of narrowing the gap between the mold and the member based on the measurement results of the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit.

[0006] Furthermore, Patent Document 4 describes a resin sheet manufacturing device that sandwiches a curable resin composition between a first support and a second support arranged above and below, and then appropriately controls and adjusts the distance between the contact surfaces of the two supports and the pressing load, and then cures the curable resin composition, in order to obtain a resin sheet with little thickness variation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-285338 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-022245 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2021-015882 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-140708 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The methods described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 have the problem that the molded product has uneven thickness due to shrinkage of the resin during photocuring. In particular, when a highly viscous liquid resin composition is used as a liquid material and molded into a thin membrane or film, it is not possible to obtain a molded product with the desired thickness. Furthermore, the method described in Patent Document 4 can mold a resin sheet having a certain thickness into a uniform thickness, but has the problem that it is not suitable for molding a thin film-like molded product, for example, a film-like molded product having a thickness of 250 μm or less.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a method for manufacturing a molded product in which a liquid resin is used as a liquid material and a film of uniform thickness is formed on the surface of a thin substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] As mentioned above, it is possible to obtain a resin sheet with uniform thickness using the manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 4. The present inventors have found that when using the manufacturing apparatus to form a thin membranous or film-like molded product, by adjusting and setting the parallelism of the support surface of the liquid material to fall within predetermined conditions when supporting the liquid material and pressing it from both the top and bottom to form a film, it is possible to form a thin membranous molded product with uniform thickness even when using a liquid resin as the liquid material, and have completed the present invention.

[0011] That is, in order to solve the above problems, the method for producing a molded article of the present invention includes the following aspects. [1] A method for producing a molded article having a film of a photocurable resin composition formed on the surface of a substrate, the method comprising the following steps A) to G): Step A) A step of applying a liquid material made of the photocurable resin composition to the liquid material contact surface of the substrate placed on a support stage. Step B) A step of narrowing the distance between the substrate placed opposite the support stage and the base material having the liquid material applied to its surface, thereby bringing the liquid material contact surface of the substrate and the liquid material contact surface of the base material closer together. Step C) A step of setting at least three measurement base points on the circumference of the same circle of a predetermined radius within either the liquid material contact surface of the base material or the liquid material contact surface of the substrate, measuring the distance from each measurement base point to the other liquid material contact surface, and adjusting the inclination of the base material and / or substrate so that the difference between the respective measurement values ​​satisfies equation (1). θ=tan -1 [(difference in measurement values) / (radius of circle) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Equation (1) Step D) A step of narrowing the gap between the base material and the substrate, and pressing the liquid material at the contact surface between the two liquid materials to form a film. Step E) A step of curing the liquid material by irradiating it with active energy rays. Step F) A step of peeling the substrate from the surface of the photocurable resin composition film formed. Step G) A step of separating the substrate having the film formed on its surface from the support stage. [2] The method for producing a molded article according to [1], wherein the thickness of the film of the photocurable resin composition formed is 0.1 μm or more and 30 μm or less. [3] The method for producing a molded product according to [1] or [2], wherein the liquid material is a photocurable resin composition containing 10 wt % or less of a solvent. [4] A method for manufacturing a molded product according to any one of [1] to [3], characterized in that in step C), instead of setting measurement base points on the circumference of the same circle of a predetermined radius within one of the liquid material contact surfaces, at least three measurement base points are set on the circumference of the same ellipse of a predetermined major and minor radius, the distance from each measurement base point to the other liquid material contact surface is measured, and the inclination of the base material and / or substrate is adjusted so that the difference between each measurement value satisfies formula (2). θ=tan -1 [(difference in measurement value) / (major or minor axis of ellipse) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Equation (2) [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to use a highly viscous liquid resin material to form a molded article in which a photocurable resin composition is formed into a film of uniform thickness on the surface of a thin substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an example of a manufacturing apparatus used to implement the method for manufacturing a molded article of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a molded article according to the present invention. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the process of S1 in the flowchart of FIG. 2. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processes of S2 and S3 in the flowchart of FIG. 2. [Figure 3C] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processes of S4 and S5 in the flowchart of FIG. 2. [Figure 3D] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the process of S6 in the flowchart of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the interval measurement process in S3 of the flowchart in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing measurement points for the thickness of molded articles obtained in Examples and Comparative Examples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention will be described in detail below based on an example of an embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and can be practiced with any modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0015] 1 shows an example of a manufacturing apparatus used to carry out the method for manufacturing a molded article of the present invention. First, the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus will be described.

[0016] <Manufacturing equipment> The molded product manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1 comprises a support stage 1 made of a metal plate, a substrate 2 placed on the upper surface of the support stage 1 and having an approximately flat liquid material contact surface 2a on its upper surface which is coated with a liquid material X made of a photocurable resin composition and comes into contact with the liquid material X, a substrate 3 arranged above the support stage 1 and having an approximately flat liquid material contact surface 3a on its lower surface which comes into contact with the liquid material X, a resin curing means 4 for curing the liquid material X sandwiched between the substrate 2 and the substrate 3, a gap measuring means 5 for measuring the gap between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a, a load measuring means 6 for measuring the load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a, a gap adjusting means 7 for adjusting the gap and load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a, and a control means (not shown) for controlling the gap adjusting means 7.

[0017] The support stage 1 is disposed so that it can be displaced up and down by a distance adjustment means 7, which will be described later, to appropriately adjust the distance between it and the substrate 3 disposed above it, and also to appropriately adjust the inclination relative to the substrate 3. The support stage 1 is also disposed so that the substrate 2 placed on its upper surface can be integrally fixed to the upper surface by operating a vacuum chuck, and the operation can be stopped to separate and remove the substrate 2.

[0018] The substrate 2 is a component that constitutes a molded product by forming a film of a photocurable resin composition on its surface, and is composed of, for example, a glass plate or a resin plate of a thermoplastic resin or the like that is flat on both the top and bottom surfaces and has a thickness of about 0.5 to 5 mm. The shape and size of the substrate 2 are appropriately set according to the molded product to be formed; for example, when molding a molded product that is circular in plan view, the diameter can be set to a size of 3 to 10 inches. The upper surface of the substrate 2 forms a liquid material contact surface 2a with high flatness, and as will be described later, the liquid material X is applied to the liquid material contact surface 2a with the lower surface of the substrate 2 placed on the support stage 1 and fixed together.

[0019] The substrate 3 is a plate made of, for example, quartz glass, and its lower surface serves as a highly flat liquid material contact surface 3a. The substrate 3 is fixed above the support stage 1 in parallel with the support stage 1 with an appropriate gap therebetween. Quartz glass can increase the flatness of the liquid material contact surface 3a, and is also highly durable, allowing it to maintain excellent flatness for a relatively long period of time. After the liquid material X is cured, it also has good releasability from the thin film resin. Quartz glass is also preferred in terms of the transparency of the active energy rays irradiated when curing the liquid material X. Blue glass, which has excellent smoothness, can also be used.

[0020] When no pattern is formed on the surface of the molded product to be manufactured, it is preferable that both the liquid material contact surface 2a and the liquid material contact surface 3a that come into contact with the liquid material X are substantially flat. When a pattern is formed on the surface of the molded product to be manufactured, the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3 is provided with the pattern, but it is preferable that the surface other than the portion where the pattern is to be formed is substantially flat.

[0021] The resin curing means 4 is a means for curing the liquid material X made of a photocurable resin composition, and may be, for example, an active energy ray irradiation means for irradiating ultraviolet rays, electron beams, or the like. The resin curing means 4 may be placed anywhere as long as it produces the desired effect, but it is preferable to place it above the substrate 3 when the substrate 3 is placed on a support stage 1 that supports the base material 2, as in the manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in the figure.

[0022] The distance measuring means 5 is not particularly limited as long as it can measure the distance between the liquid material contact surface 2a and the liquid material contact surface 3a, but for example, a spectral interference laser displacement meter is preferred because it has high resolution and can measure the distance non-contact. The spectral interference laser displacement meter is preferably a thickness measurement type with a measurement range of 0.05 to 1.1 mm and a resolution of about 1 nm. The distance measuring means 5 is arranged above the substrate 3 so as to be freely displaceable in the horizontal direction (X direction and Y direction), and as will be described later, is configured to measure the arrangement distance between the liquid material contact surface 2a of the base material 2 and the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3 at multiple measurement base points set under specified conditions while changing its position horizontally.

[0023] The load measuring means 6 is a means for suppressing thickness unevenness caused by partial changes in the load between the liquid material contact surface 2a and the liquid material contact surface 3a when the liquid material X is cured. The load measuring means 6 is preferably a load cell (load converter) because it can detect minute changes in load due to, for example, the curing shrinkage of the liquid material X. The type of the load cell is not particularly limited and may be a spring type, piezoelectric element type, magnetostrictive type, capacitance type, gyro type, strain gauge type, or the like. The load measuring means 6 is disposed on each of the three actuators constituting the distance adjusting means 7, which will be described later.

[0024] The gap adjustment means 7 is a means for adjusting the gap between the liquid material contact surface 2a and the liquid material contact surface 3a by widening or narrowing it.In the manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1, of the support stage 1 and substrate 3 arranged one above the other, the substrate 3 is fixed in position, and the support stage 1 below it is displaced in the vertical direction by the gap adjustment means 7, so that the gap between the substrate 2 and substrate 3 fixed on the support stage 1 can be adjusted by appropriately setting the placement gap between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a. Specifically, the gap adjustment means 7 is composed of three piezoelectric actuators, the upper end of each of which is connected to the lower part of the support stage 1, and is arranged so that the support stage 1 can be displaced in the vertical direction by driving each actuator forward and backward. The three piezoelectric actuators are arranged below the support stage 1 at the vertices of an equilateral triangle in a plan view, and by individually operating each piezoelectric actuator, the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 fixed on the support stage 1 can be tilted in an appropriate direction and angle relative to the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3, thereby adjusting the parallelism of the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 (see Figure 4). Note that Figure 1 shows two of the gap adjustment means 7 arranged in an equilateral triangle. The piezoelectric actuator constituting the gap adjusting means 7 preferably has a displacement of 40 μm and a resolution of about 0.05 μm. The load measuring means 6 is disposed on each piezoelectric actuator, and measures the load when the gap adjusting means 7 is driven.

[0025] The control means (not shown) has a built-in computer and controls the gap adjustment means 7 based on multiple measurement results from the gap measurement means 5, thereby keeping the variation in the gap between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the base material 2 and the substrate 3 within a predetermined range, as described below, and also controls the gap adjustment means 7 based on the measurement results from the load measurement means 5, making it possible to keep the load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a within a predetermined range.

[0026] The liquid material X can be exemplified by a monomer having an acryloyl group or a methacryloyl group, and a (meth)acrylic monomer is preferred. Examples of the (meth)acrylic monomer include (meth)acrylic acid and monofunctional or polyfunctional (meth)acrylates.

[0027] Examples of monofunctional (meth)acrylates include methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl (meth)acrylate, butyl (meth)acrylate, isobutyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and cyclohexyl acrylate. Examples of polyfunctional (meth)acrylates include propane-1,3-diyl diacrylate, propane-1,3-diyl bis(2-methacrylate), butane-1,4-diyl diacrylate, butane-1,4-diyl bis(2-methacrylate)trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), bisphenoxyethanol fluorene diacrylate (BPEFA), pentaerythritol triacrylate, and dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate (DPHA).

[0028] The (meth)acrylic monomer is preferably a polyfunctional (meth)acrylic monomer, and more preferably TMPTA, BPEFA, pentaerythritol triacrylate, or DPHA. The monomer used in the liquid material X may be one type or two or more types.

[0029] The viscosity of the liquid material X is adjusted by mixing a diluent monomer into the base resin material. The diluent monomer for adjusting viscosity is preferably a compound having at least one radically polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bond in the molecule, and examples thereof include aromatic vinyl monomers such as styrene, α-methylstyrene, α-chlorostyrene, vinyltoluene, and divinylbenzene; vinyl ester monomers such as vinyl acetate, vinyl butyrate, N-vinylformamide, N-vinylacetamide, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-vinylcaprolactam, and divinyl adipate; vinyl ethers such as ethyl vinyl ether and phenyl vinyl ether; and diallyl ether. allyl compounds such as thalate, trimethylolpropane diallyl ether, and allyl glycidyl ether; (meth)acrylamides such as (meth)acrylamide, N,N-dimethyl(meth)acrylamide, N-methylol(meth)acrylamide, N-methoxymethyl(meth)acrylamide, N-butoxymethyl(meth)acrylamide, Nt-butyl(meth)acrylamide, (meth)acryloylmorpholine, and methylenebis(meth)acrylamide; (meth)acrylic acid, methyl (meth)acrylate, ethyl (meth)acrylate, and (meth)acrylamide; Propyl acrylate, n-butyl (meth)acrylate, i-butyl (meth)acrylate, t-butyl (meth)acrylate, hexyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl (meth)acrylate, lauryl (meth)acrylate, stearyl (meth)acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl (meth)acrylate, morpholyl (meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl (meth)acrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl (meth)acrylate, glycidyl (meth)acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl (meth)acrylate mono(meth)acrylates such as diethylaminoethyl (meth)acrylate, benzyl (meth)acrylate, cyclohexyl (meth)acrylate, phenoxyethyl (meth)acrylate, tricyclodecane (meth)acrylate, dicyclopentenyl (meth)acrylate, allyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl (meth)acrylate, isobornyl (meth)acrylate, and phenyl (meth)acrylate; ethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, diethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, and triethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate;Tetraethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polyethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate (number of repeating units: 5 to 14), propylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, dipropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tripropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, tetrapropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, polypropylene glycol di(meth)acrylate (number of repeating units: 5 to 14), 1,3-butylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, 1,4-butanediol di(meth)acrylate, polybutylene glycol di(meth)acrylate (number of repeating units: 3-16), poly(1-methylbutylene glycol) di(meth)acrylate (number of repeating units: 5-20), 1,6-hexanediol di(meth)acrylate, 1,9-nonanediol di(meth)acrylate, neopentyl glycol di(meth)acrylate, neopentyl glycol hydroxypivalate di(meth)acrylate, di(meth)acrylate of dicyclopentanediol, di(meth)acrylate of neopentyl glycol hydroxypivalate caprolactone adduct (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylate of hydroxypivalate neopentyl glycol Di(meth)acrylates of γ-butyrolactone adducts of neopentyl glycol phosphate (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylates of caprolactone adducts of neopentyl glycol (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylates of caprolactone adducts of butylene glycol (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylates of caprolactone adducts of cyclohexanedimethanol (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylates of caprolactone adducts of dicyclopentanediol (n+m=2-5), caprolactone adducts of bisphenol A Di(meth)acrylic acid ester of prolactone adduct (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylic acid ester of caprolactone adduct of bisphenol F (n+m=2-5), di(meth)acrylic acid ester of ethylene oxide adduct of bisphenol A (p=1-7), di(meth)acrylic acid ester of propylene oxide adduct of bisphenol A (p=1-7), di(meth)acrylic acid ester of ethylene oxide adduct of bisphenol F (p=1-7), di(meth)acrylic acid ester of propylene oxide adduct of bisphenol F (p=1-7),Trimethylolpropane tri(meth)acrylate, trimethylolpropane ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-5) tri(meth)acrylate, trimethylolpropane propylene oxide adduct (p=1-5) tri(meth)acrylate, glycerin tri(meth)acrylate, glycerin ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-5) tri(meth)acrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetra(meth)acrylate, ditrimethylolpropane ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-5) ), tetra(meth)acrylic acid ester of pentaerythritol, tri(meth)acrylic acid ester of pentaerythritol ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-5), tetra(meth)acrylic acid ester of pentaerythritol ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-15), tri(meth)acrylic acid ester of pentaerythritol propylene oxide adduct (p=1-5), pentaerythritol propylene oxide adduct (p=1-15) tetra(meth)acrylic acid ester of dipentaerythritol ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-5), penta(meth)acrylic acid ester of dipentaerythritol ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-15), hexa(meth)acrylic acid ester of dipentaerythritol ethylene oxide adduct (p=1-15), tri(meth)acrylic acid ester of poly(meth)acrylate pentaerythritol caprolactone (4-8 moles) adduct such as N,N',N"-tris((meth)acryloxypoly(p=1-4)(ethoxy)ethyl)isocyanurate, pentaerythritol caprolactone (4-8 moles) adduct, tetra(meth)acrylic acid esters of dipentaerythritol caprolactone (4 to 12 mol) adducts, dipentaerythritol penta(meth)acrylic acid esters, dipentaerythritol hexa(meth)acrylic acid esters, penta(meth)acrylic acid esters of dipentaerythritol caprolactone (4 to 12 mol) adducts, hexa(meth)acrylic acid esters of dipentaerythritol caprolactone (4 to 12 mol) adducts, N,N',N"-tris(acryloxyethyl) isocyanurate, N,N'-bis(acryloxyethyl)-N"-hydroxyethyl isocyanurate,Examples of suitable (meth)acrylates include polyfunctional (meth)acrylates such as ethylene oxide isocyanurate-modified (meth)acrylate, propylene oxide isocyanurate-modified (meth)acrylate, and ethylene oxide / propylene oxide isocyanurate-modified (meth)acrylate; epoxy poly(meth)acrylates obtained by the addition reaction of polyepoxy compounds having multiple epoxy groups in the molecule, such as bisphenol A glycidyl ether, bisphenol F glycidyl ether, phenol novolac epoxy resin, cresol novolac epoxy resin, pentaerythritol polyglycidyl ether, trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether, and triglycidyl tris(2-hydroxyethyl)isocyanurate, with (meth)acrylic acid. Among these, benzyl (meth)acrylate is preferred from the viewpoints of transparency and dilutability. The solvent is preferably contained in a proportion of 10 wt % or less relative to the photocurable resin composition, which can reduce the influence of solvent evaporation on film thickness unevenness during film formation.

[0030] The viscosity of the photocurable resin composition is preferably 50 cP to 10,000 cP, more preferably 60 cP to 8,000 cP, and even more preferably 80 cP to 4,000 cP. If the viscosity is within this range, a uniform film can be obtained without applying a high load to the substrate in the step of pressing the liquid material to form a film.

[0031] <Method of manufacturing molded products> The method for producing a molded article of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 2, Fig. 3A to 3D, and Fig. 4. The following description of the processes (S1) to (S6) corresponds to the process steps S1 to S6 in Fig. 2.

[0032] (S1) A liquid material X is applied to the center of the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 fixed to the upper surface of the support stage 1 (FIG. 3A).

[0033] (S2) The support stage 1 is displaced upward, and the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the substrate 3 are brought close to each other until the liquid material X placed on the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 is slightly in contact with the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3 (Figure 3B).

[0034] (S3) The parallelism of the base material 2 and the substrate 3 is adjusted at a position where the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a are close to each other. The adjustment is performed by measuring the gap between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a with the gap measuring means 5, and adjusting the inclination of the substrate 2 fixed integrally on the support stage 1 based on the measurement result. The measurement of the gap between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a by the gap measuring means 5 is performed at a position on the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 where the liquid material X is not applied.

[0035] 4, the distance measurement means 5 measures the distance from the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3 to the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 facing it. In this case, a circle of a predetermined radius R is set within the liquid material contact surface 3a, with its center facing the center of the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 to which the liquid material X has been applied, and extending to a position where the liquid material X has not been applied but to the outside of the liquid material X. At least three points on the circumference of this circle are set as measurement base points, and the distance from each measurement base point to the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 is measured.

[0036] Figure 4 shows a case where three measurement base points are set on the circumference of a circle with radius R. For example, suppose the measurement values ​​(intervals) of measurement base points m1, m2, and m3 are 2 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm, respectively. If the same measurement value of 2 mm is measured at each measurement point, it can be determined that the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 is parallel to the liquid material contact surface 3a of the substrate 3, but the measurement value of measurement base point m3 is 3 mm, and it can be determined that the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 is tilted downward on the side of this measurement base point. The degree of this inclination (θ) is calculated using the following formula. θ=tan -1 [(difference in measurement value) / (radius of circle R) x 2] Then, the distance adjusting means 7 is operated to adjust the tilt of the substrate 2 fixed on the support stage 1 so that the tilt (θ) calculated above falls within a predetermined range. Here, the adjusted tilt (θ) is preferably within the following range. 0≦θ≦0.0025 If the inclination (θ) is 0.0025 degrees or less, the uniformity of the film thickness is good. If it is within the above range, the measurement difference Δd (max measurement value at each measurement base point - min measurement value) when measuring the distance between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a is within 4 μm, and it has been confirmed in the examples described later that thickness unevenness can be suppressed when a film-shaped molded product having a thickness thinner than 25 μm is molded. If the thickness of the resin film formed on the surface of the substrate 2 is 0.1 μm or more, the adhesion to the substrate 2 is excellent, and if it is 30 μm or less, the influence of cure shrinkage on unevenness of the film thickness is reduced.

[0037] When the shape of the substrate 2 is square or circular, it is preferable to set three or more measurement base points by the distance measuring means 5 on the circumference of a circle with the radius R described above to measure the distance. When the substrate 2 has a shape with long and short sides such as a rectangle, at least three measurement base points may be set on the circumference of the same ellipse with predetermined major and minor radii, and the distance from each measurement base point set according to the shape of the substrate 2 to the other liquid material contact surface may be measured. In this case, the degree of inclination (θ) is calculated using the following formula (2). θ=tan -1 [(difference in measurement value) / (major or minor axis of ellipse) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Equation (2) If the inclination (θ) is within the above range, the uniformity of the film thickness will be good.

[0038] After the distance adjustment means 7 is operated to adjust the inclination of the substrate 2 fixed on the support stage 1, the distance from each measurement base point to the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2 is measured again, the inclination (θ) is derived, and the distance adjustment means 7 is operated to adjust the inclination of the substrate 2 so that the derived inclination (θ) is within the predetermined range. The distance measurement and inclination adjustment are performed multiple times using feedback control according to a program set in the control means so that the inclination (θ) is within the predetermined range. Note that even when four or more measurement base points are set on the same circumference of the radius R, the parallelism of the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 is adjusted by the same process as above.

[0039] (S4) After adjusting the parallelism of the base material 2 and the substrate 3, the support stage 1 is raised, and the liquid material X is sandwiched between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the base material 2 and the substrate 3, and the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid material X are pressed to form a film (Figure 3C).

[0040] (S5) The liquid material X is sandwiched between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a, pressed to form a film, and then the liquid material X is irradiated with active energy rays from the resin curing means 4 to cure the liquid material X. At this time, the load on the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a is measured by the load measuring means 6. The load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a may be adjusted by the gap adjusting means 7 based on the measured load data. In order to remove residual stress from the film-shaped molded article, the molded article may be subjected to an annealing treatment, which is preferably carried out by heating at 80 to 120°C for 4 to 12 hours.

[0041] (S6) Once the liquid material X has cured and a molded product Y has been formed in which the photocurable resin composition is formed as a film on the surface of the substrate 2, this product is removed (FIG. 3D). The molded product Y is removed by first lowering the support stage 1 to peel off the substrate 3 from the film-forming surface of the photocurable resin composition, and then separating the base material 2 with the film formed on the surface from the support stage 1. [Example]

[0042] The manufacturing method of the present invention will be described below based on examples. It should be noted that the following examples are merely illustrative examples for embodying the technical concept of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following modes and embodiments.

[0043] Using the manufacturing method of the present invention, thin-walled molded products were molded by changing the viscosity and amount of liquid material X, which is the molding material.

[0044] <Molded product manufacturing equipment> The manufacturing apparatus shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1 was used.

[0045] <Materials for molded products> The following photocurable resin composition was used as the film-forming material. Acrylate composition: OGSOL EA-F5710 (manufactured by Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd.) Photopolymerization initiator: Omnirad 184 1 part, Omnirad TPO 0.1 part Dilutable monomer: Viscoat #160 (Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) The viscosity was adjusted by mixing a diluent monomer into the resin material to obtain three materials with viscosities: Material A1 with 100 cP, Material A2 with 370 cP, and Material A3 with 1300 cP. The substrate used was EAGLE XG glass (manufactured by Corning) with a size of 100×100 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm.

[0046] <Method of manufacturing molded products> Molded products were manufactured according to the flowchart shown in Figure 2. However, as will be described later, some processing steps were not performed in the comparative examples.

[0047] Example 1 The material A1 was used as the liquid material X in a liquid volume of 0.05 mL. The substrate 2 was fixed on the support stage 1 of the manufacturing apparatus 100, the liquid material X was applied to the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2, and the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 were brought close to each other. As described above, the distance between the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 was adjusted, including measuring the distance between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a at multiple measurement base points using the distance measuring means 5, deriving the inclination (θ) of the substrate 2, and adjusting the inclination of the substrate 2 based on the measurement results. The distance measurement means 5 was used to set three measurement base points on the same circumference with a radius R of 40 mm, and the inclination (θ) was adjusted to be within the range (0≦θ≦0.0025) of the formula (1). After the distance adjustment, the difference in the distance between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 0.4 μm, and θ was 0.0003 degrees. After adjusting the gap, the liquid material X was sandwiched between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the base material 2 and the substrate 3 and pressed up and down, and the liquid material X was cured by irradiating it with active energy rays from the resin curing means 4, thereby forming a molded product Y in which the photocurable resin composition was formed into a film having a circular shape (diameter 60 mm) in plan view on the surface of the base material 2. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 180N. Using a film thickness meter (DIGIMICRO MFC-101; manufactured by Nikon Corporation), the thickness of the obtained molded product was measured at five points on the periphery and center of the film-forming surface of molded product Y, as shown in Figure 5, and the average thickness and thickness variation were calculated. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0048] Example 2 A molded product Y was formed by performing film formation processing of the liquid material X in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the material A2 was used as the liquid material X. After adjusting the gap between the substrate 2 and the board 3, the gap difference between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 0.2 μm, and θ was 0.0001 degrees. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 171 N. The thickness of the obtained molded article Y was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0049] Example 3 A molded product Y was formed by performing film-forming processing of the liquid material X in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the material A3 was used as the liquid material X. After adjusting the gap between the substrate 2 and the board 3, the gap difference between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 0.4 μm, and θ was 0.0003 degrees. The pressing load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 177N. The thickness of the obtained molded article Y was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0050] Example 4 A molded product Y was formed by performing film formation processing of the liquid material X in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 0.2 mL of material A1 was used as the liquid material X. After adjusting the gap between the substrate 2 and the board 3, the gap difference between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 0.4 μm, and θ was 0.0003 degrees. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 383N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 100 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0051] Example 5 A liquid material A1 with a liquid volume of 0.2 mL was used as the liquid material X, and a film-forming process was carried out on the liquid material X to form a molded product Y in the same manner as in Example 1, except that measurements using the distance measuring means 4 were performed by setting three measurement base points on the same circumference with a radius R of 60 mm. After adjusting the gap between the substrate 2 and the board 3, the gap difference between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 0.4 μm, and θ was 0.0002 degrees. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was 322N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 100 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0052] (Comparative Example 1) The material A1 was used as the liquid material X in a liquid volume of 0.05 mL. The liquid material X was applied onto the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2, and in each of the above examples, the gap between the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 was not adjusted. The liquid material X was sandwiched between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the substrate 2 and the substrate 3, and pressed from above and below. In this state, active energy rays were irradiated onto the liquid material X from the resin curing means 4, and the liquid material X was cured to form the molded product Y. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 3N. The obtained molded article Y had a diameter of 30 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0053] (Comparative Example 2) A molded product Y was formed by carrying out film-forming processing of the liquid material X in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, except that the pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was set to 116N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 60 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0054] (Comparative Example 3) Liquid material X was processed to form a film in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, except that a liquid volume of 0.2 mL of material A2 was used and the pressing load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was set to 197 N, and molded product Y was formed. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 60 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0055] Comparative Example 4 A liquid amount of 0.05 mL of the material A1 was used as the liquid material X, which was applied onto the liquid material contact surface 2a of the substrate 2, and then the gap between the substrate 2 and the substrate 3 was adjusted in the same manner as in each of the above examples. Measurements using the distance measuring means 5 were performed by setting three measurement reference points on the same circumference with a radius R of 40 mm, and the difference in distance between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a and 3a was adjusted to 5.0 μm. The tilt (θ) after adjustment was 0.0036 degrees. After adjusting the gap, the liquid material X was sandwiched between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a of the base material 2 and the substrate 3 and pressed vertically, and the liquid material X was irradiated with active energy rays from the resin curing means 4 to harden the liquid material X, thereby forming the molded product Y. The pressing load between the liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 230N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 60 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0056] (Comparative Example 5) Liquid material X was processed to form a film to form molded product Y in the same manner as in Comparative Example 4, except that material A2 with a liquid volume of 0.05 mL was used, the gap between the base material 2 and the substrate 3 was adjusted so that the gap difference between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 4.3 μm and the inclination (θ) was 0.0031 degrees, and the pressing load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was set to 164 N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 60 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0057] (Comparative Example 6) Liquid material X was processed to form a film in the same manner as in Comparative Example 4, except that a liquid volume of 0.2 mL of material A1 was used, the gap between the substrate 2 and the board 3 was adjusted so that the gap difference between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was 6.0 μm and the inclination (θ) was 0.0029 degrees, and the pressing load between the two liquid material contact surfaces 2a, 3a was set to 323 N. The obtained molded product Y had a diameter of 100 mm, and its thickness was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0058] [Table 1]

[0059] According to the measurement results of the comparative examples, when the load pressing the liquid material X is small as in comparative example 1, it is not possible to form a thin molded product, and thickness unevenness becomes large. When the pressing load is large as in comparative examples 2 and 3, a thin molded product can be obtained, but thickness unevenness of the molded product cannot be suppressed. Furthermore, even if the spacing between the substrate 2 and the board 3 is adjusted as in Comparative Examples 4 to 6, the thickness unevenness of the molded product cannot be reduced unless the tilt of the movable substrate 2 is properly adjusted to a small tilt. Comparative Example 6 has the smallest tilt (θ) of 0.029 degrees, but the thickness unevenness is large at 6.6 μm, and the ratio of the thickness unevenness to the thickness of the molded product Y itself is large.

[0060] On the other hand, according to the measurement results of the above examples, it is possible to mold a molded article in which the photocurable resin composition is formed into a thin film having a thickness of about 16 μm to 24 μm, and moreover, it is possible to suppress the thickness unevenness of the molded article to about 1.3 μm to 2.8 μm. It has been confirmed that the manufacturing method of the present invention is extremely useful for molding a molded article in which the photocurable resin composition is formed into a thin, flat, membrane-like or film-like film on the surface of a thin substrate without thickness unevenness. As described above, in the process step (S3) of the manufacturing method of the present invention, the arrangement distance and inclination between the liquid material contact surfaces facing each other above and below are adjusted using a plurality of points on the same circumference as a circle of a predetermined radius R as measurement base points within either of the surfaces, and it was confirmed from the measurement results of Examples 1 and 5 that this adjustment method is effective in suppressing uneven thickness of the formed film even when the molded product sizes are different. Furthermore, it was confirmed from the measurement results of Examples 1, 2, and 3 that this adjustment method is effective in suppressing uneven thickness even when the viscosity of the photocurable resin composition is high.

[0061] In the above embodiment, when adjusting the placement gap between the base material and the substrate, at least three measurement base points are set on the circumference of the same circle with a predetermined radius as shown in Figure 4. However, the placement gap may also be adjusted by setting at least three measurement base points on the circumference of the same ellipse with predetermined major and minor radii, measuring the gap, and deriving the slope (θ). In this case, the slope (θ) is derived using the following equation (2). θ=tan -1 [(difference in measurement value) / (major or minor axis of ellipse) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Equation (2)

[0062] Furthermore, in the manufacturing apparatus of the above embodiment, an actuator is installed below the support stage on which the substrate is placed, and the support stage is configured to move up and down relative to the substrate placed above it so that the distance between the substrate and the substrate can be changed. However, instead of this, the substrate on whose upper surface the liquid material is to be applied may be fixed on the lower support stage, and the substrate may be supported by the lower part of an upper stage placed above it that is configured so that it can move up and down freely by an actuator, and the distance between the substrate and the substrate may be changed by moving the substrate side up and down. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1 Support stage, 2 Base material, 2a Liquid material contact surface, 3 Substrate, 3a Liquid material contact surface, 4 Resin curing means, 5 Distance measurement means, 6 Load measurement means, 7 Distance adjustment means, 100 Manufacturing equipment, X Liquid material, Y Molded product

Claims

1. A method for producing a molded article having a film of a photocurable resin composition formed on the surface of a substrate, the method comprising the following steps A) to G): Step A) A step of applying a liquid material made of the photocurable resin composition to the liquid material contact surface of the substrate placed on a support stage. Step B) A step of narrowing the distance between the substrate placed opposite the support stage and the base material having the liquid material applied to its surface, thereby bringing the liquid material contact surface of the substrate and the liquid material contact surface of the base material closer together. Step C) A step of setting at least three measurement base points on the circumference of a circle with a predetermined radius within either the liquid material contact surface of the base material or the liquid material contact surface of the substrate, measuring the distance from each measurement base point to the other liquid material contact surface, and adjusting the inclination of the base material and / or substrate so that the difference between each measurement value satisfies formula (1). θ=tan －１ [(difference in measurement value) / (radius of circle) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Formula (1) Step D) A step of narrowing the distance between the base material and the substrate, and pressing the liquid material at the contact surface between the two liquid materials to form a film. Step E) A step of curing the liquid material by irradiating it with active energy rays. Step F) A step of peeling the substrate from the surface of the photocurable resin composition film formed. Step G) A step of separating the substrate having the film formed on the surface thereof from the support stage.

2. The method for producing a molded product according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the film of the photocurable resin composition is 0.1 μm or more and 30 μm or less.

3. 3. The method for manufacturing a molded product according to claim 1, wherein the liquid material is a photocurable resin composition containing 10 wt % or less of a solvent.

4. A method for manufacturing a molded product as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in step C), instead of setting measurement base points on the circumference of the same circle of a predetermined radius within one of the liquid material contact surfaces, at least three measurement base points are set on the circumference of the same ellipse of a predetermined major and minor radius, the distance from each measurement base point to the other liquid material contact surface is measured, and the inclination of the base material and / or substrate is adjusted so that the difference between each measurement value satisfies equation (2). θ=tan －１ [(difference in measurement value) / (major or minor axis of ellipse) x 2] 0≦θ≦0.0025 Formula (2)

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