Molding apparatus

Abstract

To provide a molding apparatus capable of appropriately molding a molded body.SOLUTION: A molding apparatus includes: a molding device that molds a molded body on a base member based on a set position that is set on the base member; and an output device that outputs position information related to the set position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, the technical field of a modeling unit for modeling a modeled object. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an apparatus for forming an object by melting a powdered material with an energy beam and then solidifying the molten material. In such an apparatus for forming an object, a technical challenge is to properly form the object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 014909 Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect, there is provided a modeling unit including a modeling device that models a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member, and an output device that outputs position information related to the set position.

[0005] According to a second aspect, there is provided a modeling unit including a modeling device that models a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member, and an output device that outputs position information regarding the relative position between the set position and the model.

[0006] According to a third aspect, there is provided a modeling unit including a modeling device that models a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member, and an output device that outputs position information regarding the relationship between the set position and the position of the model.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a modeling unit including: a control device that sets a set position on a base member; and a modeling device that models a model on the base member based on the set position.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a modeling unit comprising: a modeling device that models a model on a base member; a control device that sets a set position on at least one of the base member and the model and controls the modeling device based on the set position; and an output device that outputs first position information regarding the set position and second position information regarding the positional relationship between the set position and the position of the model.

[0009] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a modeling unit comprising: a modeling device that models a model on a base member; and an output device that outputs position information regarding the relationship between a set position set on at least one of the base member and the model and the position of the model.

[0010] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a modeling unit including: a modeling device that models a modeled object on a base member; and an output device that outputs three-dimensional shape data of the base member and three-dimensional shape data of the modeled object.

[0011] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a modeling unit comprising a modeling device that models a model on a base member, a measuring device that acquires three-dimensional information of the base member and the model, and an output device that outputs the measurement results by the measuring device.

[0012] According to a 9th aspect, there is provided a modeling unit comprising a modeling device which models a model on a base member, a measuring device which measures the base member and the model, and an output device which outputs measurement results by the measuring device, wherein the measuring device measures the base member in at least one of a period before the model is modeled and a period while the model is being modeled to obtain a first measurement result, and measures the model in at least one of a period while the model is being modeled and a period after the model is modeled to obtain a second measurement result.

[0013] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a modeling unit comprising a modeling device that models a modeled object including a planar surface on an upper surface of a base member having a planar side, and a control device that controls the modeling device so that the side surface of the base member and the planar surface of the modeled object are parallel to each other.

[0014] The functions and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a processing system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the machining system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] Each of FIG. 3(a) to FIG. 3(j) is a plan view showing a projection pattern projected by the projection device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the coordinate matching operation. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a stage including a mounting surface on which alignment marks are formed. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the stage shown in FIG. 5 taken along the line VV'. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a beam detecting member on which alignment marks are formed. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the beam detecting member shown in FIG. 7 taken along line VII#1-VII#1'. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII#2-VII#2' of the beam detecting member shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the beam detecting member placed on the placement surface. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a reference member on which alignment marks are formed. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the reference member placed on the placement surface. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the mounting surface and the workpiece in the stage coordinate system. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of the first workpiece model alignment operation. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the second workpiece model alignment operation. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram conceptually showing a state in which pattern matching is performed between a three-dimensional model (that is, a workpiece) indicated by the model shape information and a workpiece indicated by the measurement shape information. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of the third workpiece model alignment operation. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a plurality of guide lights intersect at a specified point. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a plurality of guide lights do not intersect at a specified point. [Figure 20] Figure 20(a) is a plan view showing beam spots of multiple guide lights on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the user-specified point) when multiple guide lights intersect at a user-specified point, and Figure 20(b) is a plan view showing beam spots of multiple guide lights on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the user-specified point) when multiple guide lights do not intersect at the user-specified point. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a workpiece and a three-dimensional structure in the stage coordinate system. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of the shaping model alignment operation. [Diagram 23] FIG. 23 is a plan view showing an example of a display of a work model. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a plan view showing an example of a display of a work model. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a plan view showing an example of a display of a work model. [Figure 26]FIG. 26 is a plan view showing an example of a display of a work model. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a plan view showing a display example on the display. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view showing a work model and a molding model. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing an example of correction of the molding information together with a molding model and a work model. [Diagram 30] Each of Figs. 30(a) to 30(c) is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing an example of a method for correcting the forming information, together with a workpiece model and a forming model. [Diagram 31] FIGS. 31(a) to 31(c) are cross-sectional views conceptually showing another example of a method for correcting the forming information, together with a workpiece model and a forming model. [Diagram 32] Each of Fig. 32(a) to Fig. 32(e) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which light is irradiated and modeling material is supplied to a certain area on a workpiece. [Diagram 33] Each of Figures 23(a) to 33(c) is a cross-sectional view showing a process for forming a three-dimensional structure. [Diagram 34] FIG. 34 is a system configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the machining system according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 35] FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a processing unit included in the processing system of the second embodiment. [Diagram 36] FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the structure of a processing head. [Figure 37] FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the structure of a processing head. [Figure 38] FIG. 38 is a plan view showing how a workpiece or a three-dimensional structure is measured using a probe. [Figure 39] FIG. 39 is a plan view showing how a workpiece or a three-dimensional structure is measured using a probe. [Diagram 40] FIG. 40 is a plan view showing how a workpiece or a three-dimensional structure is measured using a probe. [Diagram 41] FIG. 41 is a plan view showing how a workpiece or a three-dimensional structure is measured using a probe. [Diagram 42] FIG. 42 is a plan view showing how a workpiece or a three-dimensional structure is measured using a probe. [Diagram 43] FIG. 43 is a plan view showing a display example of a work model and a molding model. [Diagram 44] Each of Figures 44(a) to 44(c) is a plan view showing an example of a mark provided on a workpiece. [Diagram 45] FIG. 45 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the reference position and the molding model. [Figure 46] FIG. 46 is a plan view showing a three-dimensional structure formed on a workpiece when the reference points shown in FIG. 45 are set. [Figure 47] FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing the flow of the machining operation performed by the machining unit. [Figure 48] Figure 48(a) is an oblique view showing an example of a workpiece and three-dimensional structure supported by the stage, and Figure 48(b) and Figure 48(c) are each a plan view showing an example of a workpiece and three-dimensional structure supported by the stage. [Figure 49] FIG. 49(a) is a perspective view showing an example of a workpiece and three-dimensional structure supported by the stage, and FIG. 49(b) is a plan view showing an example of a workpiece and three-dimensional structure supported by the stage. [Figure 50] FIG. 50 is a plan view showing a three-dimensional structure formed on a workpiece by a modeling unit having relatively poor modeling accuracy when the reference point shown in FIG. 45 is set. [Figure 51] FIG. 51 is a system configuration diagram showing a system configuration in a fourth modified example of the machining system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 52] FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing an example of a stage that supports a workpiece via an object different from the workpiece. [Diagram 53] FIG. 53 is a perspective view showing a three-dimensional structure formed on a workpiece fixed to a fixing jig. [Figure 54] FIG. 54 is a perspective view showing a stage supporting a workpiece fixed to a fixing jig. [Figure 55] FIG. 55 is a system configuration diagram showing another example of the system configuration of the machining system. [Figure 56] FIG. 56(a) is a plan view showing another example of the reference member, and FIG. 52(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG. 56(a). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the modeling unit will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the modeling unit will be described using a processing system (i.e., a modeling system) SYS that performs additional processing on a workpiece W, which is an example of an object, to form a model on the workpiece W. In particular, below, an embodiment of the modeling unit will be described using a processing system SYS that performs additional processing based on a laser metal deposition method (LMD). The additional processing based on the laser metal deposition method is an additional processing that forms a three-dimensional structure ST that is integrated with the workpiece W or that can be separated from the workpiece W by melting a modeling material M supplied to the workpiece W with processing light EL. Laser metal deposition (LMD) may also be called direct metal deposition, directed energy deposition, laser cladding, laser engineered net shaping, direct light fabrication, laser consolidation, shape deposition manufacturing, wire-feed laser deposition, gas through wire, laser powder fusion, laser metal forming, selective laser powder remelting, laser direct casting, laser powder deposition, laser additive manufacturing, and laser rapid forming.

[0017] In the following description, the positional relationship of various components constituting the machining system SYS will be described using an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system defined by mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. For convenience of explanation, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are each assumed to be horizontal (i.e., a predetermined direction in a horizontal plane), and the Z-axis direction is assumed to be vertical (i.e., a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, essentially an up-down direction). The rotation directions (in other words, tilt directions) around the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are referred to as the θX direction, the θY direction, and the θZ direction, respectively. Here, the Z-axis direction may be the direction of gravity. The XY plane may be the horizontal direction.

[0018] (1) Structure of the machining system SYS of the first embodiment First, the structure of the machining system SYS of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the structure of the machining system SYS of the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the machining system SYS of the first embodiment.

[0019] The processing system SYS can form a three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., a three-dimensional object having a size in any three-dimensional direction, a solid object). The processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST on a workpiece W, which is a base for forming the three-dimensional structure ST. This workpiece W may be called a base member or a pedestal. The processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W by performing additional processing on the workpiece W. When the workpiece W is a stage 31 described later, the processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST on the stage 31. When the workpiece W is an existing structure held by the stage 31 (or placed on the stage 31), the processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST on the existing structure. In this case, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST integrated with the existing structure. The operation of forming the three-dimensional structure ST integrated with the existing structure can be considered equivalent to the operation of adding a new structure to the existing structure. In addition, the existing structure may be, for example, an item requiring repair that has a missing portion. The processing system SYS may form a three-dimensional structure on the item requiring repair so as to fill in the missing portion of the item requiring repair. Alternatively, the processing system SYS may form a three-dimensional structure ST that is separable from the existing structure. In addition, FIG. 1 shows an example in which the workpiece W is an existing structure held by the stage 31. In the following, the explanation will be given using an example in which the workpiece W is an existing structure held by the stage 31.

[0020] As described above, the processing system SYS can form a three-dimensional structure ST by the laser deposition welding method. In other words, the processing system SYS can be said to be a 3D printer that forms an object using additive manufacturing technology. The additive manufacturing technology is also called rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, or additive manufacturing.

[0021] 1 and 2, in order to form a three-dimensional structure ST, the processing system SYS includes a material supply device 1, a modeling device 2, a stage device 3, a light source 4, a gas supply device 5, a housing 6, a control device 7, a measuring device 8, a display 91, and an input device 92. At least a portion of each of the modeling device 2, the stage device 3, and the measuring device 8 is accommodated in a chamber space 63IN inside the housing 6.

[0022] The material supplying device 1 supplies the modeling material M to the modeling device 2. The material supplying device 1 supplies a desired amount of modeling material M according to a required amount so that the modeling device 2 is supplied with the amount of modeling material M required per unit time for the modeling device 2 to form a three-dimensional structure ST.

[0023] The modeling material M is a material that can be melted by irradiation with processing light EL of a predetermined intensity or more. For example, at least one of a metal material and a resin material can be used as the modeling material M. However, other materials other than a metal material and a resin material may be used as the modeling material M. The modeling material M is a powder material. That is, the modeling material M is a powder. The powder may contain a granular material in addition to a powder material. The modeling material M may contain a powder having a particle size within a range of 90 micrometers ± 40 micrometers. The average particle size of the powder constituting the modeling material M may be, for example, 75 micrometers or other sizes. However, the modeling material M does not have to be a powder, and for example, a wire-shaped modeling material or a gas-shaped modeling material may be used. In addition, the processing system SYS may process the modeling material M with an energy beam such as a charged particle beam to form a modeled object.

[0024] The modeling apparatus 2 forms a three-dimensional structure ST using the modeling material M supplied from the material supply device 1. In order to form the three-dimensional structure ST using the modeling material M, the modeling apparatus 2 includes a modeling head 21, a head drive system 22, a position measurement device 23, and a plurality of (for example, two) guide light emitters 24. The modeling apparatus 2 may be referred to as a modeling unit. Furthermore, the modeling head 21 includes an irradiation optical system 211 and a material nozzle (i.e., a supply system that supplies the modeling material M) 212. The modeling head 21 and the head drive system 22 are housed in the chamber space 63IN. However, at least a part of the modeling head 21 and / or the head drive system 22 may be disposed in an external space 64OUT, which is a space outside the housing 6. The external space 64OUT may be a space that an operator of the processing system SYS can enter. In addition, since the modeling apparatus 2 is an apparatus that forms a three-dimensional structure ST, which is a model, by additive processing, it may also be called an additive processing apparatus.

[0025] The irradiation optical system 211 is an optical system (for example, a focusing optical system) for emitting the processing light EL from the emission unit 213. Specifically, the irradiation optical system 211 is optically connected to the light source 4 that emits the processing light EL via an optical transmission member (not shown), such as an optical fiber or a light pipe. The irradiation optical system 211 emits the processing light EL propagated from the light source 4 via the optical transmission member. The irradiation optical system 211 emits the processing light EL so that the processing light EL advances through the chamber space 63IN. The irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL downward (i.e., toward the -Z side) from the irradiation optical system 211. A stage 31 is disposed below the irradiation optical system 211. When a workpiece W is placed on the stage 31, the irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL toward the workpiece W. Specifically, the irradiation optical system 211 can irradiate the processing light EL to an irradiation area EA that is set on the workpiece W as an area to be irradiated (typically, condensed) with the processing light EL. Furthermore, the state of the irradiation optical system 211 can be switched between a state in which the processing light EL is irradiated onto the irradiation area EA and a state in which the processing light EL is not irradiated onto the irradiation area EA under the control of the control device 7. Note that the direction of the processing light EL emitted from the irradiation optical system 211 is not limited to directly below (i.e., coinciding with the -Z axis direction), and may be, for example, a direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the Z axis.

[0026] The material nozzle 212 has a supply outlet 214 that supplies the modeling material M. The material nozzle 212 supplies (e.g., jets, ejects, or sprays) the modeling material M from the supply outlet 214. The material nozzle 212 is physically connected to the material supply device 1, which is a supply source of the modeling material M, via a pipe or the like (not shown). The material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M supplied from the material supply device 1 via the pipe. The material nozzle 212 may pressure-feed the modeling material M supplied from the material supply device 1 via the pipe. That is, the modeling material M from the material supply device 1 may be mixed with a conveying gas (e.g., an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon) and pressure-feed it to the material nozzle 212 via the pipe. In this case, for example, a purge gas supplied from the gas supply device 5 may be used as the conveying gas. Note that, although the material nozzle 212 is depicted in FIG. 1 as a tube, the shape of the material nozzle 212 is not limited to this shape. The material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M toward the chamber space 63IN. The material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M downward (i.e., toward the -Z side) from the material nozzle 212. The stage 31 is disposed below the material nozzle 212. When a workpiece W is mounted on the stage 31, the material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M toward the workpiece W. Note that the traveling direction of the modeling material M supplied from the material nozzle 212 is a direction inclined at a predetermined angle (an acute angle, for example) with respect to the Z-axis direction, but may be toward the -Z side (i.e., directly below).

[0027] In the first embodiment, the material nozzle 212 is aligned with respect to the irradiation optical system 211 so as to supply the shaping material M toward the irradiation area EA to which the irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL. In other words, the material nozzle 212 and the irradiation optical system 211 are aligned so that the supply area MA, which is set on the workpiece W as the area to which the material nozzle 212 supplies the shaping material M, coincides with (or at least partially overlaps with) the irradiation area EA. Note that the material nozzle 212 may be aligned so as to supply the shaping material M to a molten pool MP formed by the processing light EL emitted from the irradiation optical system 211.

[0028] The head drive system 22 moves the object-forming head 21. The head drive system 22 moves the object-forming head 21, for example, within the chamber space 63IN. The head drive system 22 moves the object-forming head 21 along at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. When the object-forming head 21 moves along at least one of the X-axis and the Y-axis, each of the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA moves on the workpiece W along at least one of the X-axis and the Y-axis. Furthermore, the head drive system 22 may move the object-forming head 21 along at least one of the θX direction, the θY direction, and the θZ direction in addition to at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. In other words, the head drive system 22 may rotate the object-forming head 21 around at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. The head drive system 22 may change the attitude of the object-forming head 21 around at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. The head drive system 22 includes, for example, a motor.

[0029] The head drive system 22 may move the irradiation optical system 211 and the material nozzle 212 separately. Specifically, for example, the head drive system 22 may be capable of adjusting at least one of the position of the emission unit 213, the orientation of the emission unit 213, the position of the supply outlet 214, and the orientation of the supply outlet 214. In this case, an irradiation area EA where the irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL and a supply area MA where the material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M can be controlled separately.

[0030] The position measuring device 23 is capable of measuring the position of the object-forming head 21. The position measuring device 23 may include, for example, at least one of an encoder and a laser interferometer.

[0031] The guide light emitting device 24 is disposed in the modeling head 21. The guide light emitting device 24 emits a guide light GL. The guide light emitting device 24 emits the guide light GL so that the guide light GL travels through the chamber space 63IN. The multiple guide light emitting devices 24 are aligned so that the multiple guide lights GL emitted from the multiple guide light emitting devices 24 intersect with each other at a certain position below the modeling head 21. In particular, the multiple guide light emitting devices 24 are aligned so that the multiple guide lights GL intersect with each other at the focus position of the processing light EL. Since the modeling device 2 mainly processes an object at the focus position of the processing light EL (i.e., performs additional processing), it can also be said that the multiple guide light emitting devices 24 are aligned so that the multiple guide lights GL intersect with each other at an additional processing position where additional processing is performed by the modeling device 2. The additional processing position typically at least partially overlaps with the respective positions of the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA. Incidentally, a detailed description will be given later of a method of using such a guide light emitting device 24. Incidentally, a plurality of guide light beams GL may be aligned so as to intersect with each other at a position (defocus position) deviated from the focus position of the processing light EL.

[0032] The stage device 3 includes a stage 31. The stage 31 is accommodated in the chamber space 63IN. The stage 31 can support the workpiece W. The state in which the stage 31 supports the workpiece W may mean a state in which the workpiece W is directly or indirectly supported by the stage 31. The stage 31 may be capable of holding the workpiece W. That is, the stage 31 may support the workpiece W by holding the workpiece W. Alternatively, the stage 31 may not be capable of holding the workpiece W. In this case, the workpiece W may be placed on the stage 31. That is, the stage 31 may support the workpiece W placed on the stage 31. At this time, the workpiece W may be placed on the stage 31 in a clampless manner. Therefore, the state in which the stage 31 supports the workpiece W in this embodiment may include a state in which the stage 31 holds the workpiece W and a state in which the workpiece W is placed on the stage 31. The stage 31 may be called a support device that supports the workpiece W, a placement device on which the workpiece W is placed, a holding device that holds the workpiece W, or a table. Since the stage 31 is accommodated in the chamber space 63IN, the workpiece W supported by the stage 31 is also accommodated in the chamber space 63IN. Furthermore, when the workpiece W is held, the stage 31 can release the held workpiece W. The above-mentioned irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL during at least a part of the period during which the stage 31 supports the workpiece W. Furthermore, the above-mentioned material nozzle 212 supplies the modeling material M during at least a part of the period during which the stage 31 supports the workpiece W. Note that a part of the modeling material M supplied by the material nozzle 212 may be scattered or spilled from the surface of the workpiece W to the outside of the workpiece W (for example, to the periphery of the stage 31). For this reason, the processing system SYS may be provided with a recovery device around the stage 31 that recovers the scattered or spilled modeling material M. Note that the stage 31 may be provided with a mechanical chuck, a vacuum suction chuck, or the like to hold the workpiece W.

[0033] The light source 4 emits, for example, at least one of infrared light and ultraviolet light as the processing light EL. However, light of other wavelengths, for example, light of a wavelength in the visible range, may be used as the processing light EL. The processing light EL is laser light. In this case, the light source 4 may include a laser light source such as a semiconductor laser. Examples of the laser light source include a laser diode (LD), a fiber laser, and a CO 2 The light source 4 may include at least one of a laser, a YAG laser, an excimer laser, etc. However, the processing light EL does not have to be a laser beam, and the light source 4 may include any light source (for example, at least one of an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a discharge lamp, etc.).

[0034] The gas supply device 5 is a supply source of purge gas for purging the chamber space 631IN. The purge gas includes an inert gas. Examples of the inert gas include nitrogen gas and argon gas. The gas supply device 5 supplies the purge gas to the chamber space 63IN. As a result, the chamber space 63IN becomes a space purged by the purge gas. The gas supply device 5 may be a cylinder storing an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas. When the inert gas is nitrogen gas, the gas supply device 5 may be a nitrogen gas generator that generates nitrogen gas using the air as a raw material.

[0035] The housing 6 is a housing device that houses at least a part of each of the modeling device 2 and the stage device 3 in a chamber space 63IN that is an internal space of the housing 6. The housing 6 includes a partition member 61 that defines the chamber space 63IN. The partition member 61 is a member that separates the chamber space 63IN from an external space 64OUT of the housing 6. The partition member 61 faces the chamber space 63IN via its inner wall 611, and faces the external space 64OUT via its outer wall 612. In this case, the space surrounded by the partition member 61 (more specifically, the space surrounded by the inner wall 611 of the partition member 61) becomes the chamber space 63IN. The partition member 61 may be provided with a door that can be opened and closed. This door may be opened when the workpiece W is placed on the stage 31. This door may be opened when the workpiece W and / or the model (e.g., a three-dimensional structure ST) is removed from the stage 31. This door may be closed while the modeling apparatus 2 is modeling an object.

[0036] The control device 7 controls the operation of the machining system SYS. The control device 7 may include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) in addition to or instead of the CPU) and a memory. The control device 7 functions as a device that controls the operation of the machining system SYS by the CPU executing a computer program. This computer program is a computer program for making the control device 7 (for example, the CPU) perform (i.e., execute) the operation to be performed by the control device 7, which will be described later. In other words, this computer program is a computer program for making the control device 7 function so as to make the machining system SYS perform the operation to be described later. The computer program executed by the CPU may be recorded in a memory (i.e., a recording medium) provided in the control device 7, or may be recorded in any storage medium (for example, a hard disk or a semiconductor memory) built into the control device 7 or externally attachable to the control device 7. Alternatively, the CPU may download the computer program to be executed from a device external to the control device 7 via a network interface.

[0037] For example, the control device 7 may control the emission mode of the processing light EL by the irradiation optical system 211. The emission mode may include, for example, at least one of the intensity of the processing light EL and the emission timing of the processing light EL. When the processing light EL is a pulsed light, the emission mode may include, for example, the ratio between the length of the emission time of the pulsed light and the emission cycle of the pulsed light (so-called duty ratio). The emission mode may also include, for example, the length of the emission time of the pulsed light itself or the emission cycle itself. Furthermore, the control device 7 may control the movement mode of the modeling head 21 by the head drive system 22. The movement mode may include, for example, at least one of the movement amount, the movement speed, the movement direction, and the movement timing. Furthermore, the control device 7 may control the supply mode of the modeling material M by the material supply device 1. The supply mode of the modeling material M by the material nozzle 212 is mainly determined by the supply mode of the modeling material M by the material supply device 1. For this reason, controlling the supply mode of the modeling material M by the material supply device 1 can be considered equivalent to controlling the supply mode of the modeling material M by the material nozzle 212. The supply mode may include, for example, at least one of the supply amount (particularly, the supply amount per unit time) and the supply timing.

[0038] The control device 7 may not be provided inside the processing system SYS, and may be provided as a server or the like outside the processing system SYS. In this case, the control device 7 and the processing system SYS may be connected by a wired and / or wireless network (or a data bus and / or a communication line). As the wired network, a network using a serial bus type interface, such as at least one of IEEE1394, RS-232x, RS-422, RS-423, RS-485, and USB, may be used. As the wired network, a network using a parallel bus type interface may be used. As the wired network, a network using an interface conforming to Ethernet (registered trademark), such as at least one of 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T, may be used. As the wireless network, a network using radio waves may be used. As an example of a network using radio waves, a network conforming to IEEE802.1x (for example, at least one of wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark)) may be mentioned. As the wireless network, a network using infrared rays may be used. A network using optical communication may be used as the wireless network. In this case, the control device 7 and the processing system SYS may be configured to be able to transmit and receive various information via the network. The control device 7 may also be able to transmit information such as commands and control parameters to the processing system SYS via the network. The processing system SYS may include a receiving device that receives information such as commands and control parameters from the control device 7 via the network. The processing system SYS may include a transmitting device that transmits information such as commands and control parameters to the control device 7 via the network (i.e., an output device that outputs information to the control device 7). Alternatively, a first control device that performs a part of the processing performed by the control device 7 may be provided inside the processing system SYS, while a second control device that performs another part of the processing performed by the control device 7 may be provided outside the processing system SYS.

[0039] As a recording medium for recording the computer program executed by the CPU, at least one of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, flexible disk, MO, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, Blu-ray (registered trademark), and other optical disks, magnetic media such as magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk, semiconductor memory such as USB memory, and any other medium capable of storing a program may be used. The recording medium may include a device capable of recording a computer program (for example, a general-purpose device or a dedicated device in which a computer program is implemented in a state in which it can be executed in at least one of the forms of software and firmware). Furthermore, each process or function included in the computer program may be realized by a logical processing block realized in the control device 7 by the control device 7 (i.e., a computer) executing the computer program, or may be realized by hardware such as a predetermined gate array (FPGA, ASIC) provided in the control device 7, or may be realized in a form in which a logical processing block and a partial hardware module that realizes some elements of the hardware are mixed.

[0040] The measuring device 8 is capable of measuring a measurement target under the control of the control device 7. The measurement result of the measuring device 8 is output from the measuring device 8 to the control device 7. The measuring device 8 may be referred to as a measuring unit.

[0041] The measurement may include measuring the position of the measurement object. The position of the measurement object may include the position of each portion (i.e., each part) into which the measurement object is divided, in at least one of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. The position of the measurement object may include the position of the surface of the measurement object. The position of the surface of the measurement object may include the position of each portion (i.e., each part) into which the surface of the measurement object is divided, in at least one of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. The measurement may include measuring the shape (e.g., three-dimensional shape) of the measurement object. The shape of the measurement object may include the orientation of each portion into which the measurement object is divided (e.g., the orientation of a normal to each portion, which is substantially equivalent to the amount of inclination of each portion with respect to at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis). The shape of the measurement object may include the shape of the surface of the measurement object. The shape of the surface of the measurement object may include the orientation of each portion into which the surface of the measurement object is subdivided (e.g., the direction of the normal to each portion, which is substantially equivalent to the amount of inclination of each portion with respect to at least one of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis (i.e., the orientation of each portion)). The measurement may also include measurement of attributes of the measurement object. The attributes of the measurement object may include, for example, at least one of the reflectance of the measurement object, the spectral reflectance of the measurement object, and the surface roughness of the measurement object.

[0042] In the first embodiment, the measurement target includes, for example, an object placed on the mounting surface 311 of the stage 31. For this reason, the measurement range of the measuring device 8 is set to a desired range so that the object placed on the mounting surface 311 can be measured. An example of an object placed on the mounting surface 311 is the above-mentioned workpiece W. Another example of an object placed on the mounting surface 311 is a three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W. Another example of an object placed on the mounting surface 311 is a reference member 34 (see FIG. 11 etc.) described later.

[0043] The measuring device 8 may have any structure as long as it can measure the measurement object. The measuring device 8 may be any type of measuring device as long as it can measure the measurement object. Figures 1 and 2 show an example in which the measuring device 8 is a 3D scanner. That is, Figures 1 and 2 show an example in which the measuring device 8 optically measures the measurement object. Figures 1 and 2 show an example in which the measuring device 8 measures the measurement object without contacting the measurement object. That is, Figures 1 and 2 show an example in which the measuring device 8 measures the measurement object non-contact. However, the measuring device 8 may measure the measurement object using a method other than an optical method, for example, electromagnetic waves or sound waves. The measuring device 8 may measure the measurement object by contacting the measurement object. An example of a measuring device that measures the measurement object by contacting the measurement object is a measuring device that measures the measurement object while pressing a sensor such as a probe against the measurement object.

[0044] When the measurement device 8 is a 3D scanner, the measurement device 8 includes, for example, a projection device 81 and an imaging device 82 as shown in Fig. 2. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the measurement device 8 includes a plurality of imaging devices 82. More specifically, in the example shown in Fig. 2, the measurement device 8 includes two imaging devices 82 (specifically, imaging device 82#1 and imaging device 82#2). However, the measurement device 8 may include a single imaging device 82.

[0045] The projection device 81 irradiates the measurement light DL onto the placement surface 311. The measurement light DL is light for projecting a desired projection pattern onto the placement surface 311. The measurement light DL is light for projecting a desired projection pattern onto a measurement object placed on the placement surface 311. The desired projection pattern may include a one-dimensional projection pattern. The desired projection pattern may include a two-dimensional projection pattern. The projection device 81 may project a single type of projection pattern onto the measurement object. Alternatively, the projection device 81 may project multiple types of projection patterns onto the measurement object in sequence.

[0046] 3(a) to 3(j) show examples of projection patterns. FIG. 3(a) shows a projection pattern corresponding to a white image. FIG. 3(b) shows a projection pattern corresponding to a black image. FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b) may be used to measure the state of ambient light. FIG. 3(c) to FIG. 3(f) show a plurality of projection patterns corresponding to different stripe patterns (e.g., a plurality of stripe patterns having different numbers and widths of stripes). FIG. 3(g) to FIG. 3(j) show a plurality of projection patterns corresponding to gray patterns having different phases (in other words, phase shift patterns).

[0047] The projection device 81 may sequentially project the multiple projection patterns shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), then sequentially project the multiple projection patterns shown in Figures 3(c) to 3(f), and then sequentially project the multiple projection patterns shown in Figures 3(g) to 3(j). In this case, the periodic width of the Gray code included in each of the projection patterns shown in Figures 3(g) to 3(j) may be the same as the minimum width of the stripes included in the projection patterns shown in Figures 3(c) to 3(f). Note that a stereoscopic phase shift method is an example of a method for measuring the state of a measurement object by capturing an image of the measurement object onto which a phase shift pattern is projected using multiple imaging devices 82.

[0048] The imaging device 82 captures an image of the placement surface 311. The imaging device 82 captures an image of a measurement object placed on the placement surface 311. In particular, the imaging device 82 captures an image of a projection pattern projected onto the measurement object. The control device 7 generates measurement information on the measurement object measured by the measurement device 8 (i.e., measurement information on the measurement result of the measurement object by the measurement device 8) based on the imaging result of the imaging device 82 (in particular, information on the captured projection pattern). Since the measurement of the measurement object includes at least one of the measurement of the position of the measurement object and the measurement of the shape of the measurement object, the measurement information may include at least one of measurement position information on the position of the measurement object measured by the measurement device 8 and measurement shape information on the shape of the measurement object measured by the measurement device 8. In this case, the control device 7 can function as an information generating device for generating measurement information (i.e., at least one of the measurement position information and the measurement shape information).

[0049] The measurement information may include either one of the measurement position information and the measurement shape information. The measurement information may include both the measurement position information and the measurement shape information. In particular, the measurement information may be information in which the measurement position information and the measurement shape information correspond to each other. "Measurement information in which the measurement position information and the measurement shape information correspond to each other" means information in which both the position and the shape of each part of the measurement object can be specified. Therefore, by referring to such measurement information, a situation does not occur in which the position of a part of the measurement object can be specified but the shape of the same part cannot be specified. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, an example in which the measurement information is information in which the measurement position information and the measurement shape information correspond to each other will be used. Note that such measurement information does not need to include the measurement position information and the measurement shape information as separate and independent different information, and the measurement information may have any data structure as long as it can specify both the position and the shape of each part of the measurement object.

[0050] The measuring device 8 is isolated from the chamber space 63IN by the partition member 83. The measuring device 8 is disposed in a space isolated from the chamber space 63IN by the partition member 83. This prevents the adhesion of substances present in the chamber space 63IN to the measuring device 8. Examples of substances present in the chamber space 63IN include the modeling material M supplied to the chamber space 63IN from the material nozzle 212, and substances generated from the modeling surface MS, which will be described later, due to irradiation with the processing light EL. Examples of substances generated from the modeling surface MS, which will be described later, due to irradiation with the processing light EL include fumes containing at least one of fine particles of the molten modeling material M and fine particles of the material constituting the molten workpiece W.

[0051] The partition member 83 includes a light-transmitting member 84 at a position where the optical path of the measurement light DL irradiated by the projection device 81 intersects with the partition member 83, the light-transmitting member 84 being capable of passing the measurement light DL while blocking the above-mentioned substances. As a result, even if the measurement device 8 is isolated from the chamber space 63IN by the partition member 83, the measurement device 8 can appropriately irradiate the measurement light DL to the measurement object placed in the chamber space 63IN. Note that the measurement device 8 does not have to be isolated from the chamber space 63IN by the partition member 83. For example, the measurement device 8 may be placed in the chamber space 63IN. When the measurement device 8 is placed in the chamber space 63IN, the measurement device 8 may be dust-resistant.

[0052] The display 91 is a display device capable of displaying a desired image under the control of the control device 7. For example, the display 91 may display information related to the machining system SYS. For example, the display 91 may display information related to a three-dimensional structure ST. For example, the display 91 may display information related to a workpiece W. For example, the display 91 may display information related to an imaging result by the imaging device 82.

[0053] The display 91 does not have to be provided inside the processing system SYS. For example, the display 91 may be provided outside the processing system SYS as an external display. In this case, the display 91 and the processing system SYS may be connected by a wired and / or wireless network (or a cable, a data bus, and / or a communication line). In this case, the control device 7 may be configured to be able to transmit and receive various information (i.e., input and output) between the display 91 and the control device 7 via the network. The display 91 may include a transmitting / receiving unit (i.e., an input / output unit) that transmits and receives information between the control device 7 (and further between other devices provided in the processing system SYS with or without the control device 7) and a display unit that displays an image.

[0054] The input device 92 is a device that accepts input of information from outside the processing system SYS. For example, the input device 92 may accept input of information from a user of the processing system SYS. For example, the input device 92 may accept input of information from an external device of the processing system SYS. For example, the input device 92 may accept input of information from a recording medium that can be attached to the processing system SYS. An example of the input device 92 is an operation device that can be operated by a user. An example of the operation device is at least one of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch panel (for example, a touch panel integrated with the display 91), and a pointing device. Another example of the input device 92 is an interface device for connecting to an external device of the processing system SYS. Another example of the input device 92 is a reading device that can read a recording medium that can be attached to the processing system SYS. Information that the input device 92 accepts as input (i.e., information input to the input device 92) is output to, for example, the control device 7.

[0055] The input device 92 may accept information input via a display screen of the display 91. For example, the input device 92 may accept information input via a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display screen of the display 91. For example, the input device 92 may accept input of information related to a user's operation on a GUI displayed on the display screen of the display 91. In this case, the display 91 may display an image (for example, the above-mentioned GUI) for accepting information input via the input device 92 under the control of the control device 7. In this way, the display 91 may also be used as the input device 92.

[0056] The input device 92 does not have to be provided inside the processing system SYS. For example, the input device 92 may be provided outside the processing system SYS as an external input device. In this case, the input device 92 and the processing system SYS may be connected by a wired and / or wireless network (or a cable, a data bus, and / or a communication line). In this case, the control device 7 may be configured to acquire information input to the input device 92 via the network. In other words, the control device 7 may be configured to function as a receiving device that receives information input to the input device 92 via the network. The input device 92 may include a transmitting / receiving unit (i.e., an input / output unit) that transmits and receives information to and from the control device 7 (and further, between other devices included in the processing system SYS with or without the control device 7), and an input receiving unit that receives input from outside the processing system SYS.

[0057] (2) Operation of the machining system SYS of the first embodiment Next, the flow of operations of the processing system SYS will be described. In the first embodiment, the processing system SYS performs a workpiece model alignment operation under the control of the control device 7. Thereafter, the processing system SYS performs a molding model alignment operation under the control of the control device 7. Thereafter, the processing system SYS performs a molding operation under the control of the control device 7. Furthermore, the processing system SYS may perform a coordinate matching operation prior to the workpiece model alignment operation under the control of the control device 7. Therefore, hereinafter, the coordinate matching operation, the workpiece model alignment operation, the molding model alignment operation, and the molding operation will be described in this order.

[0058] (2-1) Coordinate matching operation First, the coordinate matching operation will be described. The coordinate matching operation is an operation for associating the object-forming coordinate system, the stage coordinate system, and the measurement coordinate system with each other. The object-forming coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system used to specify the position of the object-forming head 21. For example, the head driving system 22 moves the object-forming head 21 based on information on the position of the object-forming head 21 specified in the object-forming coordinate system. For example, the position measuring device 23 measures the position of the object-forming head 21 in the object-forming coordinate system. The stage coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system used to specify a position on the stage 31 (particularly, a position on the mounting surface 311 of the stage 31). Alternatively, the stage coordinate system may be a three-dimensional coordinate system used to specify the position of the stage 31. When the stage 31 can be moved by the stage driving system as described later, the stage driving system may move the stage 31 based on information on the position of the stage 31 specified in the stage coordinate system. The measurement coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system used to specify the position of the measurement target measured by the measuring device 8. That is, the measurement coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system used to identify a position within the measurement range of the measurement device 8. The control device 7 generates measurement position information regarding the position of the measurement object within the measurement coordinate system based on the measurement result of the measurement device 8.

[0059] When the printing coordinate system, the stage coordinate system, and the measurement coordinate system are associated with each other, it becomes possible to convert coordinates of a position in any one of the printing coordinate system, the stage coordinate system, and the measurement coordinate system into coordinates of a position in another one of the printing coordinate system, the stage coordinate system, and the measurement coordinate system. Therefore, it can be said that the coordinate matching operation is equivalent to an operation for acquiring information (e.g., a transformation matrix) used to convert coordinates in the printing coordinate system into coordinates in the stage coordinate system and the measurement coordinate system, information (e.g., a transformation matrix) used to convert coordinates in the stage coordinate system into coordinates in the printing coordinate system and the measurement coordinate system, and information (e.g., a transformation matrix) used to convert coordinates in the measurement coordinate system into coordinates in the printing coordinate system and the stage coordinate system.

[0060] In addition, when information obtained by the coordinate matching operation (for example, information on a transformation matrix) is already known to the control device 7, the processing system SYS does not need to perform the coordinate matching operation. For example, when information obtained by the coordinate matching operation is input to the processing system SYS via the input device 92, the processing system SYS does not need to perform the coordinate matching operation.

[0061] The flow of such coordinate matching operation will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of coordinate matching operation.

[0062] 4, the processing system SYS performs an operation of associating the printing coordinate system with the stage coordinate system as a part of the coordinate matching operation (steps S111 to S113). Furthermore, the processing system SYS performs an operation of associating the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system as a part of the coordinate matching operation (steps S114 to S116). When the printing coordinate system and the stage coordinate system are associated and the measurement coordinate system and the stage coordinate system are associated, the printing coordinate system and the measurement coordinate system are indirectly associated via the stage coordinate system. Therefore, by performing the processes from step S111 to step S116, the printing coordinate system, the stage coordinate system, and the measurement coordinate system are associated with each other.

[0063] 4 shows an example in which the processing system SYS performs an operation to associate the printing coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, and then performs an operation to associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system. However, the processing system SYS may perform an operation to associate the printing coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, and then performs an operation to associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system.

[0064] In order to associate the modeling coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, first, the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 of the stage 31 (step S111). In particular, the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so that the positional relationship between the beam detecting member 32 and the placing surface 311 is a desired first positional relationship. In the first embodiment, in order to place the beam detecting member 32 on the placing surface 311 so that the positional relationship between the beam detecting member 32 and the placing surface 311 is a desired first positional relationship, alignment marks are formed on both the beam detecting member 32 and the placing surface 311. Hereinafter, an example of the placing surface 311 on which alignment marks are formed and the beam detecting member 32 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 10. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the stage 31 including the placing surface 311 on which alignment marks are formed. FIG. 6 is a V-V' cross-sectional view of the stage 31 shown in FIG. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing beam detecting member 32 on which alignment marks are formed. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII#1-VII#1' of beam detecting member 32 shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII#2-VII#2' of beam detecting member 32 shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a plan view showing beam detecting member 32 placed on mounting surface 311.

[0065] 5 and 6, a plurality of pins 312 are formed on the mounting surface 311 as marks for alignment. In the example shown in Fig. 5 and 6, two pins 312 are formed on the mounting surface 311, but three or more pins 312 may be formed. The pins 312 are members that protrude from the mounting surface 311 along the Z-axis direction. Note that information regarding the positions of the pins 312 in the stage coordinate system is known to the control device 7.

[0066] As shown in Figs. 7 to 9, the beam detecting member 32 includes a base member 321. The base member 321 is a plate-shaped member. The base member 321 has a shape and size that allows it to be placed on the placement surface 311. The base member 321 is formed with a plurality of through holes 322 as markers for positioning. In the example shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the base member 321 is formed with two through holes 322. The through holes 322 pass through the base member 321 along the Z-axis direction.

[0067] In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so that the pins 312 are inserted into the through holes 322. The beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 with the pins 312 inserted into the through holes 322. Therefore, the arrangement of the through holes 322 is the same as the arrangement of the pins 312. Furthermore, the number of the through holes 322 is the same as the number of the pins 312 (or may be greater). As a result, the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so as to have a desired first positional relationship with respect to the placing surface 311. The beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so as to have a desired first positional relationship with respect to the pins 312 on the placing surface 311. The beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so as to satisfy a desired first positional relationship in which the pins 312 of the placing surface 311 and the through holes 322 of the beam detecting member 32 overlap in the Z-axis direction. The beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placing surface 311 so as to satisfy a desired first positional relationship in which the position of a certain pin 312 in the X-axis direction is the same as the position of the through hole 322 corresponding to the certain pin 312 in the X-axis direction, and the position of a certain pin 312 in the Y-axis direction is the same as the position of the through hole 322 corresponding to the certain pin 312 in the Y-axis direction.

[0068] The position where the pin 312 is formed may be used as a reference position on the mounting surface 311 when the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the mounting surface 311. In this case, the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the mounting surface 311 in a state where it is aligned to have a desired first positional relationship with the reference position on the mounting surface 311.

[0069] The beam detecting member 32 further includes a light shielding member 323. The light shielding member 323 is a member that shields the processing light EL. The light shielding member 323 is formed on the upper surface of the base member 321 (i.e., the surface facing the +Z side). The upper surface of the light shielding member 323 is located above the upper surface of the base member 321. However, the upper surface of the light shielding member 323 may be located below the upper surface of the base member 321, or may be located at the same height as the upper surface of the base member 321. At least a part of the light shielding member 323 may be integrated with the base member 321. The light shielding member 323 may be removable from the base member 321.

[0070] The light shielding member 323 has an opening 324 formed therein, penetrating the light shielding member 323 along the Z-axis direction. The shape of the opening 324 in a plane along the XY plane is a slit shape, but may be any other shape, such as a circular shape (pinhole shape), an oval shape, a polygonal shape, etc. The opening 324 is a through hole through which the processing light EL can pass.

[0071] The beam detection member 32 further includes a beam detector 325. The beam detector 325 is disposed at a position where it can receive the processing light EL that has passed through the opening 324. The opening 324 is disposed at a position having a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the through-hole 322. In this case, information on the positional relationship between the opening 324 and the through-hole 322 is known to the control device 7. As a result, for example, when the beam detection member 32 includes a single beam detector 325 (typically, a photoelectric converter such as a light amount sensor capable of photoelectrically converting the received processing light EL), the positional relationship between the opening 324 and the processing light EL can be obtained from the output of this photoelectric converter. Typically, the beam detector 325 is disposed below the light-shielding member 323 (i.e., on the -Z side).

[0072] A diffusion plate for diffusing the processing light EL or the guide light GL may be disposed between the opening 324 and the beam detector 325 and / or on the incident side of the opening 324. Also, a cover glass for protecting the opening 324 may be disposed on the incident side of the opening 324.

[0073] As described above, the beam detecting member 32 may include a single beam detector 325, or may include a plurality of beam detectors 325. When the beam detecting member 32 includes a plurality of beam detectors 325, the light blocking member 323 may be formed with a plurality of openings 324 corresponding to the plurality of beam detectors 325, respectively. In this case, each beam detector 325 detects the processing light EL incident on each beam detector 325 through the opening 324 corresponding to each beam detector 325.

[0074] The detection result of the beam detector 325 may include information on the state of the processing light EL incident on the beam detector 325. For example, the detection result of the beam detector 325 includes information on the intensity of the processing light EL incident on the beam detector 325 (specifically, the intensity in a plane intersecting the XY plane). More specifically, the detection result of the beam detector 325 includes information on the intensity distribution of the processing light EL in a plane along the XY plane. The detection result of the beam detector 325 is output to the control device 7.

[0075] 4 again, after the beam detecting member 32 is placed on the placement surface 311, the modeling apparatus 2 irradiates the beam detecting member 32 with the processing light EL (step S112). In particular, the modeling apparatus 2 irradiates the beam detector 325 arranged on the beam detecting member 32 with the processing light EL. In the case where the beam detecting member 32 is provided with a plurality of beam detectors 325, the modeling apparatus 2 irradiates the processing light EL sequentially toward the plurality of beam detectors 325. Specifically, the head driving system 22 moves the modeling head 21 so that the processing light EL is irradiated toward the beam detector 325. At this time, the head driving system 22 may move the modeling head 21 so that the processing light EL (more specifically, the irradiation area EA of the processing light EL) crosses the opening 324 within a plane along the XY plane. The modeling head 21 irradiates the processing light EL while being moved by the head driving system 22. As a result, the processing light EL is irradiated onto the opening 324 at a certain timing while the model-forming head 21 is moving. In other words, the processing light EL is detected by the beam detector 325 at a certain timing while the model-forming head 21 is moving.

[0076] Thereafter, the control device 7 associates the modeling coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the detection result of the beam detector 325 in step S112 (step S113). Specifically, the detection result of the beam detector 325 indicates that the intensity of the processing light EL during a period in which at least a part of the processing light EL is irradiated to the opening 324 is greater than the intensity of the processing light EL during a period in which the processing light EL is not irradiated to the opening 324. Therefore, the control device 7 can identify the time when the processing light EL is irradiated to the opening 324 (i.e., the time when the processing light EL is irradiated to the beam detector 325) based on the detection result of the beam detector 325. Furthermore, the control device 7 can identify the position of the modeling head 21 at the time when the processing light EL is irradiated to the beam detector 325 based on the time when the processing light EL is irradiated to the opening 324 and the measurement result of the position measurement device 23. The control device 7 may be capable of identifying the position of the shaping head 21 capable of irradiating the beam detector 325 with the processing light EL based on the output of the beam detector 325 and the measurement result of the position measurement device 23. That is, the control device 7 is capable of identifying the position of the shaping head 21 capable of irradiating the beam detector 325 with the processing light EL in the shaping coordinate system. The position of the shaping head 21 referred to here may include the position of the shaping head 21 itself, or may include a position unique to the shaping head 21. An example of a position unique to the shaping head 21 is an additional processing position where the shaping head 21 performs additional processing (i.e., the focus position of the processing light EL). Furthermore, as described above, information regarding the positional relationship between the opening 324 and the through-hole 322 is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can identify the position of the model-forming head 21 in a state where it can irradiate the processing light EL to the through hole 322 in the modeling coordinate system, based on information on the position of the model-forming head 21 in a state where it can irradiate the opening 324 with the processing light EL and information on the positional relationship between the opening 324 and the through hole 322. Furthermore, as described above, when the beam detection member 32 is placed on the placement surface 311, the through hole 322 and the pin 312 overlap in the Z-axis direction.Therefore, the position of the modeling head 21 in a state where the modeling head 21 can irradiate the through-hole 322 with the processing light EL can be considered equivalent to the position of the modeling head 21 in a state where the modeling head 21 can irradiate the pin 312 with the processing light EL. Furthermore, as described above, information on the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify that the position in the modeling coordinate system of the modeling head 21 in a state where the modeling head 21 can irradiate the pin 312 with the processing light EL and the position in the stage coordinate system where the pin 312 is formed are positions that should be associated with each other. In other words, the control device 7 can specify that a certain position in the modeling coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can associate the modeling coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the specification result that a certain position in the modeling coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can specify in the modeling coordinate system the position of the modeling head 21 in a state where the modeling head 21 can irradiate an arbitrary position in the stage coordinate system with the processing light EL. Furthermore, the control device 7 can specify, in the stage coordinate system, a position (for example, an additional processing position) at which the modeling head 21, which is disposed at an arbitrary position in the modeling coordinate system, irradiates the processing light EL.

[0077] Next, in order to associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, first, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 of the stage 31. In particular, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 so that the positional relationship between the reference member 34 and the placement surface 311 is the desired second positional relationship. In the first embodiment, in order to place the reference member 34 on the placement surface 311 so that the positional relationship between the reference member 34 and the placement surface 311 is the desired second positional relationship, marks for alignment are formed on both the reference member 34 and the placement surface 311. Specifically, when placing the reference member 34 on the placement surface 311, the pins 312 formed on the placement surface 311 may be used as marks, similarly to when placing the beam detection member 32 on the placement surface 311. For this reason, in the following, a description of the mounting surface 311 on which alignment marks are formed will be omitted, and an example of a reference member 34 on which alignment marks are formed will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. Fig. 11 is a plan view showing the reference member 34 on which alignment marks are formed. Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the reference member 34 placed on the mounting surface 311. However, a mark different from the pin 312 formed on the mounting surface 311 may be used as a mark for placing the reference member 34 on the mounting surface 311.

[0078] As shown in Fig. 11, the reference member 34 includes a base member 341. The base member 341 is a plate-shaped member. The base member 341 has a shape and size that allows it to be placed on the placement surface 311. The base member 341 is formed with a plurality of through holes 342 as marks for alignment. In the example shown in Fig. 11, the base member 341 is formed with two through holes 342. The through holes 342 pass through the base member 341 along the Z-axis direction.

[0079] In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 so that the pins 312 are inserted into the through holes 342. Therefore, the arrangement pattern of the through holes 342 is the same as the arrangement pattern of the pins 312. Furthermore, the number of the through holes 342 is the same as the number of the pins 312 (or may be greater). As a result, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 so as to have a desired second positional relationship with respect to the placement surface 311. The reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 so as to have a desired second positional relationship with respect to the pins 312 on the placement surface 311. The reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 so as to satisfy the desired second positional relationship in which the pins 312 of the placement surface 311 and the through holes 342 of the reference member 34 overlap in the Z-axis direction. The reference member 34 is placed on the mounting surface 311 so as to satisfy a desired second positional relationship in which the position of a certain pin 312 in the X-axis direction is the same as the position of a through hole 342 corresponding to the certain pin 312 in the X-axis direction, and the position of a certain pin 312 in the Y-axis direction is the same as the position of a through hole 342 corresponding to the certain pin 312 in the Y-axis direction.

[0080] The position where the pin 312 is formed may be used as a reference position on the mounting surface 311 when the reference member 34 is placed on the mounting surface 311. In this case, the reference member 34 is placed on the mounting surface 311 in a state where it is aligned so as to have a desired second positional relationship with the reference position on the mounting surface 311.

[0081] At least one reference mark 343 is formed on the upper surface of the base member 341. The base member 341 may have one reference mark 343 formed thereon, two reference marks 343 formed thereon, three reference marks 343 formed thereon, four reference marks 343 formed thereon, or five or more reference marks 343 formed thereon. FIG. 11 shows an example in which five reference marks 343 are formed on the upper surface of the base member 341. The reference mark 343 is a mark that can be measured by the measurement device 8. For example, the reference mark 343 is a mark that can be imaged by the imaging device 82 included in the measurement device 8. Information regarding the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the through hole 342 is known to the control device 7.

[0082] The reference mark 343 may be formed at a predetermined position on the base member 341 so that the reference mark 343 is disposed at a predetermined position on the mounting surface 311 (for example, the center of the mounting surface 311) when the reference member 34 is mounted on the mounting surface 311 so that the pin 312 is inserted into the through hole 342. In this case, information regarding the predetermined position on the mounting surface 311 where the reference mark 343 is disposed (i.e., the predetermined position on the mounting surface 311 in the stage coordinate system) may be information known to the control device 7. Also, in this case, the predetermined position on the mounting surface 311 where the reference mark 343 will be disposed may be used as a reference position on the mounting surface 311 when the reference member 34 is mounted on the mounting surface 311. In this case, the reference member 34 is mounted on the mounting surface 311 in a state where it is aligned so that the reference mark 343 is disposed at the reference position on the mounting surface 311. In this case, information regarding the positional relationship between the position at which the reference mark 343 is disposed and the through-hole 342 does not need to be known to the control device 7.

[0083] Incidentally, the beam detecting member 32 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 and the reference member shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 may be provided in the same member.

[0084] 4, after the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311, the measurement device 8 measures the reference member 34 (step S114). In particular, the measurement device 8 measures the reference mark 343 formed on the reference member 34.

[0085] Thereafter, the control device 7 associates the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the measurement result of the measurement device 8 in step S115 (step S116). Specifically, the control device 7 can specify the position of the reference mark 343 in the measurement coordinate system from the measurement result of the measurement device 8. Furthermore, as described above, information on the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the through hole 342 is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify the position of the through hole 322 in the measurement coordinate system based on information on the position of the reference mark 343 in the measurement coordinate system and information on the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the through hole 342. Furthermore, as described above, under a situation in which the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311, the position of the through hole 342 and the position of the pin 312 are the same. Therefore, the position of the through hole 342 in the measurement coordinate system can be considered equivalent to the position of the pin 312 in the measurement coordinate system. Furthermore, as described above, information on the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify that the position of the pin 312 in the measurement coordinate system and the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. In other words, the control device 7 can specify that a certain position in the measurement coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the specification result that a certain position in the measurement coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can specify the position of the measurement object in the stage coordinate system.

[0086] Alternatively, as described above, when the reference mark 343 is formed on the base member 341 so that the reference mark 343 is disposed at a predetermined position on the mounting surface 311 (for example, the center of the mounting surface 311), information on the predetermined position in the stage coordinate system where the reference mark 343 is disposed is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify that the information on the position of the reference mark 343 in the measurement coordinate system and the predetermined position in the stage coordinate system where the reference mark 343 is disposed are positions that should be associated with each other. In other words, the control device 7 can specify that a certain position in the measurement coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the specification result that a certain position in the measurement coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other.

[0087] Note that the positional deviation between the processing light EL and the guide light GL may be measured using the beam detection member 32. When the processing system SYS emits multiple guide lights GL, the positional deviation between the intersection position of the multiple guide lights GL and the focus position of the processing light EL (additional processing position) may be measured using the beam detection member 32. When there is a positional deviation between the processing light EL and the guide light GL, the focus position of the processing light EL and / or the position of the guide light GL (the intersection position of the multiple guide lights GL when multiple guide lights GL are used) may be changed.

[0088] (2-2) Work model alignment operation Next, the workpiece model alignment operation will be described. The workpiece model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the workpiece model WM, which is a three-dimensional model of the workpiece W on which the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed, with the actual workpiece W. In particular, the workpiece model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the workpiece model WM with the workpiece W in the reference coordinate system. The reference coordinate system is a coordinate system that is the reference of the processing system SYS. The reference coordinate system is a coordinate system used during control by the control device 7. In the first embodiment, the stage coordinate system is used as the reference coordinate system. In this case, the workpiece model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the workpiece model WM with the workpiece W in the stage coordinate system. However, the measurement coordinate system or the printing coordinate system may be used as the reference coordinate system. Other coordinate systems different from the stage coordinate system, the measurement coordinate system, and the printing coordinate system may be used as the reference coordinate system.

[0089] As a result of aligning the work model WM with the work W, work information regarding the work model WM aligned with respect to the work W is generated. The work information includes both work position information regarding the position of the work model WM and work shape information regarding the shape of the work model WM. The work information is information in which the work position information and the work shape information correspond to each other. The position of the work model WM matches the position of the actual work W (or, even if they do not match, they substantially almost match). For this reason, the work position information can be considered equivalent to information regarding the position of the work W. The shape of the work model WM matches the shape of the actual work W (or, even if they do not match, they substantially almost match). For this reason, the work shape information can be considered equivalent to information regarding the shape of the actual work W. Note that "work information in which the work position information and the work shape information correspond" means information in which both the position and the shape of each part of the work model WM can be identified, similar to "measurement information in which the measurement position information and the measurement shape information correspond." Furthermore, such work information does not have to include work position information and work shape information as separate, independent pieces of information; the work information may have any data structure as long as it is possible to identify both the position and shape of each part of the work model WM.

[0090] The work shape information may include information regarding the positions of pixels (in other words, volume elements, so-called voxels) that constitute the work model WM (i.e., data indicating the shape of the work model WM using information regarding the positions of pixels). The work shape information may include polygon data of the work model WM. The work shape information may include cross-sectional shape data regarding the cross section of each layer obtained by slicing the work model WM (i.e., slicing the work model WM to a predetermined thickness in any surface direction).

[0091] By referring to the workpiece information in which the workpiece position information and the workpiece shape information correspond to each other, the control device 7 can specify the position and orientation (in other words, the posture) of each part of the workpiece model WM (for example, each part of the surface of the workpiece model WM) in the stage coordinate system, as shown in Fig. 13, which is a perspective view showing the placement surface 311 and the workpiece model WM in the stage coordinate system. In other words, the control device 7 can specify the position and orientation (in other words, the posture) of each part of the workpiece W (for example, each part of the surface of the workpiece W) in the stage coordinate system. As a result, the processing system SYS can appropriately perform additional processing on the workpiece W, whose position and orientation are known from the workpiece information, in a modeling operation described later, based on the workpiece information.

[0092] In the first embodiment, the machining system SYS performs at least one of a first workpiece model alignment operation, a second workpiece model alignment operation, and a third workpiece model alignment operation as the workpiece model alignment operation. Therefore, the first to third workpiece alignment operations will be described in order below.

[0093] In addition, when the workpiece information is already known to the control device 7, the machining system SYS does not need to perform the workpiece model alignment operation. For example, when the workpiece information is input to the machining system SYS via the input device 92, the machining system SYS does not need to perform the workpiece model alignment operation.

[0094] (2-2-1) First work model alignment operation First, the first workpiece model alignment operation will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of the first workpiece model alignment operation.

[0095] 14, first, the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface 311 of the stage 31 (step S121). After that, the measuring device 7 measures the workpiece W (step S122).

[0096] Thereafter, the control device 7 generates work information based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 in step S122 (step S123). Specifically, as described above, the control device 7 generates measurement information on the work W measured by the measuring device 8 based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 (i.e., the imaging result of the imaging device 82). The measurement information includes measurement shape information on the shape of the work W. This measurement shape information is used as it is as the work shape information. Furthermore, the measurement information includes measurement position information on the position of the work W. However, the measurement position information is information on the position of the work W in the measurement coordinate system. For this reason, the control device 7 converts the position of the work W in the measurement coordinate system indicated by the measurement position information into the position of the work W in the stage coordinate system. Information on the position of the work W in the stage coordinate system acquired by the conversion is used as the work position information. As a result, the control device 7 can generate work information in which the work position information and the work shape information correspond to each other. In other words, the control device 7 can generate work information on the work model WM corresponding to the actual work W.

[0097] (2-2-2) Second work model alignment operation Next, the second workpiece model alignment operation will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the second workpiece model alignment operation.

[0098] 15, first, the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface 311 of the stage 31 (step S131). After that, the measuring device 7 measures the workpiece W (step S132).

[0099] Before or after or in parallel with the processing from step S131 to step S132, the control device 7 acquires workpiece model data corresponding to the shape of the workpiece W placed on the placement surface 311 (step S133). Specifically, the control device 7 acquires workpiece model data indicating a workpiece model WM having a shape that is the same as or similar to the shape of the workpiece W. The workpiece model data includes workpiece model characteristic information related to the characteristics of the workpiece model WM. In particular, the workpiece model data includes at least workpiece model shape information related to the shape of the workpiece model WM, which is an example of the characteristics of the workpiece model WM.

[0100] The workpiece model data may be recorded in a memory (i.e., a recording medium) provided in the control device 7. The workpiece model data may be recorded in any recording medium (e.g., a hard disk or a semiconductor memory) that is built into the control device 7 or that can be externally attached to the control device 7. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire the workpiece model data by reading the workpiece model data from these recording media using the input device 92 as necessary. The workpiece model data may be recorded in a device external to the control device 7. The workpiece model data may be recorded in a device external to the machining system SYS. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire the workpiece model data by downloading the workpiece model data from the external device using the input device 92 as necessary.

[0101] A recording medium (or an external device) may have a plurality of workpiece model data recorded thereon, which indicate a plurality of workpiece models WM each having a plurality of different shapes. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire one workpiece model data corresponding to the shape of the workpiece W from the plurality of workpiece model data. As a result, even if the shape of the workpiece W placed on the placement surface 311 changes, the control device 7 can appropriately acquire one workpiece model data corresponding to the shape of the workpiece W. Alternatively, if the shape of the workpiece W placed on the placement surface 311 is always the same, a single workpiece model data may be recorded on the recording medium (or an external device).

[0102] The control device 7 may acquire workpiece model data based on an instruction from a user of the machining system SYS. Specifically, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display a plurality of workpiece models WM. Furthermore, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display a GUI for allowing the user to select one of the plurality of workpiece models WM as a workpiece model WM having the same or similar shape as the workpiece W. The user may visually recognize the workpiece W to grasp the shape of the workpiece W, and may select a workpiece model WM having the same or similar shape as the grasped shape of the workpiece W using the input device 92. As a result, the control device 7 acquires workpiece model data indicating the workpiece model WM selected by the user. Alternatively, when the shape of the workpiece W to be placed on the placement surface 311 is predetermined, the control device 7 may acquire workpiece model data indicating a workpiece model WM having the same or similar shape as the predetermined shape of the workpiece W.

[0103] The control device 7 may modify the workpiece model WM indicated by the acquired workpiece model data based on a user's instruction. For example, the control device 7 may modify the characteristics of the workpiece model WM (e.g., at least one of the shape and size) based on a user's instruction. When the workpiece WM model is modified, the workpiece model data regarding the modified workpiece model WM is used in the subsequent processing.

[0104] Thereafter, the control device 7 generates workpiece information based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 in step S132 and the workpiece model data acquired in step S133 (step S134).

[0105] Specifically, the control device 7 acquires workpiece model shape information related to the shape of the workpiece model WM from the workpiece model data. Since the shape of the workpiece model WM is identical or similar to the shape of the workpiece W, the workpiece model shape information can be considered equivalent to information related to the shape of the workpiece W. On the other hand, the measurement information generated based on the measurement results of the measurement device 8 also includes measurement shape information related to the shape of the workpiece W. However, due to measurement errors of the measurement device 8, etc., the accuracy of the shape of the workpiece W indicated by the measurement shape information may be lower than the accuracy of the shape of the workpiece model WM indicated by the workpiece model shape information. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the control device 7 uses the workpiece model shape information acquired from the workpiece model data as the workpiece shape information instead of the measurement shape information included in the measurement information.

[0106] However, the workpiece model shape information is information separate from the measurement information generated based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8. For this reason, the workpiece model shape information is not associated with information regarding the position of the workpiece W on the placement surface 311. In other words, by simply referring to the workpiece model shape information, the control device 7 cannot specify the position of the workpiece model WM (i.e., the workpiece W) on the placement surface 311. In addition, by simply referring to the workpiece model shape information, the control device 7 cannot specify the attitude of the workpiece model WM (i.e., the workpiece W) on the placement surface 311. In addition, by simply referring to the workpiece model shape information, the control device 7 cannot specify the size of the workpiece model WM (i.e., the workpiece W) on the placement surface 311. Therefore, the control device 7 associates measurement position information regarding the position of the workpiece W included in the measurement information with the workpiece model shape information. Specifically, the control device 7 generates workpiece information that can specify the position of the workpiece model WM on the placement surface 311 in addition to the shape of the workpiece model WM by associating the measurement position information with the workpiece model shape information. The positions of the workpiece model WM on the mounting surface 311 can each be used as the position of the workpiece W on the mounting surface 311. For this reason, the control device 7 can generate workpiece information that can identify the position of the workpiece W on the mounting surface 311 (and, naturally, the shape as well). In this case, the control device 7 can function as a calculation device that associates the measurement position information with the workpiece model shape information.

[0107] Specifically, the control device 7 generates measurement information that includes measurement shape information and measurement position information in a mutually associated state based on the measurement results of the measuring device 8. Thereafter, the control device 7 performs an alignment process to place the workpiece model WM at the position of the workpiece W indicated by the measurement position information. That is, the control device 7 performs an alignment process to translate, enlarge, reduce, and / or rotate the workpiece model WM to bring it closer to the workpiece W indicated by the measurement shape information. As a result, the position of the workpiece model WM on the placement surface 311 (that is, the position of the workpiece W on the placement surface 311) is determined. Therefore, the control device 7 can generate workpiece information based on the result of the alignment process.

[0108] The control device 7 may perform a pattern matching process as a part of the alignment process. A specific example of the alignment process including the pattern matching process will be described below. The control device 7 extracts workpiece model feature points, which are a plurality of feature points of the workpiece model WM, based on the workpiece model WM. The control device 7 extracts a plurality of (e.g., three or more) workpiece model feature points. The control device 7 may extract the workpiece model feature points based on an operation for designating the workpiece model feature points performed by the user using the input device 92. The control device 7 may extract the workpiece model feature points according to a predetermined extraction criterion without requiring the user's operation. The control device 7 also extracts measurement feature points that are feature points of the workpiece W (specifically, feature points of the workpiece W that can be identified from the measurement information) and correspond to the workpiece model extraction points, based on the measurement information. The control device 7 extracts a plurality of (e.g., three or more) measurement feature points. The control device 7 may extract the measurement feature points based on an operation for designating the measurement feature points performed by the user using the input device 92. The control device 7 may extract the measurement feature points according to a predetermined extraction criterion without requiring the user's operation. Thereafter, the control device 7 performs pattern matching between the workpiece model WM and the workpiece W indicated by the measurement information based on the workpiece model feature points and the measurement feature points. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, which is a conceptual diagram conceptually illustrating the pattern matching between the workpiece model WM and the workpiece W indicated by the measurement information, the control device 7 translates, enlarges, reduces, and / or rotates the workpiece model WM so that the workpiece model feature points approach the measurement feature points. The control device 7 translates, enlarges, reduces, and / or rotates the workpiece model WM until the deviation between the workpiece model feature points and the measurement feature points is equal to or less than a predetermined amount (typically, until it is minimized). As a result, in the measurement coordinate system, the workpiece model WM is placed at the same position as the placement position of the workpiece W indicated by the measurement information. Therefore, as a result of the alignment process, the control device 7 can specify the position of the workpiece model WM in the measurement coordinate system. However, when generating the workpiece information, the position of the workpiece model WM in the measurement coordinate system is converted to the position of the workpiece model WM in the stage coordinate system as described above.As a result, information on the position of the work model WM that can be used as work position information is acquired. In other words, work information in which work model shape information that can be used as work shape information corresponds to information on the position of the work model WM that can be used as work position information is acquired as information on the work model WM.

[0109] The control device 7 may perform the alignment process using any algorithm for performing the alignment process. One example of such an algorithm is an ICP (Interactive Closest Point) algorithm for performing alignment of a plurality of point clouds (for example, the point cloud including the above-mentioned work model feature points and the point cloud including the measurement feature points).

[0110] According to the second workpiece model alignment operation described above, the shape of the workpiece model WM indicated by the workpiece information (i.e., the shape of the workpiece W) may be more accurate than the first workpiece model alignment operation. The reason for this is that, as described above, the accuracy of the shape of the workpiece W indicated by the measured shape information may be lower than the accuracy of the shape of the workpiece model WM indicated by the workpiece model shape information. Therefore, by using the workpiece information generated by the second workpiece model alignment operation, the processing system SYS may be able to form the three-dimensional structure ST with higher accuracy by a molding operation described later.

[0111] In the above description, the control device 7 generates work information in step S134 of Fig. 15 based on the measurement results (particularly, the measurement position information) of the measuring device 8 included in the machining system SYS and the work model data (particularly, the work model shape information) acquired in step S133. That is, the control device 7 associates the measurement position information generated from the measurement results of the measuring device 8 included in the machining system SYS with the work model shape information. However, the control device 7 may acquire the measurement position information from outside the machining system SYS via the input device 92, and generate the work information based on the acquired measurement position information and work model shape information. That is, the control device 7 may associate the measurement position information acquired from outside the machining system SYS via the input device 92 with the work model shape information.

[0112] In the above description, in step S134 in Fig. 15, the control device 7 included in the machining system SYS associates the measurement position information with the workpiece model shape information. However, an external device of the machining system SYS may associate the measurement position information with the workpiece model shape information. In this case, the control device 7 may transmit (i.e., output) the measurement position information and the model shape information to the external device of the machining system SYS via a network.

[0113] (2-2-3) Third work model alignment operation Next, the third workpiece model alignment operation will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of the third workpiece model alignment operation.

[0114] 17, first, the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface 311 of the stage 31 (step S141). After that, the measuring device 7 measures the workpiece W (step S142).

[0115] Thereafter, the control device 7 acquires workpiece model data corresponding to the shape of the workpiece W placed on the placement surface 311 (step S142). Note that the process of step S142 may be the same as the process of step S133 in the above-described second workpiece model alignment operation, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0116] Thereafter, a point on the surface of the workpiece model WM is designated by the user as a user-designated point (step S143). Specifically, the user designates the user-designated point using the input device 92. In this case, the control device 7 controls the display 91 to display the workpiece model WM indicated by the workpiece model data acquired in step S142, and the user may designate the user-designated point on the workpiece model WM displayed on the display 91. The user-designated point may be a characteristic point on the surface of the workpiece model WM. Examples of characteristic points on the surface of the workpiece model WM include at least one of a vertex, a corner, a point located on the most +Z side, a point located on the most -Z side, a point located on the most +X side, a point located on the most -X side, a point located on the most +Y side, and a point located on the most -Y side. However, the user-designated point may be any point as long as it is a point on the surface of the workpiece model WM.

[0117] Thereafter, the head drive system 22 moves the modeling head 21 so as to satisfy a positional condition that a point on the workpiece W corresponding to the user-specified point specified in step S143 (hereinafter referred to as a "workpiece specified point") has a desired third positional relationship with the modeling device 2 (step S144). The workpiece specified point is typically the same point as the user-specified point. For example, when a vertex of the workpiece model WM is specified as the user-specified point, the vertex of the workpiece W becomes the workpiece specified point. In this case, the information regarding the third positional relationship is already known to the control device 7.

[0118] An example of a state in which the work designation point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship is a state in which the modeling device 2 can process the work designation point. Since the modeling device 2 mainly processes an object at an additional processing position (i.e., the focus position of the processing light EL), an example of a state in which the work designation point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship is a state in which the additional processing position is set to the work designation point. As described above, the multiple guide lights GL emitted from the multiple guide light emitting devices 24 intersect at the additional processing position. Therefore, an example of a state in which the work designation point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship is a state in which the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the work designation point. In other words, an example of a state in which the work designation point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship is a state in which the multiple guide lights GL are irradiated to the work designation point.

[0119] When the condition that the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point is used as the position condition, the multiple guide light emitting devices 24 each emit multiple guide lights GL, and the head driving system 22 moves the modeling head 21 so that the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point (step S144). In other words, the head driving system 22 moves the modeling head 21 to change the relative positional relationship between the workpiece W and the additional processing position so that the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point.

[0120] Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where multiple guide lights GL intersect at a work designation point. On the other hand, Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where multiple guide lights GL do not intersect at a work designation point. The head driving system 22 moves the modeling head 21 so that the state of the multiple guide lights GL changes from the state shown in Fig. 19 to the state shown in Fig. 18 (i.e., so that the point where the multiple guide lights GL intersect approaches the work designation point).

[0121] In this case, the guide light GL can function as a guide light for aligning the workpiece designated point and the modeling device 2 so that the workpiece designated point and the modeling device 2 have a desired third positional relationship. Since the workpiece designated point is designated on the surface of the workpiece W, the guide light GL can function as a guide light for aligning the workpiece W and the modeling device 2 so that the workpiece designated point and the modeling device 2 have a desired third positional relationship.

[0122] The control device 7 may control the head driving system 22 so as to move the object-forming head 21 based on an instruction from a user to move the object-forming head 21. That is, the user may visually check whether or not a plurality of guide lights GL intersect at the specified work point, and the head driving system 22 may move the object-forming head 21 based on the result of the user's checking. In this case, the user's instruction may be input via the input device 92.

[0123] When moving the object-forming head 21, the control device 7 may control the imaging device 82 to capture an image of the state of the guide light GL on the workpiece W, and may control the display 91 to display the image capturing result of the imaging device 82. Alternatively, when the processing system SYS includes an imaging device other than the imaging device 82, the control device 7 may control the other imaging device to capture an image of the state of the guide light GL on the workpiece W, and may control the display 91 to display the image capturing result of the other imaging device. In this case, the user may input an instruction to move the object-forming head 21 using the input device 92 while referring to the display contents of the display 91. Alternatively, the control device 7 may control the head drive system 22 to move the object-forming head 21 based on the image capturing result of the imaging device 82 (or the image capturing result of the other imaging device, the same applies below).

[0124] The wavelength of the guide light GL may be different from the wavelength of the processing light EL. When the wavelength of the guide light GL is different from the wavelength of the processing light EL, a filter that reflects the processing light EL and transmits the guide light GL may be disposed on the optical system of the imaging device 82 or another imaging device closest to the workpiece W. For example, when the processing light EL is in the wavelength band of infrared light, an infrared reflection filter may be used as the filter.

[0125] Specifically, when a plurality of guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point, the imaging result of the imaging device 82 indicates that the beam spots of the plurality of guide lights GL overlap on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the workpiece designated point) as shown in FIG. 20(a). That is, the imaging result of the imaging device 82 indicates that a single beam spot is formed on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the workpiece designated point) as shown in FIG. 20(a). On the other hand, when a plurality of guide lights GL do not intersect at the workpiece designated point, the imaging result of the imaging device 82 indicates that the beam spots of the plurality of guide lights GL do not overlap on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the workpiece designated point) as shown in FIG. 20(b). That is, the imaging result of the imaging device 82 indicates that a plurality of beam spots are formed on the surface of the workpiece W (particularly, the workpiece designated point) as shown in FIG. 20(b). Therefore, the control device 7 can determine whether or not a plurality of guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point based on the imaging result of the imaging device 82. If the multiple guide lights GL do not intersect at the work specified point, the user or the control device 7 moves the modeling head 21 so that the state of the multiple guide lights GL on the surface of the work W changes from the state shown in Figure 20(b) to the state shown in Figure 20(a) (i.e., so that the multiple beam spots come closer together).

[0126] Thereafter, after the shaping head 21 moves so as to satisfy the position condition that the workpiece designated point and the shaping device 2 have the desired third positional relationship, the position measuring device 23 measures the position of the shaping head 21 at the time when the position condition is satisfied (step S145). In the above-mentioned example, the position measuring device 23 measures the position of the shaping head 21 when the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the workpiece designated point (step S145). As described above, the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the additional processing position. For this reason, in step S145, it can be said that the position measuring device 23 measures the position of the shaping head 21 in a state in which the additional processing position is set at the workpiece designated point. In other words, in step S145, it can be said that the position measuring device 23 measures the position of the shaping head 21 in a state in which the workpiece designated point can be processed. In addition, since the additional processing position has a fixed positional relationship with respect to the shaping head 21, the operation of measuring the position of the shaping head 21 can be regarded as equivalent to the operation of indirectly measuring the additional processing position. Furthermore, since the position of the modeling head 21 is measured with the additional processing position set at the work specified point, the operation of measuring the position of the modeling head 21 (i.e., indirectly measuring the additional processing position) can be considered equivalent to the operation of indirectly measuring the position of the work specified point on the work W.

[0127] Thereafter, the control device 7 judges whether a new user-specified point should be specified (step S146). Specifically, the control device 7 may judge whether a desired number of user-specified points have been specified and the above-mentioned processes of steps S144 and S145 have been performed for each of the desired number of user-specified points. The desired number may be one, two, three, four, or five or more. If it is judged that the desired number of user-specified points have not been specified (as a result, the above-mentioned processes of steps S144 and S145 have not been performed for each of the desired number of user-specified points), the control device 7 may judge that a new user-specified point should be specified. On the other hand, if it is judged that the desired number of user-specified points have been specified and the above-mentioned processes of steps S144 and S145 have been performed for each of the desired number of user-specified points, the control device 7 may judge that a new user-specified point does not need to be specified.

[0128] When the number of user-specified points is one, the position of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction, the position of the workpiece W in the Y-axis direction, and the position of the workpiece W in the Z-axis direction can be calculated in step S148 described later. When the shape of the workpiece W is information known to the control device 7 and the number of user-specified points is two, in addition to the position of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction, the position of the workpiece W in the Y-axis direction, and the position of the workpiece W in the Z-axis direction, the rotation θz of the workpiece W around the Z-axis can be calculated. When the shape of the workpiece W is information known to the control device 7 and the number of user-specified points is three or more, in addition to the position of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction, the position of the workpiece W in the Y-axis direction, and the position of the workpiece W in the Z-axis direction, the rotation θx of the workpiece W around the X-axis, the rotation θy of the workpiece W around the Y-axis, and the rotation θz of the workpiece W around the Z-axis can be calculated.

[0129] If it is determined in step S146 that a new user-specified point should be specified (step S147: Yes), the user specifies a point on the surface of the work model WM (however, this point has not been specified as a user-specified point until now) as the new user-specified point (step S147). After that, the processes of steps S144 and S145 described above are performed on the new user-specified point.

[0130] On the other hand, if the result of the judgment in step S146 is that it is determined that a new user-specified point does not need to be specified (step S147: No), the control device 7 generates work information based on the measurement result of the position measurement device 23 in step S145 and the work model data acquired in step S142 (step S148).

[0131] Specifically, as described above, the measurement result of the position measuring device 23 in step S145 indicates the position of the modeling head 21 when the workpiece designated point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify the position of the workpiece designated point in the modeling coordinate system from the measurement result of the position measuring device 23. This is because, since the workpiece designated point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship, the workpiece designated point and the modeling head 21 naturally have a certain positional relationship that can be specified from information on the third positional relationship, which is information known to the control device 7.

[0132] Thereafter, the control device 7 performs a positioning process for arranging the user-specified point of the work model WM at the position of the work specified point identified from the measurement result of the position measurement device 23. That is, the control device 7 performs a positioning process for translating, enlarging, reducing, and / or rotating the work model WM indicated by the work model shape information to bring the user-specified point closer to the position of the work specified point. As a result, the position of the work model WM on the placement surface 311 is determined. Therefore, the control device 7 generates work information based on the result of the positioning process. Note that the control device 7 may perform the same process as the positioning process used in the second work model alignment operation described above as the positioning process. For example, the control device 7 may perform the positioning process using an ICP (Interative Closest Point) algorithm for aligning a plurality of point clouds (for example, a point cloud including a model specified point and a point cloud including a user specified point). Therefore, details of the positioning process in the third work model alignment operation will be omitted.

[0133] According to the third workpiece model alignment operation described above, the control device 7 can generate workpiece information without the need to measure the workpiece W by the measuring device 8. Therefore, even if the workpiece W has a shape that is difficult or impossible for the measuring device 8 to measure, the control device 7 can generate the workpiece information.

[0134] (2-3) Model alignment operation Next, the molding model alignment operation will be described. The molding model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the molding model PM, which is a three-dimensional model of the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed by additive processing, with the workpiece model WM indicated by the workpiece information generated by the workpiece model alignment operation. In particular, the molding model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the molding model PM with the workpiece model WM in the reference coordinate system. As described above, in the first embodiment, the stage coordinate system is used as the reference coordinate system. Therefore, the molding model alignment operation is an operation for aligning the molding model PM with the workpiece model WM in the stage coordinate system.

[0135] As a result of aligning the printing model PM with the work model WM, printing information is generated for the printing model PM aligned with respect to the work model WM. The printing model information is information in which printing position information regarding the position of the printing model PM corresponds to printing shape information regarding the shape of the printing model PM. Note that "printing information in which printing position information and printing shape information correspond" refers to information in which both the position and the shape of each part of the printing model PM can be identified. Note that such printing information does not need to include printing position information and printing shape information as separate, independent, different information, and the printing information may have any data structure as long as both the position and the shape of each part of the printing model PM can be identified.

[0136] The printing shape information may include information on the positions of the pixels (in other words, volume elements, so-called voxels) that make up the printing model PM (i.e., data indicating the shape of the printing model PM using information on the positions of the pixels). The printing shape information may include polygon data of the printing model PM. The printing shape information may include cross-sectional shape data on the cross-sections of each layer obtained by slicing the printing model PM (i.e., slicing the printing model PM to a predetermined thickness in any surface direction).

[0137] By referring to the modeling information (and, if necessary, the work information), the control device 7 can specify the positional relationship between the work W and the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed on the work W in the stage coordinate system, as shown in FIG. 21, which is a perspective view showing the work W and the three-dimensional structure ST in the stage coordinate system. That is, the control device 7 can specify at what position on the work W the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed in the stage coordinate system. The control device 7 can specify what attitude the three-dimensional structure ST has on the work W in the stage coordinate system. The control device 7 can specify what size the three-dimensional structure ST has on the work W in the stage coordinate system. As a result, the processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST at an appropriate position on the work W in a modeling operation described later, based on the modeling information (and, if necessary, the work information). That is, the processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST having an appropriate shape according to the modeling information at an appropriate position specified by the modeling information on the work W, whose position and shape can be specified by the work information.

[0138] In addition, when the shaping information is already known to the control device 7, the processing system SYS does not need to perform the shaping model alignment operation. For example, when the shaping information is input to the processing system SYS via the input device 92, the processing system SYS does not need to perform the shaping model alignment operation.

[0139] The shaping model alignment operation will be described below with reference to Fig. 22. Fig. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of the shaping model alignment operation.

[0140] As shown in Fig. 22, the control device 7 acquires modeling model data corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed by additive processing (step S151). Specifically, the control device 7 acquires modeling model data indicating a modeling model PM having a shape that is the same as or similar to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST. The modeling model data includes modeling model characteristic information related to the characteristics of the modeling model PM. In particular, the modeling model data includes at least modeling model shape information related to the shape of the modeling model PM, which is an example of the characteristics of the modeling model PM.

[0141] The modeling model data may be recorded in a memory (i.e., a recording medium) provided in the control device 7. The modeling model data may be recorded in any recording medium (e.g., a hard disk or a semiconductor memory) that is built into the control device 7 or that can be externally attached to the control device 7. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire the modeling model data by reading the modeling model data from these recording media using the input device 92 as necessary. The modeling model data may be recorded in a device external to the control device 7. The modeling model data may be recorded in a device external to the processing system SYS. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire the modeling model data by downloading the modeling model data from the external device via the input device 92.

[0142] The recording medium (or an external device) may have a plurality of pieces of molding model data indicating a plurality of molding models PM each having a plurality of different shapes. In this case, the control device 7 may acquire one piece of molding model data corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST from the plurality of pieces of molding model data. As a result, even if the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST placed on the placement surface 311 changes, the control device 7 can appropriately acquire one piece of molding model data corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST. Alternatively, if the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST placed on the placement surface 311 is always the same, a single piece of molding model data may be recorded on the recording medium (or an external device).

[0143] The control device 7 may acquire the molding model data based on an instruction from a user of the processing system SYS. Specifically, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display a plurality of molding models PM. Furthermore, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display a GUI for allowing the user to select one of the plurality of molding models PM as a molding model PM having a shape identical or similar to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST. The user may use the input device 92 to select the molding model PM having a shape identical or similar to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed by the additive processing. As a result, the control device 7 acquires molding model data indicating the molding model PM selected by the user. Alternatively, when the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed by the additive processing is predetermined, the control device 7 may acquire molding model data indicating the molding model PM having a shape identical or similar to the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST that has been predetermined.

[0144] The control device 7 may modify the modeling model PM indicated by the acquired modeling model data based on an instruction from the user. For example, the control device 7 may modify the characteristics of the modeling model PM (e.g., at least one of the shape and the size) based on an instruction from the user. When the characteristics of the modeling model PM are modified, the modeling model data regarding the modified modeling model PM is used in the subsequent processes.

[0145] Thereafter, the control device 7 controls the display 91 to display the work model WM based on the work information (step S152). That is, the control device 7 controls the display 91 to display an image showing the work model WM having the shape indicated by the work information at the position indicated by the work information (i.e., the position of the actual work W) in the stage coordinate system. At this time, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the work model WM together with the stage 3 (particularly, the placement surface 311). Alternatively, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the actual work W (i.e., an image showing the actual work W). For example, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the imaging result of the imaging device 82 imaging the actual work W. Note that FIG. 23 shows an example of the display of the work model WM.

[0146] Thereafter, the control device 7 receives an input from the user for aligning the workpiece model WM with the molding model PM (i.e., aligning the workpiece W with the molding model PM) (step S153). Specifically, in step S152, the workpiece model WM is displayed on the display 91. Therefore, in step S153, the control device 7 may receive an input from the user for designating the position of the molding model PM relative to the workpiece model WM displayed on the display 91. Therefore, the input device 92 may be referred to as a designation device because it is a device used to designate the position of the molding model PM.

[0147] The user may specify a position where at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed by the additional processing (i.e., a printing position where at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST should be printed) as the position of the printing model PM. The printing position may include a position where at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST formed by the additional processing is distributed. The printing position may include a position where the additional processing for forming at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST is performed. Since the additional processing is performed at the above-mentioned additional processing position (typically, the focus position of the processing light EL), the printing position may include a position where the additional processing position is set to form at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST. Since the additional processing is performed at a position where the processing light EL is irradiated (i.e., a position where the irradiation area EA is set), the printing position may include a position where the processing light EL is irradiated to form at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., a position where the irradiation area EA is set). Since the additive processing is performed at a position where the modeling material M is supplied (i.e., a position where the supply area MA is set), the modeling position may include a position where the modeling material M is supplied to form at least a part of the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., a position where the supply area MA is set). The modeling position may include a position where the additive processing for forming the three-dimensional structure ST starts (i.e., a modeling start position). The modeling position may include a position where the additive processing for forming the three-dimensional structure ST ends (i.e., a modeling end position). The modeling position may include a position where a characteristic point of the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed. Examples of the characteristic point of the three-dimensional structure ST include at least one of a vertex, a corner, a point located on the most +Z side, a point located on the most -Z side, a point located on the most +X side, a point located on the most -X side, a point located on the most +Y side, and a point located on the most -Y side.

[0148] In addition to or instead of specifying the above-mentioned printing position itself as the position of the printing model PM, the user may specify a position having a predetermined positional relationship with the above-mentioned printing position as the position of the printing model PM. For example, the user may specify a position offset by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction from the above-mentioned printing position as the position of the printing model PM.

[0149] The user may specify the position of the modeling model PM using the input device 92. At this time, the user may specify the position of the modeling model PM on the display screen of the display 91 on which the workpiece model WM is displayed in step S152. For example, as shown in Fig. 23 described above, the user may use the input device 92 to move a pointer 911 for specifying the position of the modeling model PM, and specify the position of the pointer 911 as the position of the modeling model PM when the pointer 911 is located at a position that the user wants to specify as the position of the modeling model PM.

[0150] The user may specify the position of the modeling model PM by using the guide light GL emitted by the above-described guide light emitting device 24. For example, the user may use the input device 92 to move the modeling head 21 to move the multiple guide lights GL relative to the workpiece W, and may specify, as the position of the modeling model PM, the position where the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the timing when the multiple guide lights GL intersect at the position to be specified as the position of the modeling model PM.

[0151] The control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the position designated as the position of the modeling model PM in association with the workpiece model WM. For example, as shown in Fig. 24 showing a display example of the workpiece model WM, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display a display object 912 (a display object showing a white circle in the example shown in Fig. 24) indicating the position designated as the position of the modeling model PM in a display mode that allows the positional relationship between the display object and the workpiece model WM to be specified.

[0152] 24, the user may specify a single position as the position of the model PM. In this case, the position specified by the user may be specified as the position of a certain part of the model PM (i.e., the position (area) where a certain part of the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed). Alternatively, an area determined according to the position specified by the user may be specified as the position of the model PM (i.e., the position where the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed). Examples of the area determined according to the position specified by the user include at least one of an area including the position specified by the user, an area centered on the position specified by the user, an area having the position specified by the user as an apex, an area defined by a boundary including the position specified by the user, and an area having a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the position specified by the user.

[0153] Alternatively, the user may specify multiple positions as the position of the model PM, as shown in Fig. 25 which shows a display example of the work model WM. In this case, an area surrounded by the multiple positions specified by the user (the area surrounded by dotted lines in Fig. 25) may be specified as the position of the model PM (i.e., the position where the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed). An area having a predetermined positional relationship with the multiple positions specified by the user may be specified as the position of the model PM (i.e., the position where the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed).

[0154] Furthermore, the user may specify a single position as the position of the model PM, and may also specify the orientation of the model PM.

[0155] Here, as described above, the three-dimensional structure ST is formed on the workpiece W. For this reason, the user is likely to specify a position on the surface of the workpiece W as the printing position. On the other hand, depending on the state of the surface of the workpiece W, a certain position on the surface of the workpiece W may not be appropriate as the printing position. Specifically, a surface portion on the surface of the workpiece W where a defect occurs may not be appropriate as the printing position. Note that the defect here may mean a defect that is an obstacle to the appropriate formation of the three-dimensional structure ST. Therefore, in order to reduce the possibility that a surface portion on the surface of the workpiece W where a defect occurs is specified as the printing position, the control device 7 may display the workpiece model WM in a display mode that allows a surface portion on the surface of the workpiece W where a defect occurs to be distinguished from a surface portion on the surface of the workpiece W where no defect occurs, as shown in FIG. 26 showing an example of a display on the display 91. Note that, when repairing the workpiece W by printing a three-dimensional structure ST on a portion on the workpiece W where a defect occurs, the surface portion on the surface of the workpiece W where a defect occurs may be specified as the printing position.

[0156] When receiving an input specifying the position of the modeling model PM, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the modeling model PM (i.e., an image of the modeling model PM) in addition to the work model WM (or the actual workpiece W), as shown in FIG. 27 showing an example of display on the display 91. In other words, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the modeling model PM placed at a position specified by the user. In this case, the user may specify the position of the modeling model PM by using the input device 92 to move the modeling model PM on the display screen of the display 91 on which the modeling model PM is displayed. As a result, the user can intuitively specify the position of the modeling model PM.

[0157] The control device 7 may receive from the user an input for specifying the orientation of the model PM relative to the workpiece model WM, in addition to an input for specifying the position of the model PM relative to the workpiece model WM. The control device 7 may receive from the user an input for specifying the size of the model PM relative to the workpiece model WM, in addition to an input for specifying the position of the model PM relative to the workpiece model WM. In either case, the user may specify the orientation and / or size of the model PM using the input device 92. For example, the user may specify the position, orientation and / or orientation of the model PM by translating, rotating, enlarging and / or reducing the model PM on the display screen of the display 91 on which the model PM is displayed, using the input device 92.

[0158] When the alignment of the work model WM and the printing model PM in step S153 is completed, the position (and further the attitude and / or size) of the printing model PM in the stage coordinate system is determined. Therefore, the control device 7 can generate printing position information related to the position of the printing model PM in the stage coordinate system. As a result, the control device 7 generates printing information in which the printing position information related to the position of the printing model PM corresponds to printing shape information related to the shape of the printing model PM (step S154). In other words, the control device 7 generates printing information related to the printing model PM whose position and shape in the stage coordinate system have been determined.

[0159] However, the control device 7 may correct the printing information generated in step S154 as necessary. For example, as described above, the three-dimensional structure ST is formed on the workpiece W. That is, the printing model PM and the workpiece model WM are aligned so that the printing model PM is placed on the workpiece model WM. In this case, depending on the relationship between the shape of the surface of the printing model PM facing the workpiece model WM and the shape of the surface of the workpiece model WM facing the printing model PM, a technical problem may occur in which the three-dimensional structure ST cannot be formed on the workpiece W using the printing information generated in step S154. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 28, which is a cross-sectional view showing the workpiece model WM and the printing model PM, if the shape of the surface PMa of the printing model PM facing the workpiece model WM (the surface facing the -Z side in FIG. 28) and the shape of the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM facing the printing model PM (the surface facing the +Z side in FIG. 28) are not complementary, a gap may be generated between the three-dimensional structure ST and the workpiece W when the printing information is used. Alternatively, if the modeling information is used, there is a possibility that a three-dimensional structure ST that partially bites into the workpiece W may be formed. Therefore, if the shape of the surface PMa and the shape of the surface WMa are not complementary to each other, the control device 7 may correct the modeling information. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 29, which is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing an example of correction of the modeling information together with the modeling model PM and the workpiece model WM, the control device 7 may correct the modeling information (particularly, the modeling shape information) so that the shape of the surface PMa of the modeling model PM indicated by the corrected modeling information has a complementary relationship with the shape of the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM.

[0160] An example of a method for correcting the modeling information as shown in FIG. 29 is shown in FIG. 30(a) to FIG. 30(c). Each of FIG. 30(a) to FIG. 30(c) is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing an example of a method for correcting the modeling information together with the workpiece model WM and the modeling model PM. In this case, as shown in FIG. 30(a), the control device 7 brings the modeling model PM and the workpiece model WM closer to each other until there is no gap between the surface PMa of the modeling model PM and the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM. In other words, the control device 7 makes the modeling model PM bite into the workpiece model WM until there is no gap between the surface PMa of the modeling model PM and the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM. After that, the control device 7 calculates the thickness D of the overlapping portion between the modeling model PM and the workpiece model WM (i.e., the bite amount of the modeling model PM into the workpiece model WM). After that, as shown in FIG. 30(b), the control device 7 adds a cutting margin model CM, which is a three-dimensional model corresponding to a model having a thickness D, to the surface PMa of the modeling model PM before correction. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 30(c), the control device 7 partially cuts the cutting margin model CM so that the surface CMa of the cutting margin model CM facing the workpiece model WM has a complementary shape to the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM. As a result, a three-dimensional model including the partially cut cutting margin model CM and the molding model PM is used as a new (i.e., corrected) molding model PM. Therefore, the control device 7 may correct the molding information (particularly, the molding shape information) so that the corrected molding information includes information on the position and shape of the three-dimensional model including the partially cut cutting margin model CM and the uncorrected molding model PM (i.e., the corrected molding model PM).

[0161] Another example of the method for correcting the modeling information as shown in FIG. 29 is shown in FIG. 31(a) to FIG. 31(c). Each of FIG. 31(a) to FIG. 31(c) is a cross-sectional view conceptually showing another example of the method for correcting the modeling information together with the workpiece model WM and the modeling model PM. In this case, as shown in FIG. 31(a), the control device 7 moves the modeling model PM and the workpiece model WM closer to each other until there is no gap between the surface PMa of the modeling model PM and the surface WMa of the workpiece model WM. Then, the control device 7 calculates the thickness D of the overlapping portion between the modeling model PM and the workpiece model WM (i.e., the amount of penetration of the modeling model PM into the workpiece model WM). Then, as shown in FIG. 31(b), the control device 7 cuts the portion of the modeling model PM that overlaps with the workpiece model WM. Furthermore, the control device 7 cuts the portion of the modeling model PM other than the lower end portion having the thickness D. As a result, the lower end portion having the thickness D of the modeling model PM that does not overlap with the workpiece model WM remains as the repair model RM. The shape of the surface RMa of the repair model RM facing the work model WM is complementary to the shape of the surface WMa of the work model WM. This repair model RM can be considered equivalent to a three-dimensional model of a molded object for filling the gap between the surface PMa of the molded model PM and the surface WMa of the work model WM. Then, as shown in FIG. 31(c), the repair model RM is added to the lower end of the molded model PM. As a result, the three-dimensional model including the repair model RM and the molded model PM is used as a new (i.e., corrected) molded model PM. Therefore, the control device 7 may correct the molded information (particularly, the molded shape information) so that the corrected molded information includes information on the position and shape of the three-dimensional model including the repair model RM and the molded model PM before correction (i.e., the corrected molded model PM).

[0162] (2-4) Modeling operation Next, the modeling operation will be described. The modeling operation is an operation for actually forming a three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W.

[0163] As described above, the processing system SYS forms the three-dimensional structure ST by the laser build-up welding method. For this reason, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST by performing an existing modeling operation conforming to the laser build-up welding method. Hereinafter, an example of a modeling operation for forming the three-dimensional structure ST by using the laser build-up welding method will be briefly described.

[0164] The processing system SYS forms a three-dimensional structure ST, the position and shape of which are specified by the above-mentioned model alignment operation, on the workpiece W, the position and shape of which are specified by the above-mentioned workpiece model alignment operation. That is, the processing system SYS forms a three-dimensional structure ST of a desired shape at a desired position on the workpiece W, based on the work information generated by the above-mentioned workpiece model alignment operation and the modeling information generated by the above-mentioned model alignment operation.

[0165] In order to form a three-dimensional structure ST, the processing system SYS sequentially forms, for example, a plurality of layered partial structures (hereinafter referred to as "structural layers") SL arranged along the Z-axis direction. For example, the processing system SYS sequentially forms a plurality of structural layers SL obtained by slicing the three-dimensional structure ST along the Z-axis direction, one by one. As a result, a three-dimensional structure ST is formed, which is a laminated structure in which a plurality of structural layers SL are stacked. The flow of operations for forming the three-dimensional structure ST by sequentially forming a plurality of structural layers SL one by one will be described below.

[0166] First, the operation of forming each structure layer SL will be described with reference to Fig. 32(a) to Fig. 32(e). Under the control of the control device 7, the processing system SYS sets an irradiation area EA in a desired area on the printing surface MS corresponding to the surface of the workpiece W or the surface of the already formed structure layer SL, and irradiates the irradiation area EA with processing light EL from the irradiation optical system 211. The area on the printing surface MS occupied by the processing light EL irradiated from the irradiation optical system 211 may be referred to as the irradiation area EA. In the first embodiment, the focus position (i.e., the light collection position) of the processing light EL coincides with the printing surface MS. As a result, as shown in Fig. 32(a), a molten pool (i.e., a pool of metal melted by the processing light EL) MP is formed in a desired area on the printing surface MS by the processing light EL emitted from the irradiation optical system 211. Furthermore, under the control of the control device 7, the processing system SYS sets a supply area MA in a desired area on the printing surface MS, and supplies the printing material M from the material nozzle 212 to the supply area MA. Here, since the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA coincide with each other as described above, the supply area MA is set to the area where the molten pool MP is formed. Therefore, the processing system SYS supplies the modeling material M to the molten pool MP from the material nozzle 212, as shown in FIG. 32(b). As a result, the modeling material M supplied to the molten pool MP melts. When the processing light EL is no longer irradiated onto the molten pool MP as the modeling head 21 moves, the molten modeling material M in the molten pool MP is cooled and solidifies again (i.e., solidifies). As a result, the solidified modeling material M is deposited on the modeling surface MS, as shown in FIG. 32(c). In other words, a model is formed by the deposit of the solidified modeling material M.

[0167] A series of modeling processes including the formation of a molten pool MP by irradiating the processing light EL, supplying the modeling material M to the molten pool MP, melting the supplied modeling material M, and solidifying the molten modeling material M are repeated while moving the modeling head 21 relative to the modeling surface MS along the XY plane, as shown in Fig. 32(d). In other words, when the modeling head 21 moves relative to the modeling surface MS, the irradiation area EA also moves relative to the modeling surface MS. Therefore, a series of modeling processes are repeated while moving the irradiation area EA relative to the modeling surface MS along the XY plane (i.e., within a two-dimensional plane). At this time, the processing light EL is selectively irradiated to the irradiation area EA set in the area on the modeling surface MS where a model is desired to be formed, while it is not selectively irradiated to the irradiation area EA set in the area on the modeling surface MS where a model is not desired to be formed (it can also be said that the irradiation area EA is not set in the area where a model is not desired to be formed). That is, the processing system SYS irradiates the processing light EL on the printing surface MS at a timing according to the distribution of the area where the object is to be formed, while moving the irradiation area EA along a predetermined movement trajectory on the printing surface MS. The distribution of the area where the object is to be formed may be called a distribution pattern or a pattern of the structure layer SL. As a result, the molten pool MP also moves on the printing surface MS along a movement trajectory according to the movement trajectory of the irradiation area EA. Specifically, the molten pool MP is formed sequentially in the area on the printing surface MS that is irradiated with the processing light EL among the areas along the movement trajectory of the irradiation area EA. Furthermore, since the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA coincide with each other as described above, the supply area MA also moves on the printing surface MS along a movement trajectory according to the movement trajectory of the irradiation area EA. As a result, as shown in FIG. 32(e), a structure layer SL corresponding to an assembly of objects made of solidified printing material M is formed on the printing surface MS. In other words, a structural layer SL is formed which corresponds to a collection of objects formed on the building surface MS in a pattern corresponding to the movement trajectory of the molten pool MP (i.e., a structural layer SL having a shape corresponding to the movement trajectory of the molten pool MP in a planar view).

[0168] In this case, at least a part of the side surface of the structure layer SL may be parallel to at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W. In other words, the processing system SYS may form a structure layer SL including a surface parallel to at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W on the upper surface of the workpiece W having a planar side surface. Note that Fig. 32(e) shows an example in which both at least a part of the side surface of the structure layer SL and at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W are parallel to the Z axis.

[0169] When the irradiation area EA is set in an area where it is not desired to form a molded object, the processing light EL may be irradiated to the irradiation area EA and the supply of the molding material M may be stopped. When the irradiation area EA is set in an area where it is not desired to form a molded object, the molding material M may be supplied to the irradiation area EL and the processing light EL may be irradiated to the irradiation area EL with an intensity that does not allow a molten pool MP to form. In the above explanation, the irradiation area EA is moved relative to the printing surface MS, but the printing surface MS may also be moved relative to the irradiation area EA.

[0170] The processing system SYS repeatedly performs the operation for forming such a structure layer SL based on the printing information (i.e., information on the printing model PM) under the control of the control device 7. Specifically, first, the printing model PM indicated by the printing information is sliced ​​at a layer pitch to create slice data. Note that the slice data may be partially modified according to the characteristics of the processing system SYS. The processing system SYS performs the operation for forming the first structure layer SL#1 on the printing surface MS corresponding to the surface of the workpiece W based on three-dimensional model data corresponding to the structure layer SL#1, i.e., slice data corresponding to the structure layer SL#1. For example, the processing system SYS may be operated using information on a tool path that is a trajectory of the irradiation area EA (supply area MA) that passes through the area where the structure layer SL#1 exists among the slice data corresponding to the structure layer SL#1. As a result, the structure layer SL#1 is formed on the printing surface MS as shown in FIG. 33(a). The structure layer SL#1 is integrated with the printing surface MS (in other words, it is bonded). That is, the structure layer SL#1 is integrated with the workpiece W (in other words, it is bonded). After that, the processing system SYS sets the surface (i.e., the upper surface) of the structure layer SL#1 as a new printing surface MS, and then forms a second structure layer SL#2 on the new printing surface MS. To form the structure layer SL#2, the control device 7 first controls the head drive system 22 so that the printing head 21 moves along the Z axis. Specifically, the control device 7 controls the head drive system 22 to move the printing head 21 toward the +Z side so that the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA are set on the surface of the structure layer SL#1 (i.e., the new printing surface MS). This causes the focus position of the processing light EL to match the new printing surface MS. After that, under the control of the control device 7, the processing system SYS forms the structure layer SL#2 on the structure layer SL#1 based on the slice data corresponding to the structure layer SL#2, in the same operation as the operation of forming the structure layer SL#1. As a result, the structure layer SL#2 is formed as shown in FIG. 33(b). The structure layer SL#1 is integrated with the printing surface MS (in other words, it is combined). That is, the structural layer SL#1 is integrated with (in other words, bonded to) the structural layer SL#2.Thereafter, the same operation is repeated until all the structural layers SL constituting the three-dimensional structure ST to be formed on the workpiece W are formed. As a result, as shown in Fig. 33(c), the three-dimensional structure ST is formed by a laminated structure in which a plurality of structural layers SL are laminated.

[0171] In this case, when at least a part of the side surface of the structural layer SL is parallel to at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W as described above, at least a part of the side surface of the three-dimensional structure ST composed of the multiple structural layers SL may also be parallel to at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W. In other words, the processing system SYS may form a three-dimensional structure ST including a surface parallel to at least a part of the side surface of the workpiece W on the upper surface of the workpiece W having a planar side surface.

[0172] The three-dimensional structure ST thus formed is typically integrated (in other words, connected) with the workpiece W. That is, the processing system SYS forms a three-dimensional structure ST integrated (in other words, connected) with the workpiece W. When the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST are integrated (in other words, connected), it can be said that the relative positions of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST are fixed (i.e., maintained). That is, it can be said that the processing system SYS forms a three-dimensional structure ST whose relative position with respect to the workpiece W is fixed.

[0173] (3) Technical Effects of the Machining System SYS of the First Embodiment As described above, according to the machining system SYS of the first embodiment, additional machining can be appropriately performed on the workpiece W.

[0174] The machining system SYS generates work information by the work model alignment operation, and can form a three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W whose position and shape are specified based on the generated workpiece information. Therefore, the machining system SYS can appropriately form the three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W, compared to when the workpiece information is not used. Also, because the workpiece information is mainly generated by the machining system SYS, the burden on the user is reduced, compared to when the user generates the workpiece information by himself / herself.

[0175] The processing system SYS generates the printing position information by the printing model alignment operation, and forms a three-dimensional structure ST, the position of which is specified based on the generated printing position information, on the workpiece W. Therefore, the processing system SYS can appropriately form the three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W, compared to a case where the printing position information is not used. Also, since the printing position information is mainly generated by the processing system SYS, the burden on the user is reduced, compared to a case where the user generates the printing position information by himself / herself.

[0176] (4) Machining system SYS of the second embodiment Next, a description will be given of a machining system SYS according to a second embodiment. In the following, the machining system SYS according to the second embodiment will be referred to as a "machining system SYSa" to distinguish it from the machining system SYS according to the first embodiment.

[0177] (4-1) Structure of the Machining System SYSa of the Second Embodiment First, the structure of the machining system SYSa of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 34 and Fig. 35. Fig. 34 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the machining system SYSa of the second embodiment. Fig. 35 is a perspective view showing the external structure of the machining unit UNTa2 provided in the machining system SYSa of the second embodiment. In the following description, components that have already been described will be given the same reference symbols and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0178] As shown in FIG. 34, the processing system SYSa includes a modeling unit UNTa1, a processing unit UNTa2, and a transfer device 10a.

[0179] The modeling unit UNTa1 includes a material supply device 1, a modeling device 2, a stage device 3, a light source 4, a gas supply device 5, a housing 6, a control device 7, a measuring device 8, a display 91, and an input device 92, similar to the processing system SYS of the first embodiment. Therefore, the modeling unit UNTa1 can form a three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W by performing a coordinate matching operation, a work model alignment operation, a modeling model alignment operation, and a modeling operation, similar to the processing system SYS. The modeling unit UNTa1 differs from the processing system SYS in that it further includes an output device 93a. Other features of the modeling unit UNTa1 may be the same as other features of the processing system SYS.

[0180] The output device 93a is a device that outputs information to the outside of the modeling unit UNTa1. For example, the output device 93a may output information to a user of the modeling unit UNTa1 and / or a user of the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the output device 93a may output information to a device outside the modeling unit UNTa1. Specifically, for example, the output device 93a may output information to the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the output device 93a may output information to a recording medium that can be attached to the modeling unit UNTa1. An example of the output device 93a is at least one of a display that can output information as an image and a speaker that can output information as sound. Another example of the output device 93a is an interface device for connecting to a device outside the modeling unit UNTa1. Another example of the output device 93a is a writing device that can write to a recording medium that can be attached to the modeling unit UNTa1.

[0181] The information output by the output device 93a may include information about the modeling unit UNTa1. The information about the modeling unit UNTa1 may include, for example, information about an operation performed by the modeling unit UNTa1 (for example, a coordinate matching operation, a workpiece model alignment operation, a modeling model alignment operation, and / or a modeling operation).

[0182] The processing unit UNTa2 processes the object to be processed. In the second embodiment, the object to be processed includes a three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., the three-dimensional structure ST formed by the above-mentioned modeling unit UNTa1). The processing operation performed by the processing unit UNTa2 may be any operation as long as it is an operation capable of processing the three-dimensional structure ST. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the processing unit UNTa2 performs a finishing process to bring the dimensions of the three-dimensional structure ST closer to the design dimensions (i.e., ideal dimensions). In this case, for example, the processing unit UNTa2 may perform a finishing process on the three-dimensional structure ST by removing (e.g., cutting) a part of the three-dimensional structure ST. In other words, the processing unit UNTa2 may perform a removal process on the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0183] In order to perform the machining operation, the machining unit UNTa2 includes an input device 101a (not shown in FIG. 35), a machining device 102a, a stage device 103a, and a control device 104a (not shown in FIG. 35), as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35. FIG. 35 shows an example in which the machining unit UNTa2 is a machining unit having three mutually orthogonal translation axes and two mutually orthogonal rotation axes (so-called machining center). However, the structure of the machining unit UNTa2 is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 35. For example, the machining unit UNTa2 may be any machine tool other than a machining center (for example, a lathe, a turning center, a multi-tasking machine, a drilling machine, or a grinding machine).

[0184] The input device 101a is a device that accepts input of information from outside the machining unit UNTa2. For example, the input device 101a may accept input of information from a user. Specifically, for example, the input device 101a may accept input of information from a user of the machining unit UNTa2 and / or a user of the modeling unit UNTa1. For example, the input device 101a may accept input of information from a device outside the machining unit UNTa2. Specifically, for example, the input device 101a may accept input of information output from the modeling unit UNTa1. For example, the input device 101a may accept input of information from a recording medium that can be attached to the machining unit UNTa2. An example of the input device 101a is an operation device that can be operated by a user. An example of the operation device is at least one of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch panel (for example, a touch panel integrated with a display (not shown) provided in the machining unit UNTa2), and a pointing device. Another example of the input device 101a is an interface device for connecting to an external device of the machining unit UNTa2. Another example of the input device 101a is a reading device capable of reading a recording medium that can be attached to the machining unit UNTa2. Information that the input device 101a accepts as input (i.e., information input to the input device 101a) is output to, for example, the control device 104a.

[0185] The processing device 102a processes (for example, removes as described above) a three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., a processing target). In order to process the three-dimensional structure ST, the processing device 102a includes a processing head 1021a, a head drive system 1022a (not shown in FIG. 35), and a position measurement device 1023a (not shown in FIG. 35). However, the processing device 102a does not necessarily have to include the head drive system 1022a and the position measurement device 1023a.

[0186] The processing head 1021a processes a three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., a processing target). The processing head 1021a may have any structure as long as it can process the three-dimensional structure ST. An example of such a processing head 1021a is shown in FIG. 36 and FIG. 37. FIG. 36 shows a processing head 1021a that partially cuts the three-dimensional structure ST using a cutting tool 10211a. An example of the cutting tool 10211a includes at least one of a drill, a cutting tool, a milling cutter, an end mill, a reamer, a tap, a hob, a pinion cutter, a die, a broach, a trimmer, and a router. FIG. 37 shows a processing head 1021a that partially cuts the three-dimensional structure ST using an energy beam EB. In the example shown in FIG. 37, the processing head 1021a partially removes the three-dimensional structure ST by emitting an energy beam EB from an irradiation optical system 10212a to the three-dimensional structure ST. In this case, the portion of the three-dimensional structure ST irradiated with the energy beam EB is evaporated or ablated, so that the three-dimensional structure ST is partially removed. Examples of the energy beam EB include light and a charged particle beam.

[0187] The head drive system 1022a moves the processing head 1021a under the control of the control device 104a. The head drive system 1022a moves the processing head 1021a along at least one of the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, θX-direction, θY-direction, and θZ-direction. The head drive system 1022a includes, for example, a motor.

[0188] 35, the head drive system 1022a moves the processing head 1021a relative to the bed 1030a serving as the base of the stage device 103a along the X-axis and Z-axis, which are translational axes and perpendicular to each other. In other words, the processing head 1021a is capable of translational movement with two degrees of freedom relative to the bed 1030a.

[0189] The position measuring device 1023a can measure the position of the processing head 1021a. The position measuring device 1023a may include, for example, at least one of an encoder and a laser interferometer.

[0190] The stage device 103a includes a stage 1031a. The stage 1031a is capable of supporting a workpiece W (more specifically, a workpiece W on which a three-dimensional structure ST is formed by the modeling unit UNTa1). Note that the state in which "the stage 1031a supports the workpiece W" referred to here may mean a state in which the workpiece W is directly or indirectly supported by the stage 1031a. The stage 1031a may be capable of holding the workpiece W. That is, the stage 1031a may support the workpiece W by holding the workpiece W. Alternatively, the stage 1031a may not be capable of holding the workpiece W. In this case, the workpiece W may be placed on the stage 1031a. That is, the stage 1031a may support the workpiece W placed on the stage 1031a. At this time, the workpiece W may be placed on the stage 1031a in a clampless manner. Therefore, the state in which "the stage 1031a supports the workpiece W" in the second embodiment may include a state in which the stage 1031a holds the workpiece W and a state in which the workpiece W is placed on the stage 1031a. The stage 1031a may be referred to as a support device that supports the workpiece W, a placement device on which the workpiece W is placed, a holding device that holds the workpiece W, or a table. Furthermore, when the workpiece W is held by the stage 1031a, the stage 1031a can release the held workpiece W. The above-mentioned machining head 1021a machines the three-dimensional structure ST during at least a part of the period in which the stage 1031a supports the workpiece W. The stage 1031a may be equipped with a mechanical chuck, a vacuum suction chuck, a magnetic chuck, or the like to hold the workpiece W.

[0191] The stage device 103a further includes a stage drive system 1032a (not shown in FIG. 35). However, the stage device 103a may not include the stage drive system 1032a. In the example shown in FIG. 35, the stage drive system 1032a moves the stage 1031a relative to the cradle 1033a of the stage device 103a so as to rotate around the C-axis, which is a rotation axis (i.e., move in a rotation direction along the θZ direction). That is, the stage 1031a is capable of moving with one degree of freedom of rotation relative to the cradle 1033a. Furthermore, the stage drive system 1032a moves the cradle 1033a relative to the trunnion 1034a of the stage device 103a so as to rotate around the A-axis, which is a rotation axis and perpendicular to the C-axis (i.e., move in a rotation direction along the θX direction). That is, the cradle 1033a is capable of moving with one degree of freedom of rotation relative to the trunnion 1034a. The cradle 1033a may be referred to as a swinging member or a rotating member. Furthermore, the stage driving system 1032a moves the trunnion 1034a along the Y-axis, which is a translational axis and intersects with the X-axis and Z-axis, relative to the bed 1030a. That is, the trunnion 1034a can move with one translational degree of freedom relative to the bed 1030a. The trunnion 1034a may be referred to as a moving member. As a result, the processing head 1021a can move with three translational degrees of freedom and two rotational degrees of freedom relative to the stage 1031a. Each feed axis (i.e., the feed axis corresponding to the X-axis, the feed axis corresponding to the Y-axis, the feed axis corresponding to the Z-axis, the feed axis corresponding to the C-axis, and the feed axis corresponding to the A-axis) in the stage driving system 1032a (and further, the head driving system 1022a) is driven by a servo motor under the control of the control device 7 or the control device 104a.

[0192] However, the number of axes of movement of the processing head 1021a is not limited to 5, and may be 3, 4, or 6. Furthermore, the stage 1031a does not have to be capable of moving with two rotational degrees of freedom, the processing head 1021a may be capable of moving with two rotational degrees of freedom, or each of the processing head 1021a and the stage 1031a may be capable of moving with one or more rotational degrees of freedom.

[0193] Such a processing device 102a may have a function of measuring the workpiece W or three-dimensional structure ST supported by the stage 1031a. Hereinafter, the function of the processing device 102a to measure the workpiece W or three-dimensional structure ST will be described with reference to Figs. 38 to 42. Fig. 38 is a cross-sectional view showing a processing head 1021a to which a probe 10213a for measuring the workpiece W or three-dimensional structure ST is attached. Each of Figs. 39 to 42 is a plan view showing a state in which the workpiece W or three-dimensional structure ST is measured using the probe 10213a.

[0194] 38, when the processing device 102a measures the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST, a probe (specifically, a touch probe) 10213a is attached to the processing head 1021a. The processing device 102a brings the probe 10213a into contact with a predetermined portion of the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST under the control of the control device 104a. The control device 104a calculates the position of the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the processing head 1021a when the probe 10213a comes into contact with the predetermined portion of the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0195] For example, as shown in FIG. 39, the processing device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with a corner (i.e., a vertex) of the workpiece W. For example, the processing device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with one corner of the workpiece W. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the position of the workpiece W in each of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. For example, the processing device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with each of the two corners of the workpiece W. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the position of the workpiece W in the θZ direction (i.e., the amount of rotation of the workpiece W around the Z axis) in addition to the positions of the workpiece W in each of the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. For example, the processing device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with each of the three corners of the workpiece W. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the position of the workpiece W in each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and the position of the workpiece W in each of the θX-axis, θY-axis, and θZ-axis directions (i.e., the amount of rotation of the workpiece W around the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis).

[0196] For example, when the shape of the workpiece W is known to the machining unit UNTa2, the machining device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with the side of the workpiece W. For example, when the shape of the workpiece W is rectangular in a plan view (i.e., when the shape of the workpiece W is prismatic), the machining device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with each of the +X side and -X side of the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. 40. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the center position of the workpiece W in the X-axis direction. For example, when the shape of the workpiece W is rectangular in a plan view, the machining device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with each of the +Y side and -Y side of the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. 40. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the center position of the workpiece W in the Y-axis direction. For example, when the shape of the workpiece W is circular in a plan view (i.e., when the shape of the workpiece W is cylindrical), the processing device 102a may also bring the probe 10213a into contact with each side surface of the workpiece W as shown in Fig. 41. In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the center position of the workpiece W (in the example shown in Fig. 41, the center position within a surface along the XY plane).

[0197] For example, when the shape of the workpiece W is a rectangular shape known to the machining unit UNTa2, as shown in Fig. 42, the machining device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with a plurality of different positions on each of two intersecting side surfaces of the workpiece W. For example, the machining device 102a may bring the probe 10213a into contact with two different positions on a first side surface of the workpiece W (the side surface on the +X side in the example shown in Fig. 42) and bring the probe 10213a into contact with two different positions on a second side surface of the workpiece W (the side surface on the -Y side in the example shown in Fig. 42). In this case, the control device 104a can calculate the position of the intersection between the first side surface of the workpiece W and the second side surface of the workpiece W (the intersection between the side surface on the +X side of the workpiece W and the side surface on the -Y side of the workpiece W in the example shown in Fig. 42).

[0198] In addition to or instead of the probe 10213a, the processing device 102a may use an irradiation device capable of irradiating a beam for alignment to measure the workpiece W. Specifically, the processing device 102a may calculate the position of the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the processing head 1021a when a beam for alignment from an irradiation device attached to the processing head 1021a is irradiated to a predetermined portion of the workpiece W or the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0199] In FIG. 34 again, the control device 104a controls the operation of the machining unit UNTa2. The control device 104a may include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) in addition to or instead of the CPU) and a memory. The control device 104a functions as a device that controls the operation of the machining unit UNTa2 by the CPU executing a computer program. This computer program is a computer program for making the control device 104a (for example, the CPU) perform (i.e., execute) the operation to be performed by the control device 104a described later. In other words, this computer program is a computer program for making the control device 104a function so as to make the machining unit UNTa2 perform the operation to be described later. The computer program executed by the CPU may be recorded in a memory (i.e., a recording medium) provided in the control device 104a, or may be recorded in any storage medium (for example, a hard disk or a semiconductor memory) built into the control device 104a or externally attachable to the control device 104a. Alternatively, the CPU may download the computer program to be executed from an external device of the control device 104a via a network interface.

[0200] For example, the control device 104a may control the processing mode of the three-dimensional structure ST by the processing head 1021a. When the processing head 1021a includes a cutting tool 10211a (see FIG. 36), the processing mode may include the state of the cutting tool 10211a (for example, the rotation amount of the cutting tool 10211a). When the processing head 1021a includes an irradiation optical system 10212a (see FIG. 37), the processing mode may include the state of the energy beam EB (for example, at least one of the intensity of the energy beam EB and the emission timing of the energy beam EB). Furthermore, the control device 104a may control the movement mode of the processing head 1021a by the head drive system 1022a. The movement mode may include at least one of the movement amount, the movement speed, the movement direction, and the movement timing, for example. In particular, the control device 104a may control the movement mode of the processing head 1021a so that the removal target portion to be removed by the processing unit UNTa2 of the three-dimensional structure ST is appropriately removed. In other words, the control device 104a may control the movement of the processing head 1021a so that the cutting tool 10211a comes into contact with or the energy beam EB is irradiated onto the portion to be removed of the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0201] The control device 104a may not be provided inside the machining unit UNTa2, and may be provided as a server or the like outside the machining unit UNTa2. In this case, the control device 104a and the machining unit UNTa2 may be connected by a wired and / or wireless network (or a data bus and / or a communication line). As the wired network, a network using a serial bus type interface represented by at least one of IEEE1394, RS-232x, RS-422, RS-423, RS-485, and USB may be used. As the wired network, a network using a parallel bus type interface may be used. As the wired network, a network using an interface compliant with Ethernet (registered trademark) represented by at least one of 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T may be used. As the wireless network, a network using radio waves may be used. An example of a network using radio waves is a network compliant with IEEE802.1x (for example, at least one of wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark)). A network using infrared rays may be used as the wireless network. A network using optical communication may be used as the wireless network. In this case, the control device 104a and the machining unit UNTa2 may be configured to be able to transmit and receive various information via the network. The control device 104a may be able to transmit information such as commands and control parameters to the machining unit UNTa2 via the network. The machining unit UNTa2 may include a receiving device that receives information such as commands and control parameters from the control device 104a via the network. The machining unit UNTa2 may include a transmitting device (i.e., an output device that outputs information to the control device 104a) that transmits information such as commands and control parameters to the control device 104a via the network.Alternatively, a first control device that performs part of the processing performed by the control device 104a may be provided inside the machining unit UNTa2, while a second control device that performs another part of the processing performed by the control device 104a may be provided outside the machining unit UNTa2.

[0202] As a recording medium for recording the computer program executed by the CPU, at least one of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, flexible disk, MO, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, Blu-ray (registered trademark), and other optical disks, magnetic media such as magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk, semiconductor memory such as USB memory, and any other medium capable of storing a program may be used. The recording medium may include a device capable of recording a computer program (for example, a general-purpose device or a dedicated device in which a computer program is implemented in a state in which it can be executed in at least one of the forms of software and firmware). Furthermore, each process or function included in the computer program may be realized by a logical processing block realized in the control device 104a by the control device 104a (i.e., a computer) executing the computer program, or may be realized by hardware such as a predetermined gate array (FPGA, ASIC) provided in the control device 104a, or may be realized in a form in which a logical processing block and a partial hardware module that realizes some elements of the hardware are mixed.

[0203] The transfer device 10a transfers the workpiece W from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2. The transfer device 10a may, for example, use a transfer arm to grip the workpiece W and transport the gripped workpiece W. The transfer device 10a may store the workpiece W in a storage container and transport the storage container in which the workpiece W is stored, thereby transporting the workpiece W.

[0204] As described above, the processing system SYS forms a three-dimensional structure ST integrated with the workpiece W. For this reason, the transport device 10a transports the workpiece W, and thus, in effect, transports the three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W. The transport device 10a transports the three-dimensional structure ST together with the workpiece W. The transport device 10a transports the three-dimensional structure ST together with the workpiece W while maintaining the relative positions of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST. For this reason, after the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W, the transport device 10a transports the workpiece W (three-dimensional structure ST) from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2. Thereafter, the processing unit UNTa2 processes the three-dimensional structure ST transported from the modeling unit UNTa1 by the transport device 10a.

[0205] The transport device 10a transports the workpiece W from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2. After the modeling unit UNTa1 forms a three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W, the transport device 10a transports the workpiece W to the processing unit UNTa2. As described above, the modeling unit UNTa1 forms a three-dimensional structure ST integrated (i.e., connected) with the workpiece W, and therefore the transport device 10a transports the workpiece W integrated with the three-dimensional structure ST. The transport device 10a transports the workpiece W together with the three-dimensional structure ST. The transport device 10a transports the workpiece W together with the three-dimensional structure ST while maintaining the relative positions of the three-dimensional structure ST and the workpiece W. Note that the processing system SYSa does not necessarily have to be equipped with the transport device 10a.

[0206] (4-2) Operation of Machining System SYSa of Second Embodiment Next, an operation performed by the processing system SYSa of the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, after the modeling unit UNTa1 forms a three-dimensional structure ST, the processing unit UNTa2 processes the three-dimensional structure ST. Therefore, hereinafter, the operation performed by the modeling unit UNTa1 and the operation performed by the processing unit UNTa2 will be described in order.

[0207] (4-2-1) Operations performed by modeling unit UNTa1 The modeling unit UNTa1 forms a three-dimensional structure ST in the same manner as the processing system SYS of the above-described first embodiment. That is, the modeling unit UNTa1 performs a coordinate matching operation, then a workpiece model alignment operation, then a modeling model alignment operation, and then a modeling operation.

[0208] However, in the second embodiment, in the printing model alignment operation (or the workpiece model alignment operation), the control device 7 sets (in other words, specifies) a reference point RP that can be used as a reference position when forming a three-dimensional structure ST. Specifically, in step S153 of FIG. 22, the control device 7 sets the reference point RP in addition to accepting an input specifying the position of the printing model PM (e.g., the printing position). The reference point RP may also be referred to as a reference position. Also, since the reference point RP is set (in other words, specified) by the control device 7, it may also be referred to as a set point or specified point (or a set position or specified position).

[0209] The reference point RP may be used as a reference position in the modeling operation. For example, the reference point RP may be used as a reference for specifying the position of the modeling model PM. The reference point RP may be used as a reference for specifying the position where the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed. The reference point RP may be used as an origin for specifying the position of the modeling model PM. The reference point RP may be used as an origin for specifying the position where the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed. The reference point RP may be used as a reference position for the movement of the modeling head 21. In this case, the reference point RP may be used as the origin of the reference coordinate system of the modeling unit UNTa1. However, the reference point RP does not have to be used as the origin of the reference coordinate system of the modeling unit UNTa1. Such a reference point RP may be referred to as an origin (e.g., modeling origin).

[0210] The control device 7 sets a reference point RP on the workpiece model WM. Since the workpiece model WM corresponds to the actual workpiece W, the control device 7 essentially sets the reference point RP on the workpiece W. That is, the control device 7 sets the reference point RP on the workpiece W on which the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed (i.e., on the workpiece model WM corresponding to such a workpiece W).

[0211] Here, as described above, the three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W is integrated with the workpiece W. Therefore, normally, the positional relationship between the three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W and the workpiece W does not change. Therefore, it can be said that the control device 7 sets a reference point RP whose relative position with respect to the three-dimensional structure ST is fixed. Therefore, in addition to or instead of setting the reference point RP on the workpiece W, the control device 7 may set the reference point RP on an object whose relative position with respect to the three-dimensional structure ST is fixed. The control device 7 may set the reference point RP on an object whose relative position with respect to the three-dimensional structure ST does not change. It should be noted that the control device 7 may set the reference point RP on the three-dimensional structure ST. Even in this case, the reference point RP whose relative position with respect to the three-dimensional structure ST is fixed can be set.

[0212] The control device 7 may set the reference point RP based on an instruction from a user of the modeling unit UNTa1. That is, the user may use the input device 92 to specify a position where the reference point RP is to be set, and the control device 7 may set the reference point RP at the position specified by the user. In this case, the control device 7 may control the display 91 to display the work model WM and the modeling model PM. FIG. 43 is a plan view showing a display example of the work model WM and the modeling model PM. Furthermore, the user may specify a position where the reference point RP is to be set on the display screen of the display 91 on which the work model WM and the modeling model PM are displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 43, the user may use the input device 92 to move a pointer 913 for setting the reference point RP, and at the timing when the pointer 913 is located at a position where the reference point RP is to be set, specify the position of the pointer 913 as the position where the reference point RP should be set.

[0213] The control device 7 may set the reference point RP by itself, without being based on an instruction from a user of the modeling unit UNTa1. For example, the control device 7 may extract a feature point of the work model WM (i.e., a feature point of the work W) based on work model data indicating the work model WM, and set the reference point RP at the position of the extracted feature point. That is, the control device 7 may set the feature point of the work model WM as the reference point RP. Alternatively, for example, the control device 7 may set a feature point of an object whose relative position with respect to the three-dimensional structure ST does not change as the reference point RP. Alternatively, the control device 7 may set a feature point of an existing structure (e.g., a three-dimensional structure ST formed by a previous modeling operation) formed on the work W as the reference point RP. Note that the feature point of a certain object may include a point at a characteristic position in the three-dimensional shape of the object represented by point cloud data, which is a collection of points indicating positions on the surface of the object. Examples of the feature point include at least one of a vertex, a corner, a boundary, a point located on the most +Z side, a point located on the most -Z side, a point located on the most +X side, a point located on the most -X side, a point located on the most +Y side, and a point located on the most -Y side. Alternatively, for example, the control device 7 may set the reference point RP at a position on the workpiece W having a predetermined positional relationship with the molding model PM (or an object whose relative position with the three-dimensional structure ST does not change or an existing structure formed on the workpiece W, the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph). As an example, the control device 7 may set the reference point RP at a position on the workpiece W that is a predetermined distance away from the position of the molding model PM in a predetermined direction. Alternatively, for example, when a predetermined mark is provided on the workpiece W, the control device 7 may set the reference point RP at the position of the mark or a position on the workpiece W that has a predetermined positional relationship with the mark. Conditions regarding the position of the mark relative to the stage 31 when the workpiece W is supported on the stage 31 and conditions regarding the positional relationship between the mark and the position set as the reference point RP may be determined in advance. 44(a) to 44(c) are plan views showing an example of a mark provided on the workpiece W. As shown in Fig. 44(a), a marker MK1 as an example of a mark may be formed on the workpiece W. Note that the shape of the marker MK1 is not limited to a rectangular shape (box shape) and may be, for example, a cross shape or an L shape.As shown in FIG. 44(b), a notch MK2 as an example of a mark may be formed on a certain side of the workpiece W (for example, near the center of the side). In this case, for example, a condition that the workpiece W is supported so that the side on which the notch MK2 is formed is located on the near side toward the stage 31 and a condition that a reference point RP is set at a corner on the left side (for example, on the -Y side) of the notch MK2 may be set in advance. As shown in FIG. 44(c), a notch MK3 as an example of a mark may be formed on a certain corner of the workpiece W. In this case, for example, a condition that a reference point RP is set at a corner opposite to the corner on which the notch MK3 is formed may be set in advance.

[0214] When the reference point RP is set, the above-mentioned printing position information indicating the position of the printing model PM may indicate the relative position of the printing model PM with reference to the reference point RP, in addition to or instead of the absolute position of the printing model PM in the reference coordinate system. The printing position information may indicate the relative position of the reference point RP and the printing model PM. The printing position information may indicate where the printing model PM is located with respect to the reference point RP. For example, FIG. 45 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the reference point RP and the printing model PM. As shown in FIG. 45, the printing position information may indicate the distance between the reference point RP and the printing model PM in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 45, the printing position information may indicate the distance between the reference point RP and the printing model PM in the Y-axis direction. Although not shown in the figure for the sake of simplicity, the printing position information may indicate the distance between the reference point RP and the printing model PM in the Z-axis direction. In the example shown in FIG. 45, the printing position information indicates that the distance between the reference point RP and the printing model PM (more specifically, a certain part of the printing model PM) in the X-axis direction is xx [mm], and the distance between the reference point RP and the printing model PM in the Y-axis direction is yy [mm]. In other words, the printing position information indicates that the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed at a position that is xx [mm] away from the reference point RP along the X-axis direction and yy [mm] away along the Y-axis direction in the reference coordinate system. In this case, the printing information including such printing position information can be said to be printing information associated with the reference point RP (more specifically, associated with the position of the reference point RP). In addition, since the printing information is information in which the printing position information and the printing shape information are associated with each other, the printing information including such printing position information can be said to be printing information in which the reference point RP is associated with the printing information (for example, the printing shape information (i.e., the shape of the printing model PM (i.e., the three-dimensional structure ST)).

[0215] In addition, when the reference point RP is set on the workpiece W, the workpiece position information indicating the position of the workpiece model WM described above may indicate the position of the reference point RP set on the workpiece W in addition to or instead of the absolute position of the workpiece model WM in the reference coordinate system. The workpiece position information may indicate the relative position of the reference point RP and the workpiece W. The workpiece position information may indicate where the reference point RP is set on the workpiece model WM. Specifically, the control device 7 may correct the workpiece position information (i.e., workpiece information) generated in the workpiece model alignment operation based on the reference point RP. The control device 7 may add information about the reference point RP to the workpiece position information (i.e., workpiece information) generated in the workpiece model alignment operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 45, the workpiece position information may indicate that the reference point RP is set at the vertex on the +X side and the -Y side of the workpiece W whose shape in a plane along the XY plane is a square. In this case, the workpiece information including such workpiece position information can be said to be workpiece information associated with the reference point RP (more specifically, associated with the position of the reference point RP). Furthermore, since the work information is information in which work position information and work shape information are associated with each other, work information including such work position information can also be said to be work information in which the reference point RP is associated with work information (for example, work shape information (i.e., the shape of the work model WM (i.e., the work W))).

[0216] After the modeling information is generated by the modeling model alignment operation in this way, the modeling unit UNTa1 performs a modeling operation to form a three-dimensional structure ST based on the work information and the modeling information, similar to the processing system SYS of the first embodiment. At this time, since the work information indicates the relative position of the modeling model PM with respect to the reference point RP as described above, the control device 7 may control the modeling device 2 so that the three-dimensional structure ST is formed with respect to the reference point RP of the work W based on the information on the reference point RP. Specifically, the control device 7 may control the modeling device 2 so that additional processing is performed at a position determined with respect to the reference point RP. For example, the control device 7 may control the head drive system 22 so that the modeling head 21 moves with respect to the reference point RP of the work W. For example, the control device 7 may control the modeling device 2 so that the processing light EL is irradiated at a timing when the irradiation area EA overlaps with a position determined with respect to the reference point RP of the work W (for example, a position where a model constituting the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed). As a result, a three-dimensional structure ST is formed at a position having a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the reference point RP of the workpiece W (i.e., the reference point RP of the workpiece model WM). That is, the three-dimensional structure ST is formed at a position having a positional relationship indicated by the modeling information with respect to the reference point RP. Note that FIG. 46 is a plan view showing the three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W when the reference point RP shown in FIG. 45 is set. As shown in FIG. 46, the three-dimensional structure ST is formed at a position that is xx [mm] away from the reference point RP of the workpiece W along the X-axis direction and yy [mm] away along the Y-axis direction.

[0217] In the second embodiment, the output device 93a further outputs information related to the reference point RP (hereinafter referred to as reference point information). Specifically, the output device 93a outputs the reference point information to the processing unit UNTa2. In this case, the processing unit SYSa2 processes the three-dimensional structure ST formed by the modeling unit UNTa1 based on the reference point information.

[0218] The reference point information may include first information regarding the position of the reference point RP (for example, the position of the reference point RP in the reference coordinate system). Specifically, the reference point information may include first information indicating the position on the workpiece model WM where the reference point RP is set. The reference point information may include first information indicating the position of the part of the workpiece model WM where the reference point RP is set. In other words, the reference point information may include first information indicating the position on the workpiece model WM where the reference point RP is set. Since the reference point RP on the workpiece W corresponds to the reference point RP on the workpiece model WM, the reference point information may include first information indicating the position on the workpiece W where the reference point RP is set. By referring to the first information, the machining unit UNTa2 can specify the position on the workpiece W transported from the molding unit UNTa1 by the transport device 10a where the reference point RP is set. An example of such first information is information regarding the relative position between the workpiece W and the reference point RP (that is, the relative position between the workpiece model WM and the reference point RP).

[0219] As described above, the work information (specifically, the work information associated with the reference point RP) may indicate the position of the reference point RP. In other words, as described above, the work information may be associated with the reference point RP. In this case, the reference point information may include the work information (particularly, the work information associated with the reference point RP). In other words, the output device 93a may output the work information (particularly, the work information associated with the reference point RP) to the machining unit UNTa2 as the reference point information. Even in this case, the machining unit UNTa2 can identify which position on the workpiece W has been designated as the reference point RP.

[0220] The reference point information may include measurement information on the measurement result of the workpiece W by the measuring device 8 (particularly, the measurement information associated with the reference point RP) in addition to or instead of the workpiece information associated with the reference point RP. That is, the output device 93a may output the measurement information on the measurement result of the workpiece W (particularly, the measurement information associated with the reference point RP) to the machining unit UNTa2 as the reference point information. This is because the measurement information on the measurement result of the workpiece W includes information on the shape of the workpiece W and information on the position of the workpiece W, similar to the workpiece information. Note that the "measurement information of the workpiece W associated with the reference point RP" may mean measurement information including information on the reference point RP (for example, measurement information capable of identifying the position of the reference point RP). The measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W before the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST (that is, before starting the modeling operation). In this case, the reference point information may include measurement information on the measurement result of the workpiece W before the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST. In addition, when the measuring device 8 measures the workpiece W before forming the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., before starting the modeling operation), there is an advantage that there is little risk that a point on the workpiece W that can be a feature point is blocked by the three-dimensional structure ST. In addition, the measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W at a desired timing during the period in which the modeling unit UNTa1 is forming the three-dimensional structure ST. In this case, the reference point information may include measurement information regarding the measurement result of the workpiece W at a desired timing during the period in which the modeling unit UNTa1 is forming the three-dimensional structure ST. The measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W after the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., after completing the modeling operation). In this case, the reference point information may include measurement information regarding the measurement result of the workpiece W after the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0221] The reference point information may include, in addition to or instead of the above-mentioned first information, second information regarding the relative position between the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST (e.g., the relative position between the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST in a reference coordinate system. In other words, the reference point information may include second information regarding the relationship between the position of the reference point RP and the position of the three-dimensional structure ST (e.g., the relationship between the position of the reference point RP and the position of the three-dimensional structure ST in a reference coordinate system). Specifically, the reference point information may include second information indicating the formation position of the three-dimensional structure ST with the reference point RP as the starting point. In other words, the reference point information indicates at what position the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed with respect to the reference point RP. The reference point information may include second information indicating where the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed. Furthermore, since the three-dimensional structure ST is formed at the position of the printing model PM specified in the printing model alignment operation, the reference point information may include second information indicating which position is specified as the position of the printing model PM with reference to the reference point RP. In other words, the reference point information may include information regarding the positional relationship between the reference point RP and the printing model PM (i.e., the relationship between the position of the reference point RP and the position of the printing model PM). By referring to the second information, the processing unit UNTa2 can specify where the three-dimensional structure ST is to be formed with reference to the reference point RP.

[0222] As described above, the modeling information (particularly, the modeling position information) may indicate the relative position of the modeling model PM with respect to the reference point RP. In other words, as described above, the modeling information may be associated with the reference point RP. In this case, the reference point information may include modeling information (particularly, the modeling information associated with the reference point RP). In other words, the output device 93a may output the modeling information (particularly, the modeling information associated with the reference point RP) to the processing unit UNTa2 as reference point information. Even in this case, the processing unit UNTa2 can specify where the three-dimensional structure ST is formed with respect to the reference point RP.

[0223] The reference point information may include measurement information on the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST by the measuring device 8 (particularly, the measurement information associated with the reference point RP) in addition to or instead of the modeling information associated with the reference point RP. That is, the output device 93a may output the measurement information on the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST (particularly, the measurement information associated with the reference point RP) to the processing unit UNTa2 as the reference point information. This is because the measurement information on the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST includes information on the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST and information on the position of the three-dimensional structure ST, similar to the modeling information. Note that the "measurement information of the three-dimensional structure ST associated with the reference point RP" may mean measurement information including information on the reference point RP (for example, measurement information capable of identifying the position of the three-dimensional structure ST relative to the reference point RP). The measuring device 8 may measure the three-dimensional structure ST at a desired timing during the period in which the modeling unit UNTa1 is forming the three-dimensional structure ST. In this case, the reference point information may include measurement information regarding a measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST at a desired timing during a period in which the modeling unit UNTa1 is forming the three-dimensional structure ST. The measuring device 8 may measure the three-dimensional structure ST after the modeling unit UNTa1 has formed the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., after completing the modeling operation). In this case, the reference point information may include measurement information regarding a measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST after the modeling unit UNTa1 has formed the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0224] (4-2-2) Operations performed by processing unit UNTa2 The processing unit UNTa2 processes (e.g., removes) the three-dimensional structure ST formed by the modeling unit UNTa1. For example, as described above, the processing unit UNTa2 performs finish processing to make the dimensions of the three-dimensional structure ST closer to the design dimensions (i.e., ideal dimensions). As a result, even if the dimensional accuracy of the three-dimensional structure ST formed by the modeling unit UNTa1 is relatively low, the dimensional accuracy of the three-dimensional structure ST is improved by the processing of the processing unit UNTa2. Hereinafter, the operation (i.e., processing operation) performed by such processing unit UNTa2 will be described with reference to FIG. 47. FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing operation performed by the processing unit UNTa2.

[0225] As shown in FIG. 47, first, a three-dimensional structure ST is placed on a stage 1031a of the processing unit UNTa2 (step S21). Specifically, the three-dimensional structure ST is transferred from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 by the transfer device 10a. Specifically, since the three-dimensional structure ST is integrated with the workpiece W, the three-dimensional structure ST integrated with the workpiece W is transferred from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 by the transfer device 10a. The three-dimensional structure ST transferred by the transfer device 10a (i.e., the three-dimensional structure ST integrated with the workpiece W) is placed on the stage 1031a. At this time, the stage 1031a may hold the three-dimensional structure ST. For example, when the processing head 1021a is equipped with a cutting tool 10211a, the position of the three-dimensional structure ST may be displaced (i.e., changed) on the stage 1031a during the processing operation due to the force applied to the three-dimensional structure ST from the cutting tool 10211a. Therefore, in order to prevent the position of the three-dimensional structure ST from being displaced, the stage 1031a may hold the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0226] Furthermore, the reference point information output by the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 is input to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2 (step S22). That is, the input device 101a acquires the reference point information. After that, the processing unit UNTa2 processes the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information (steps S23 to S24). That is, the control device 104a of the processing unit UNTa2 controls the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information. For example, the control device 104a may control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point RP of the workpiece W. For example, the control device 104a may control the processing device 102a to perform processing (for example, the above-mentioned removal processing, which is essentially finishing processing) at a position determined based on the reference point RP. For example, the control device 104a may control the head drive system 1022a so that the machining head 1021a moves based on the reference point RP of the workpiece W. As a result, machining is performed on the three-dimensional structure ST formed at a position having a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the reference point RP of the workpiece W. That is, in the second embodiment, the machining unit UNTa2 machines the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point RP that was used as a reference when the modeling unit UNTa1 performed the modeling operation. In other words, the reference point used as a reference position when the machining unit UNTa2 performs the machining operation coincides with the reference point used as a reference position when the modeling unit UNTa1 performs the modeling operation.

[0227] In order to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information, first, the control device 104a aligns the workpiece W with the processing device 102a (particularly, the processing head 1021a) (step S23). That is, the control device 104a positions the processing head 1021a (step S23). Particularly in the second embodiment, the control device 104a aligns the reference point RP with the processing device 102a (particularly, the processing head 1021a) to thereby align the workpiece W with the processing device 102a (particularly, the processing head 1021a).

[0228] Specifically, the control device 104a aligns the reference point RP with the machining head 1021a in the reference coordinate system of the machining unit UNTa2. In the second embodiment, the machining coordinate system is used as the reference coordinate system of the machining unit UNTa2. The machining coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system used to specify the position of the machining head 1021a. For example, the head drive system 1022a moves the machining head 1021a based on information on the position of the machining head 1021a specified in the machining coordinate system. For example, the position measurement device 1023a measures the position of the machining head 1021a in the machining coordinate system. In the second embodiment, the reference coordinate system of the modeling unit UNTa1 (i.e., the reference coordinate system of the machining system SYS in the first embodiment) is referred to as the “modeling reference coordinate system” and the reference coordinate system of the machining unit UNTa2 is referred to as the “machining reference coordinate system” to distinguish between the two.

[0229] Prior to aligning the reference point RP with the machining device 102a, the workpiece W may be measured using the above-mentioned probe 10213a or the like. That is, the position of the workpiece W in the machining reference coordinate system may be measured. Then, the reference point RP of the workpiece W, the position of which in the machining reference coordinate system has been determined, may be aligned with the machining device 102a.

[0230] In order to align the reference point RP with the processing device 102a (particularly, the processing head 1021a), the control device 104a moves the processing head 1021a based on the reference point information so that the alignment condition is satisfied that the reference point RP set on the workpiece W and the processing device 102a (particularly, the processing head 1021a) have a predetermined positional relationship.

[0231] For example, when the processing head 1021a is equipped with a cutting tool 10211a (see FIG. 36), the alignment condition may include a first condition that the cutting tool 10211a is located at the reference point RP (for example, the tip of the cutting tool 10211a contacts the reference point RP). However, when the first condition is used, it is preferable that the cutting tool 10211a is stopped in order to prevent the three-dimensional structure ST from being erroneously processed in the process of aligning the reference point RP with the processing device 102a. For example, when the processing head 1021a is equipped with an irradiation optical system 10212a (see FIG. 37), the alignment condition may include a second condition that the energy beam EB from the irradiation optical system 10212a is irradiated to the reference point RP. The alignment condition may include a second condition that the convergence position of the energy beam EB from the irradiation optical system 10212a is located at the reference point RP. However, when the second condition is used, in order to prevent the three-dimensional structure ST from being erroneously processed in the process of aligning the reference point RP with the processing device 102a, it is preferable that the intensity of the energy beam EB is low enough to prevent the three-dimensional structure ST from being processed. For example, when a probe 10213a for alignment (see FIG. 38) can be attached to the processing head 1021a, the alignment condition may include a third condition that the probe 10213a is located at the reference point RP (for example, the tip of the probe 10213a contacts the reference point RP). For example, when the processing head 1021a is equipped with an irradiation device capable of irradiating a beam for alignment, the alignment condition may include a fourth condition that the beam from the irradiation device is irradiated to the reference point RP. The alignment condition may include a fourth condition that the convergence position of the beam from the irradiation device is located at the reference point RP.

[0232] The control device 104a may move the machining head 1021a based on the reference point information so that the alignment condition is satisfied. Specifically, the reference point information indicates the position on the workpiece W where the reference point RP is set, as described above. Therefore, the control device 104a may identify the reference point RP set on the workpiece W based on the reference point information, and move the machining head 1021a so that the alignment condition that the identified reference point RP and the machining device 102a have a predetermined positional relationship is satisfied. Alternatively, when the reference point RP set on the workpiece W is information known to the user of the machining unit UNTa2, the control device 104a may move the machining head 1021a based on the user's instruction input to the machining unit UNTa2 via the input device 101a so that the alignment condition that the reference point RP and the machining device 102a have a predetermined positional relationship is satisfied. In other words, the user may move the machining head 1021a so that the alignment condition is satisfied.

[0233] Thereafter, the control device 104a controls the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the result of the alignment between the reference point RP and the processing head 1021a (step S24). Specifically, the control device 104a specifies the position of the processing head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied based on the measurement result of the position measurement device 1023a. That is, the control device 104a specifies the position of the processing head 1021a when the reference point RP and the processing head 1021a are aligned so that the alignment condition is satisfied. Thereafter, the control device 104a specifies the position of the reference point RP in the processing reference coordinate system based on the position of the processing head 1021a in the processing reference coordinate system when the alignment condition is satisfied.

[0234] For example, when the first condition that the cutting tool 10211a is located at the reference point RP (for example, the tip of the cutting tool 10211a contacts the reference point RP) is used as the alignment condition, the control device 104a can specify the position of the cutting tool 10211a (for example, the position of the cutting tool 10211a) when the alignment condition is satisfied based on the position of the machining head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied. This is because the cutting tool 10211a is attached to the machining head 1021a, and the cutting tool 10211a and the machining head 1021a usually have a specific positional relationship known to the control device 104a. In addition, the position of the cutting tool 10211a when the alignment condition is satisfied can be considered to be equivalent to the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system. This is because the cutting tool 10211a is located at the reference point RP at the time when the alignment condition is satisfied. Therefore, the control device 104a may specify the position of the cutting tool 10211a when the alignment condition is satisfied as the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system based on the position of the machining head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied. At this time, the tool diameter correction of the cutting tool 1021a may be performed. Similarly, when a third condition that the probe 10213a is located at the reference point RP (for example, the tip of the probe 10213a contacts the reference point RP) is used as the alignment condition, the control device 104a may specify the position of the probe 10213a when the alignment condition is satisfied as the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system based on the position of the machining head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied.

[0235] For example, when the third condition that the energy beam EB from the irradiation optical system 10212a is irradiated to the reference point RP is used as the alignment condition, the control device 104a can specify the irradiation position of the energy beam EB when the alignment condition is satisfied based on the position of the machining head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied. This is because the irradiation position of the energy beam EB and the machining head 1021a usually have a specific positional relationship known to the control device 104a because the irradiation optical system 10212a is attached to the machining head 1021a. In addition, the irradiation position of the energy beam EB when the alignment condition is satisfied can be considered to be equivalent to the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system. This is because the energy beam EB is irradiated to the reference point RP at the time when the alignment condition is satisfied. Therefore, the control device 104a may specify the irradiation position of the energy beam EB when the alignment condition is satisfied as the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system based on the position of the machining head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied. Similarly, when the fourth condition, that the beam from the irradiation device is irradiated to the reference point RP, is used as the alignment condition, the control device 104a may identify the irradiation position of the beam when the alignment condition is satisfied as the position of the reference point RP within the processing reference coordinate system based on the position of the processing head 1021a when the alignment condition is satisfied.

[0236] Alternatively, instead of specifying the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system, the control device 104a may control the machining device 102a to machine the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the machining head 1021a in the machining reference coordinate system when the alignment condition is satisfied (step S24). This is because the position of the machining head 1021a in the machining reference coordinate system when the alignment condition is satisfied typically corresponds to the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system. For this reason, the operation of machining the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the machining head 1021a in the machining reference coordinate system when the alignment condition is satisfied may be considered to be substantially equivalent to the operation of machining the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system.

[0237] Thereafter, the control device 104a controls the processing device 102a based on the reference point information so as to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the position of the reference point RP in the processing reference coordinate system (step S24). Specifically, as described above, the reference point information indicates the formation position of the three-dimensional structure ST starting from the reference point RP. Therefore, the control device 104a can specify the relative position of the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST in the processing reference coordinate system based on the position of the reference point RP in the processing reference coordinate system and the reference point information. In other words, the control device 104a can specify the position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the processing reference coordinate system.

[0238] For example, Fig. 48(a) and Fig. 48(b) are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, showing an example of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST supported by the stage 1031a. As shown in Fig. 48(a) and Fig. 48(b), the control device 104a can specify how far each side (e.g., the +X side, the -X side, the +Y side, and the -Y side) of the prismatic three-dimensional structure ST is located from the reference point RP set at the corner of the workpiece W, based on the reference point information. In the example shown in Fig. 48(b), the control device 104a can specify, based on the reference point information, that the +X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d11 from the reference point RP, the -X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d12 from the reference point RP, the +Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d13 from the reference point RP, and the -Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d14 from the reference point RP. Alternatively, when the workpiece W is measured using the probe 10213a or the like as described above, as shown in Fig. 48(c), the control device 104a can specify how far each side of the prismatic three-dimensional structure ST is located from each side of the workpiece W based on the reference point information and the measurement result of the workpiece W. In the example shown in FIG. 48(b), the control device 104a can determine, based on the reference point information, that the +X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d21 from the +X side of the workpiece W, the -X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d22 from the -X side of the workpiece W, the +Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d23 from the +Y side of the workpiece W, and the -Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d24 from the -Y side of the workpiece W.

[0239] For example, FIG. 49(a) and FIG. 49(b) are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, showing another example of the three-dimensional structure ST of the workpiece W supported by the stage 1031a. As shown in FIG. 49(a) and FIG. 49(b), even if the reference point RP is hidden by the three-dimensional structure ST, the control device 104a can specify how far each side of the prismatic three-dimensional structure ST is located from the reference point RP set near the center of the workpiece W based on the reference point information. In the example shown in FIG. 49(b), the control device 104a can specify that the +X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d31 away from the reference point RP, the -X side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d32 away from the reference point RP, the +Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d33 away from the reference point RP, and the -Y side of the three-dimensional structure ST is located at a distance d34 away from the reference point RP based on the reference point information.

[0240] As a result, the control device 104a can specify in which direction and to what extent the machining head 1021a should be moved with reference to the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system in order to properly machine the three-dimensional structure ST. The control device 104a can specify the movement trajectory (so-called tool path) of the machining head 1021a with reference to the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system. Therefore, the machining device 2 can properly machine the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0241] However, the control device 104a may not be able to specify the shapes of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST with high accuracy by only referring to the position of the reference point RP and the reference point information in the machining reference coordinate system. For this reason, in the second embodiment, workpiece shape information regarding the shape of the workpiece W and printing shape information regarding the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST may be input from the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 to the input device 101a of the machining unit UNTa2 in a state in which they are associated with the reference point information. In this case, the control device 104a can specify where the three-dimensional structure ST, whose shape can be specified with relatively high accuracy based on the printing shape information, is located in the machining reference coordinate system, based on the position of the reference point RP and the reference point information in the machining reference coordinate system, relative to the workpiece W, whose shape can be specified with relatively high accuracy based on the workpiece shape information (particularly, relative to the reference point RP on the workpiece W). In this case, the workpiece shape information and the printing shape data may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the machining unit UNTa2 in a state in which they are associated with each other. "Work information and modeling information that are associated with each other" may mean work information and modeling information in a state in which the positional relationship between the work model WM (work W) and the modeling model PM (three-dimensional structure ST) can be identified.

[0242] Alternatively, in addition to or instead of the workpiece shape information and the modeling shape information, measurement information on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 included in the modeling unit UNTa1 may be input from the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 to the input device 101a of the machining unit UNTa2 in a state associated with the reference point information. Specifically, for example, measurement information on the measurement result of the workpiece W using the measuring device 8 (particularly, measurement shape information on the shape of the workpiece W) may be input to the machining unit UNTa2. For example, measurement information on the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST using the measuring device 8 (particularly, measurement shape information on the shape of the three-dimensional structure ST) may be input to the machining unit UNTa2. In this case, the control device 104a can specify where the three-dimensional structure ST, whose shape can be specified with a relatively high degree of accuracy based on the measurement shape information, is located with respect to the workpiece W, whose shape can be specified with a relatively high degree of accuracy based on the measurement shape information, based on the position of the reference point RP in the machining reference coordinate system and the reference point information. In this case, the measurement information may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 in a state in which the measurement result of the workpiece W and the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST are associated with each other. Note that "measurement information in a state in which the measurement result of the workpiece W and the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST are associated with each other" may mean measurement information in a state in which the positional relationship between the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST can be specified. Note that the measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W before the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., before starting the modeling operation). The measuring device 8 may measure at least one of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST at a desired timing during the period in which the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST. The measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST after the modeling unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST (i.e., after completing the modeling operation).

[0243] (4-3) Technical Effects of the Machining System SYSa of the Second Embodiment The processing system SYSa of the second embodiment includes a modeling unit UNTa1 that is different from the processing system SYS of the first embodiment described above in that the processing system SYSa of the second embodiment further includes an output device 93a. Therefore, the processing system SYSa of the second embodiment can enjoy the same effects as those that the processing system SYS of the first embodiment described above can enjoy.

[0244] Furthermore, in the processing system SYSa of the second embodiment, the processing unit UNTa2 can process the three-dimensional structure ST based on reference point information regarding the reference point RP that was used as a reference when the modeling unit UNTa1 performed the modeling operation. Specifically, the processing unit UNTa2 can process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point RP that was used as a reference when the modeling unit UNTa1 performed the modeling operation. As a result, it becomes easier to position the processing head 1021a compared to a case where the reference point information is not used (i.e., a case where the three-dimensional structure ST is processed based on a point unrelated to the reference point RP that was used as a reference when the modeling unit UNTa1 performed the modeling operation).

[0245] Specifically, since the modeling unit UNTa1 and the processing unit UNTa2 are separate devices, the modeling reference coordinate system and the processing reference coordinate system do not necessarily coincide with each other. Therefore, even if the position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the modeling reference coordinate system is known information, the position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the processing reference coordinate system is not necessarily known information. Therefore, in order for the processing unit UNTa2 to process the three-dimensional structure ST, it is necessary to position the processing head 1021a described above (more specifically, to align the three-dimensional structure ST, which is the processing target, with the processing head 1021a). Here, if the reference point information is not used, the processing unit UNTa2 may need to align, for example, multiple feature points of the three-dimensional structure ST with the processing head 1021a in order to position the processing head 1021a. For example, the machining unit UNTa2 may need to align the end of the three-dimensional structure ST on the +X side with the machining head 1021a, align the end of the three-dimensional structure ST on the -X side with the machining head 1021a, and then identify the center position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the X-axis direction. For example, the machining unit UNTa2 may need to align the end of the three-dimensional structure ST on the +Y side with the machining head 1021a, align the end of the three-dimensional structure ST on the -Y side with the machining head 1021a, and then identify the center position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the Y-axis direction. For example, the machining unit UNTa2 may need to perform other necessary operations. Therefore, the machining cost of the three-dimensional structure ST (for example, at least one of the time cost and the financial cost) may be relatively large.

[0246] However, in the second embodiment, it is sufficient for the machining unit UNTa2 to align the workpiece W (particularly, the reference point RP on the workpiece W) with the machining head 1021a in order to position the machining head 1021a. The machining unit UNTa2 does not need to align the three-dimensional structure ST with the machining head 1021a in order to position the machining head 1021a. This is because the shaping unit UNTa1 forms the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point RP, and therefore the machining unit UNTa2 can easily specify where the three-dimensional structure ST, which is the object to be machined, is located relative to the reference point RP of the workpiece W by referring to the reference point information regarding the reference point RP. Therefore, in the second embodiment using the reference point information, the machining cost of the three-dimensional structure ST can be reduced compared to the case where the reference point information is not used.

[0247] In addition, since the reference point RP is set on the workpiece W integrated with the three-dimensional structure ST, the relative position between the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST does not change even if the three-dimensional structure ST is transported from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2. In other words, the relative position between the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST when the workpiece W is placed on the stage 31 of the modeling unit UNTa1 is the same as the relative position between the reference point RP and the three-dimensional structure ST when the workpiece W is placed on the stage 1031a of the processing unit UNTa2. For this reason, even if the three-dimensional structure ST is transported from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2, the processing unit UNTa2 can appropriately process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point RP that was used as a reference when the modeling unit UNTa1 performed the modeling operation.

[0248] (4-4) Modifications that can be adopted in the second embodiment Next, modified examples that can be adopted in the second embodiment will be described.

[0249] (4-4-1) First modified example When the modeling accuracy of the modeling unit UNTa1 is relatively poor, the three-dimensional structure ST may be formed at a position deviated (i.e., away) from the ideal position indicated by the modeling information. That is, a modeling error of the three-dimensional structure ST (typically, a positional deviation or a shape deviation from a design value) may occur. Specifically, FIG. 50 is a plan view showing a three-dimensional structure ST formed on a workpiece W by the modeling unit UNTa1 having a relatively poor modeling accuracy when the reference point RP shown in FIG. 45 is set. As shown in FIG. 50, when the modeling accuracy of the modeling unit UNTa1 is relatively poor, the three-dimensional structure ST should be formed at a position xx [mm] away from the reference point RP of the workpiece W along the X-axis direction and yy [mm] away from the reference point RP of the workpiece W along the Y-axis direction. However, the three-dimensional structure ST may be formed at a position xx' [mm] different from xx [mm] along the X-axis direction and yy' [mm] different from yy [mm] along the Y-axis direction. Alternatively, although not shown for ease of explanation, even though a three-dimensional structure ST should originally be formed with a size s [mm] along a certain direction (e.g., at least one of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction), it is possible that a three-dimensional structure ST is actually formed with a size s' [mm] along that direction that is different from s [mm].

[0250] On the other hand, the reference point information output from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 does not include information regarding such a modeling error of the three-dimensional structure ST. Therefore, the processing unit UNTa2 cannot determine whether or not a modeling error has occurred in the three-dimensional structure ST. Therefore, there is a possibility that the processing unit UNTa2 will not be able to properly process the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0251] Therefore, in the first modified example, the modeling unit UNTa1 may perform an operation for reducing the influence caused by the modeling error of the three-dimensional structure ST. Specifically, the modeling unit UNTa1 may measure the actually formed three-dimensional structure ST using the measuring device 8 after forming the three-dimensional structure ST. When the measurement result of the measuring device 8 indicates that the three-dimensional structure ST is measured at the ideal position indicated by the modeling information, it is estimated that no modeling error has occurred in the three-dimensional structure ST. On the other hand, when the measurement result of the measuring device 8 indicates that the three-dimensional structure ST is measured at a position shifted from the ideal position indicated by the modeling information, it is estimated that a modeling error has occurred in the three-dimensional structure ST. In this case, the processing unit UNTa2 may process the three-dimensional structure ST so as to reduce the influence caused by the modeling error of the three-dimensional structure ST.

[0252] As an example, the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 may output the measurement result of the measuring device 8 to the processing unit UNTa2. The processing unit UNTa2 may process the three-dimensional structure ST so as to reduce the influence caused by the modeling error of the three-dimensional structure ST based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8. For example, the control device 104a of the processing unit UNTa2 may correct the reference point information in which the modeling error is not reflected based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8, and generate the reference point information in which the modeling error is reflected. The reference point information in which the modeling error is reflected may indicate the relative position between the reference point RP and the actual three-dimensional structure ST (for example, the three-dimensional structure ST formed at a position shifted from the ideal position indicated by the modeling information). Thereafter, the control device 104a may control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information in which the modeling error is reflected. Alternatively, for example, the control device 104a may control the processing device 102a so as to reduce the influence of the modeling error (for example, so as to suppress deterioration of processing accuracy caused by the modeling error) based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 and the reference point information in which the modeling error is not reflected. Specifically, for example, the control device 104a may specify the actual position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the reference coordinate system based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8 and the reference point information in which the modeling error is not reflected, and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST in the specified actual position (i.e., the position in which the modeling error is reflected).

[0253] As another example, the control device 7 of the modeling unit UNTa1 may correct the reference point information in which the modeling error is not reflected, based on the measurement result of the measuring device 8, and generate reference point information in which the modeling error is reflected. After that, the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 may output the reference point information in which the modeling error is reflected to the machining unit UNTa2. In this case, the machining unit UNTa2 may machine the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information output from the modeling unit UNTa1.

[0254] (4-4-2) Second Modification In the above description, the reference point information is output from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2. However, a user of the modeling unit UNTa1 and / or the processing unit UNTa2 may manually input the reference point information to the processing unit UNTa2. That is, a user of the modeling unit UNTa1 and / or the processing unit UNTa2 may input the reference point information to the processing unit UNTa2 using an input device 101a such as a keyboard. That is, as a route for acquiring the reference point information by the processing unit UNTa2, in addition to or instead of a route for acquiring the reference point information from the modeling unit UNTa1, a route for acquiring the reference point information from the user may exist. In this case, the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 may not output the reference point information to the processing unit UNTa2. The modeling unit UNTa1 may not be provided with the output device 93a.

[0255] (4-4-3) Third Modification In the above description, the reference point information is input from the modeling unit UNTa1 and / or the user to the processing unit UNTa2. However, in addition to or instead of the reference point information, information different from the reference point information may be input to the processing unit UNTa2 via the input device 101a, and the processing unit UNTa2 may process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the input information. In other words, the control device 104a of the processing unit UNTa2 may control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on information different from the reference point information.

[0256] For example, the control device 104a may generate reference point information based on information different from the reference point information, and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the generated reference point information. For example, the control device 104a may control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on information different from the reference point information, without generating reference point information. In this case, the control device 104a may specify the position of the three-dimensional structure ST in the processing reference coordinate system based on information different from the reference point information (and further, other characteristics such as the shape, if necessary), and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on information related to the specified position.

[0257] Examples of information different from the reference point information include work information and modeling information. That is, the work information and modeling information may be input from the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2. At this time, the work information and the modeling information may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 in a state in which they are associated with each other. For example, the work information and the modeling information may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 in a state in which the work shape information included in the work information (i.e., information on the three-dimensional shape of the work model WM, and essentially information on the three-dimensional shape of the work W) and the modeling shape information included in the modeling information (i.e., information on the three-dimensional shape of the modeling model PM, and essentially information on the three-dimensional shape of the three-dimensional structure ST) are associated with each other. For example, the work information and the modeling information may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 in a state in which the work position information included in the work information (i.e., information on the position of the work model WM, and essentially information on the position of the work W) and the modeling position information included in the modeling information (i.e., information on the position of the modeling model PM, and essentially information on the position of the three-dimensional structure ST) are associated with each other. Note that "work information and modeling information in a state in which they are associated with each other" may mean work information and modeling information in a state in which the positional relationship between the work model WM (work W) and the modeling model PM (three-dimensional structure ST) can be specified.

[0258] Another example of information different from the reference point information is measurement information related to the measurement result of the measuring device 8 included in the modeling unit UNTa1. That is, the measurement information may be input from the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the modeling unit UNTa1 may measure the workpiece W using the measuring device 8 before forming the three-dimensional structure ST, and measurement information related to the measurement result of the measuring device 8 before forming the three-dimensional structure ST may be input to the processing unit UNTa2 via the input device 101a. For example, the modeling unit UNTa1 may measure at least one of the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST using the measuring device 8 at a desired timing during the period in which the three-dimensional structure ST is formed, and measurement information related to the measurement result of the measuring device 8 at a desired timing during the period in which the three-dimensional structure ST is formed may be input to the processing unit UNTa2 via the input device 101a. For example, the modeling unit UNTa1 may measure the workpiece W and the three-dimensional structure ST using the measuring device 8 after forming the three-dimensional structure ST, and measurement information regarding the measurement result of the measuring device 8 after forming the three-dimensional structure ST may be input to the processing unit UNTa2 via the input device 101a. At this time, the measurement information may be input from the modeling unit UNTa1 to the processing unit UNTa2 in a state in which the measurement result of the workpiece W included in the measurement information and the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST included in the measurement information are associated with each other. Note that "measurement information in which the measurement result of the workpiece W and the measurement result of the three-dimensional structure ST are associated with each other" may mean measurement information in a state in which the positional relationship between the workpiece model WM (workpiece W) and the modeling model PM (three-dimensional structure ST) can be specified.

[0259] Alternatively, the processing unit UNTa2 may include a measuring device for measuring the three-dimensional structure ST, and may generate the reference point information based on the measurement results of the measuring device included in the processing unit UNTa2 (i.e., the measurement results of the three-dimensional structure ST). The processing unit UNTa2 may process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the measurement results of the measuring device included in the processing unit UNTa2 (i.e., the measurement results of the three-dimensional structure ST). The measuring device included in the processing unit UNTa2 may have a structure similar to that of the measuring device 8 included in the modeling unit UNTa1.

[0260] (4-4-4) Fourth Modification In the above description, the modeling unit UNTa1 and the processing unit UNTa2 are respectively equipped with the control device 7 and the control device 104a. That is, the processing system SYSa is equipped with the control device 7 and the control device 104a that control the modeling unit UNTa1 and the processing unit UNTa2, respectively. However, the processing system SYSa may be equipped with a common control device 7a that controls the modeling unit UNTa1 and the processing unit UNTa2 in addition to or instead of the control device 7 and the control device 104a. That is, the processing system SYSa may be equipped with the modeling unit UNTa1 that may not be equipped with the control device 7, the processing unit UNTa2 that may not be equipped with the control device 104a, the conveying device 10a, and the control device 7a. Note that FIG. 51 is a system configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the processing system SYSa equipped with a common control device 7a that controls the modeling unit UNTa1 and the processing unit UNTa2. FIG. 51 shows an example in which the modeling unit UNTa1 is not equipped with the control device 7, but the modeling unit UNTa1 may be equipped with the control device 7. 51 shows an example in which the machining unit UNTa2 is not provided with the control device 104a, but the machining unit UNTa2 may be provided with the control device 104a. Hereinafter, the machining system SYSa provided with the control device 7a will be referred to as the "machining system SYSa1".

[0261] In this case, the control device 7a may perform at least a part of the operations performed by the control device 7 and the control device 104a. In addition, when the processing system SYSa1 includes the control device 7a, the reference point information does not necessarily need to be input from the output device 93a of the modeling unit UNTa1 to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the control device 7a may set a reference point RP in the modeling operation, and control the processing device 102a based on the reference point information related to the set reference point RP in the processing operation. For example, the control device 7a may control the modeling device 2 to form a three-dimensional structure ST based on the work information and the modeling information, generate reference point information based on the work information and the modeling information, and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the reference point information. For example, the control device 7a may acquire reference point information related to the reference point RP generated by the control device 7 of the modeling unit UNTa1 in the modeling operation, and input the acquired reference point information to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the control device 7a may acquire work information and modeling information used by the control device 7 of the modeling unit UNTa1 in the modeling operation, and input the acquired work information and modeling information to the input device 101a of the processing unit UNTa2. For example, the control device 7a may acquire reference point information regarding the reference point RP generated by the control device 7 of the modeling unit UNTa1 in the modeling operation, and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the acquired reference point information. For example, the control device 7a may acquire work information and modeling information used by the control device 7 of the modeling unit UNTa1 in the modeling operation, generate reference point information based on the acquired work information and modeling information, and control the processing device 102a to process the three-dimensional structure ST based on the generated reference point information. Note that the processing system SYSa1 does not need to include the conveying device 10a. Also, the control device 7 may be provided outside the processing system SYSa1.

[0262] (4-4-5) Fifth Modification In the above description, the stage 31 of the modeling unit UNTa1 supports only the workpiece W. However, the stage 31 may support the workpiece W via an object other than the workpiece W. In this case, the measuring device 8 of the modeling unit UNTa1 may measure the workpiece W together with the object other than the workpiece W.

[0263] For example, FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing an example of the stage 31 supporting the workpiece W via an object different from the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 52, the stage 31 may support the workpiece W via, for example, a fixing jig (for example, a vice) 36a for fixing the workpiece W. That is, the stage 31 may support the fixing jig 36a, and the workpiece W may be fixed to the fixing jig 36a supported by the stage 31. Note that the fixing jig 36a may be a device for fixing the workpiece W so that the three-dimensional structure ST does not shift relative to the stage 1031a during processing of the three-dimensional structure ST by the processing unit UNTa2, for example. In this case, in the coordinate matching operation and the workpiece model alignment operation, the measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a. That is, the measuring device 8 may measure the workpiece W together with the fixing jig 36a. Furthermore, since the relative position between the fixing jig 36a and the three-dimensional structure ST hardly changes as long as the fixing jig 36a fixes the workpiece W, the control device 104a may set a reference point RP on the fixing jig 36a. Furthermore, in the modeling operation, the processing device 2 may form the three-dimensional structure ST on the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a. Note that Fig. 53 is a perspective view showing the three-dimensional structure ST formed on the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a.

[0264] Furthermore, when the workpiece W is fixed to the fixing jig 36a, the transport device 10a may transport the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a. The transport device 10a may transport the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a together with the fixing jig 36a. In other words, when the stage 31 supports the workpiece W via an object other than the workpiece W, the transport device 10a may transport the workpiece W together with the object other than the workpiece W.

[0265] Furthermore, the stage 1031a of the machining unit UNTa2 may also support the workpiece W via a fixing jig 36a for fixing the workpiece W. That is, the stage 1031a may support the fixing jig 36a, and the workpiece W may be fixed to the fixing jig 36a supported by the stage 1031a. Note that FIG. 54 is a perspective view showing the stage 1031a supporting the workpiece W fixed to the fixing jig 36a. That is, when the stage 31 supports the workpiece W via an object other than the workpiece W, the stage 1031a may support the workpiece W via an object other than the workpiece W.

[0266] The fixing jig 36a may be fixed to the stage 1031a. As a result, displacement of the three-dimensional structure ST relative to the stage 1031a during processing of the three-dimensional structure ST by the processing unit UNTa2 is suppressed. For example, as shown in Fig. 54, the fixing jig 36a may be screwed to the stage 1031a via a screw hole 361a formed in the fixing jig 36a and a groove (e.g., a T-groove) formed in the stage 1031a.

[0267] In addition, the stage 31 may support a plurality of workpieces W fixed to a plurality of fixing jigs 36a, respectively. That is, the stage 31 may support a plurality of workpieces W via a plurality of fixing jigs 36a, respectively. In this case, the above-mentioned workpiece model alignment operation is performed for each of the plurality of workpieces W. For example, when the stage 31 supports N (where N is an integer of 2 or more) workpieces W, the workpiece model alignment operation is performed for the first workpiece W to generate workpiece information on the first workpiece W, the workpiece model alignment operation is performed for the second workpiece W to generate workpiece information on the second workpiece W, ..., the workpiece model alignment operation is performed for the Nth workpiece W to generate workpiece information on the Nth workpiece W. However, when two or more workpieces W are included in the measurement range of the measuring device 8, the measurement by the measuring device 8 for the workpiece model alignment operation may be performed collectively for two or more workpieces W. In addition, when the measuring device 8 forms the three-dimensional structure ST after the three-dimensional structure ST is formed, the measuring device 8 may measure the multiple three-dimensional structures ST formed on the multiple workpieces W respectively together with the multiple workpieces W, either collectively or sequentially.

[0268] The stage 31 may support a plurality of workpieces W without using the fixing jig 36a. In this case, the above-described workpiece model alignment operation may be performed for each of the plurality of workpieces W.

[0269] (5) Variations Next, modified examples that can be adopted in each of the first and second embodiments will be described.

[0270] (5-1) Modifications of the stage drive system 32 As shown in FIG. 55 showing another example of the system configuration of the processing system SYS of the first embodiment (that is, another example of the system configuration of the modeling unit UNTa1 of the second embodiment), the stage device 3 may include a stage drive system 32 for moving the stage 31. The stage drive system 32 may move the stage 31, for example, in the chamber space 63IN. The stage drive system 32 may move the stage 31 along at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. When the stage 31 moves along at least one of the X-axis and the Y-axis, each of the irradiation area EA and the supply area MA moves on the workpiece W along at least one of the X-axis and the Y-axis. Furthermore, the stage drive system 32 may move the stage 31 along at least one of the θX direction, the θY direction, and the θZ direction in addition to at least one of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. The stage drive system 32 includes, for example, a motor, etc.

[0271] In the case where the processing system SYS includes a stage drive system 32, the stage device 3 may further include a position measurement device 33. The position measurement device 33 is capable of measuring the position of the stage 31. The position measurement device 33 may include, for example, at least one of an encoder and a laser interferometer.

[0272] When the processing system SYS includes the stage drive system 32, the modeling apparatus 2 does not need to include the head drive system 22. However, even when the processing system SYS includes the stage drive system 32, the modeling apparatus 2 may include the head drive system 22. When the modeling apparatus 2 does not include the head drive system 22, the modeling apparatus 2 does not need to include the position measurement device 23.

[0273] When the processing system SYS includes the stage drive system 32, in step S112 in FIG. 4, which shows the flow of the coordinate matching operation for associating the above-mentioned object-forming coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, the stage drive system 32 may move the stage 31 so that the processing light EL is irradiated toward the beam detector 325. Furthermore, in step S113 in FIG. 4, the control device 7 may correct the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system, which is information known to the control device 7, according to the amount of movement of the stage 31, and then specify that the position in the object-forming coordinate system of the object-forming head 21, which is in a state in which the pin 312 can be irradiated with the processing light EL, and the position in the stage coordinate system where the pin 312 is formed are positions to be associated with each other. However, when the processing system SYS does not include the head drive system 22 (i.e., the object-forming head 21 does not move), the object-forming coordinate system does not need to be used, and in this case, the processes of steps S111 to S113 in FIG. 4, which show the flow of the coordinate matching operation for associating the object-forming coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, do not need to be performed.

[0274] In the case where the processing system SYS includes the stage drive system 32, in step S115 in FIG. 4, which shows the flow of the coordinate matching operation for associating the above-mentioned measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, the position measurement device 33 may measure the position of the stage 31 when the measurement device 8 measures the reference member 34. Furthermore, in step S116 in FIG. 4, the control device 7 may associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the measurement result of the measurement device 8 in step S115 and the measurement result of the position of the stage 31 when the measurement device 8 measures the reference member 34 in step S115. Specifically, the control device 7 can specify the position of the reference mark 343 in the measurement coordinate system from the measurement result of the measurement device 8. Furthermore, as described above, information regarding the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the through hole 322 (i.e., the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the pin 312) is known to the control device 7. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify the positions of the through hole 322 and the pin 312 in the measurement coordinate system based on information about the position of the reference mark 343 in the measurement coordinate system and information about the positional relationship between the reference mark 343 and the through hole 322. Furthermore, as described above, information about the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system is known to the control device 7. As a result, the control device 7 can specify that the position of the pin 312 in the measurement coordinate system and the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. However, when the stage 31 is moved by the stage drive system 32, the position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system is corrected by the amount of movement of the stage 31 by the stage drive system 32. In this case, the control device 7 can specify that the position of the pin 312 in the measurement coordinate system and the corrected position of the pin 312 in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other. As a result, the control device 7 can associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system based on the identification result that a certain position in the measurement coordinate system and a certain position in the stage coordinate system are positions that should be associated with each other.

[0275] In the case where the processing system SYS includes the stage driving system 32, in step S144 in FIG. 17 showing the flow of the third workpiece model alignment operation, the stage driving system 32 may move the stage 31 so as to satisfy a position condition that the user-specified point and the molding device 2 have a desired third positional relationship, which is specified in step S143 in FIG. 17. Furthermore, in step S145 in FIG. 17, after the stage 31 moves so as to satisfy the position condition that the user-specified point and the molding device 2 have a desired third positional relationship, the position measuring device 33 may measure the position of the stage 31 at the time when the position condition is satisfied. Furthermore, in step S148 in FIG. 17, the control device 7 may generate workpiece information based on the measurement result of the position measuring device 23 and / or 33 in step S145 in FIG. 17 and the workpiece model data acquired in step S142. Specifically, the measurement result of the position measuring device 23 and / or 33 in step S145 indicates the position of the modeling head 21 and / or the stage 31 when the user-specified point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship. Therefore, the control device 7 can specify the position of the user-specified point in the modeling coordinate system and / or the position of the user-specified point in the stage coordinate system from the measurement result of the position measuring device 23 and / or 33. This is because, since the user-specified point and the modeling device 2 have the desired third positional relationship, the user-specified point and the modeling head 21 and / or the stage 31 on which the workpiece W is placed also naturally have a certain positional relationship that can be specified from information on the third positional relationship, which is information known to the control device 7. Thereafter, the control device 7 may perform a positioning process to place the workpiece model specified point, which is a point of the workpiece model WM corresponding to the user-specified point, at the position of the user-specified point specified from the measurement result of the position measuring device 23 and / or 33. Thereafter, the control device 7 may generate workpiece information based on the result of the positioning process.

[0276] (5-2) Modifications regarding coordinate matching operation In the above description, the beam detection member 32 is placed on the placement surface 311 to perform the coordinate matching operation. However, the beam detection member 32 (particularly, the light blocking member 323 and the beam detector 325) may be formed on the stage 31 (e.g., the placement surface 311). Similarly, in the above description, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 to perform the coordinate matching operation. However, the reference member 34 (particularly, the reference mark 343) may be formed on the stage 31 (e.g., the placement surface 311).

[0277] In the above description, the pin 312 and the through hole 322 are used as marks for alignment when placing the beam detecting member 32 on the placing surface 311. However, the pin 312 and the through hole 322 are merely one example of marks for alignment, and marks other than the pin 312 and the through hole 322 may be used. For example, a convex structure as one example of a mark may be formed on the placing surface 311, a concave structure as one example of a mark may be formed on the beam detecting member 32, and the beam detecting member 32 may be placed on the placing surface 311 so that the convex structure fits into the concave structure, thereby aligning the beam detecting member 32 and the placing surface 311. For example, a concave structure as an example of a mark may be formed on the mounting surface 311, a convex structure as an example of a mark may be formed on the beam detecting member 32, and the beam detecting member 32 may be placed on the mounting surface 311 so that the convex structure fits into the concave structure, thereby aligning the beam detecting member 32 with the mounting surface 311. For example, a guide member having a shape along at least a part of the outer edge of the beam detecting member 32 may be formed on the mounting surface 311 as a mark, and the beam detecting member 32 may be placed on the mounting surface 311 so that the outer edge of the beam detecting member 32 comes into contact with the guide member, thereby aligning the beam detecting member 32 with the mounting surface 311. The same applies to marks for alignment when placing the reference member 34 on the mounting surface 311.

[0278] In the above description, in order to associate the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system, a reference member 34 different from the beam detection member 32 for associating the modeling coordinate system with the stage coordinate system is used. However, the beam detection member 32 may be used as the reference member 34 for associating the measurement coordinate system with the stage coordinate system. In this case, for example, at least one of the light blocking member 323, the opening 324, and the beam detector 325 formed in the beam detection member 32 may be used as the reference mark 343. Alternatively, the reference mark 343 may be formed on the base member 321 of the beam detection member 32.

[0279] In the above description, a mark that can be measured by the measurement device 8 is formed as the reference mark 343 on the reference member 34. However, considering that the measurement device 8 can measure the shape (particularly, a three-dimensional shape) of the measurement target object, a three-dimensional member 344 having a three-dimensional structure may be formed on the reference member 34 as a substitute for the reference mark 343, as shown in FIG. 52(a) which is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the reference member 34 and FIG. 52(b) which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 52(a). For example, FIG. 52(a) and FIG. 52(b) show an example in which at least a part of a sphere (specifically, a hemisphere) is formed on the reference member 34 as the three-dimensional member 344. The three-dimensional member 344 may have the same characteristics as the reference mark 343, except that it has a three-dimensional structure. As a result, even when the three-dimensional member 344 is formed, the measurement coordinate system and the stage coordinate system are appropriately associated with each other.

[0280] In the above description, the beam detection member 32 is placed on the placement surface 311 to perform the coordinate matching operation. Also, in the above description, the reference member 34 is placed on the placement surface 311 to perform the coordinate matching operation. However, the coordinate matching operation may be performed without using the beam detection member 32 or the reference member 34. For example, a photosensitive / thermal member (thermal paper, for example) having a photosensitive material or a thermal material provided on its surface is placed on the stage 31 (for example, the placement surface 311), and the processing head 21 is positioned at the origin position of the processing coordinate system (head coordinate system), and the processing light EL is irradiated toward the photosensitive / thermal member by the processing device 2. As a result, a mark is exposed on the photosensitive / thermal member, and this mark becomes the processing light reference origin. Next, the intersection position of the multiple guide beams GL emitted from the multiple guide beam emitting devices 24 is matched with the position of the exposed mark on the photosensitive / thermal member. As a result, the processing coordinate system and the measurement coordinate system can be associated with each other. Instead of or in addition to using a plurality of guide beams GL, the position of the exposed mark may be measured using a measuring device 8.

[0281] (5-3) Other Modifications In the above description, the modeling apparatus 2 melts the modeling material M by irradiating the modeling material M with the processing light EL. However, the modeling apparatus 2 may melt the modeling material M by irradiating the modeling material M with an arbitrary energy beam. In this case, the modeling apparatus 2 may include a beam irradiation device capable of irradiating the arbitrary energy beam in addition to or instead of the irradiation optical system 211. The arbitrary energy beam includes, but is not limited to, a charged particle beam such as an electron beam or an ion beam, or an electromagnetic wave.

[0282] In the above description, the processing system SYS can form the three-dimensional structure ST by the laser build-up welding method. However, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST from the modeling material M by other methods capable of forming the three-dimensional structure ST by irradiating the modeling material M with the processing light EL (or any energy beam). Examples of other methods include powder bed fusion such as selective laser sintering (SLS), binder jetting, or laser metal fusion (LMF). Alternatively, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST by any method for additive processing other than the method capable of forming the three-dimensional structure ST by irradiating the modeling material M with the processing light EL (or any energy beam).

[0283] In the above description, the processing system SYS forms the three-dimensional structure ST by supplying the modeling material M from the material nozzle 212 toward the irradiation area EA where the irradiation optical system 211 irradiates the processing light EL. However, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST by supplying the modeling material M from the material nozzle 212 without irradiating the processing light EL from the irradiation optical system 211. For example, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST by spraying the modeling material M from the material nozzle 212 onto the modeling surface MS, melting the modeling material M on the modeling surface MS and solidifying the molten modeling material M. For example, the processing system SYS may form the three-dimensional structure ST by spraying a gas containing the modeling material M from the material nozzle 212 onto the modeling surface MS at an ultra-high speed, melting the modeling material M on the modeling surface MS and solidifying the molten modeling material M. For example, the processing system SYS may form a three-dimensional structure ST by spraying heated modeling material M onto the modeling surface MS from the material nozzle 212 to melt the modeling material M on the modeling surface MS and solidify the molten modeling material M. In this way, when the three-dimensional structure ST is formed without irradiating the processing light EL from the irradiation optical system 211, the processing system SYS (particularly, the modeling head 21) does not need to be equipped with the irradiation optical system 211.

[0284] Alternatively, in addition to or instead of the additional processing, the processing system SYS may perform a removal processing capable of removing at least a part of an object by irradiating an object such as a workpiece W with processing light EL (or any energy beam) in addition to or instead of the additional processing and / or the removal processing. Alternatively, in addition to or instead of the additional processing and / or the removal processing, the processing system SYS may perform a marking processing capable of forming a mark (e.g., a letter, a number, or a figure) on at least a part of the object by irradiating an object such as a workpiece W with processing light EL (or any energy beam). Even in this case, the above-mentioned effects can be obtained.

[0285] (6) Additional Notes The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment. [Appendix 1] a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding the setting position; A molding unit equipped with: [Appendix 2] The output device outputs the position information to a processing unit that performs a processing operation on the object. Attachment 1, a modeling unit. [Appendix 3] The processing unit performs the processing operation based on the position information output from the output device. Attachment 2, a modeling unit. [Appendix 4] The processing unit aligns the object with the processing unit based on the position information output from the output device, and performs the processing operation based on a result of the alignment. 4. The molding unit according to claim 2 or 3. [Appendix 5] The molding apparatus molds the object whose relative position with respect to the base member is fixed. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4. [Appendix 6] The molding device molds the object coupled to the base member. 6. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5. [Appendix 7] The position information includes information regarding a relative position between the set position and the base member. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6. [Appendix 8] The position information includes information regarding a relative position between the setting position and the object. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7. [Appendix 9] a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relative position between the set position and the object; A molding unit equipped with [Appendix 10] a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relationship between the setting position and the position of the object; A molding unit equipped with [Appendix 11] The modeling apparatus models the object on the base member based on modeling data, The output device outputs the shaping data associated with the set position as the position information. A molding unit according to any one of claims 8 to 10. [Appendix 12] The modeling data includes data that defines the content of a modeling operation for modeling the object. 12. The molding unit according to claim 11. [Appendix 13] The modeling data includes three-dimensional shape data of the model. 13. The molding unit according to claim 11 or 12. [Appendix 14] The method further includes a measurement device for measuring the formed object and obtaining a measurement result. The modeling unit according to any one of appendixes 8 to 13, wherein the output device outputs, as the position information, the measurement result associated with the set position. [Appendix 15] The measuring device measures a position of the base member in a reference coordinate system of the modeling unit, The output device outputs the position information regarding the set position in the reference coordinate system. 15. A molding unit as described in appendix 14. [Appendix 16] A support device for supporting the base member is further provided, The reference coordinate system includes a support position coordinate system for indicating a position on a support surface of the support device. 16. The molding unit according to claim 15. [Appendix 17] the measuring device measures a position of a portion of the base member in a reference coordinate system of the modeling unit, The output device outputs the position of the portion of the base member associated with the set position.

[0286] A molding unit according to any one of appendixes 14 to 16. [Appendix 18] The output device outputs information related to the setting position. 18. The molding unit according to claim 9 to 17. [Appendix 19] The measuring device performs non-contact measurement of the object. A molding unit according to any one of appendixes 14 to 18. [Appendix 20] The device further includes a control device for setting the set position. 20. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 19. [Appendix 21] The control device sets the set position on the base member. 19. The molding unit according to claim 19. [Appendix 22] A control device for setting a set position on the base member; a modeling device that forms a model on the base member based on the set position; A molding unit equipped with: [Appendix 23] an input device into which information for setting the setting position is input, The control device sets the setting position based on information input to the input device. 23. A molding unit according to any one of claims 20 to 22. [Appendix 24] The control device sets the setting position based on information about the base member. 24. A molding unit according to any one of claims 20 to 23. [Appendix 25] a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a control device that sets a set position on at least one of the base member and the object and controls the modeling device based on the set position; an output device that outputs first position information regarding the setting position and second position information regarding a positional relationship between the setting position and a position of the object; A molding unit equipped with: [Appendix 26] a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relationship between a set position set on at least one of the base member and the object and a position of the object; A molding unit equipped with: [Appendix 27] a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; an output device that outputs three-dimensional shape data of the base member and three-dimensional shape data of the shaped object; A molding unit equipped with: [Appendix 28] The output device outputs the three-dimensional shape data of the base member and the three-dimensional shape data of the shaped object in association with each other. 28. A molding unit as described in appendix 27. [Appendix 29] The output device outputs position information relating to a set position set on the base member. 29. The molding unit according to claim 27 or 28. [Appendix 30] The output device outputs the setting position and the three-dimensional shape data of the base member in association with each other. 29. A molding unit as described in appended claim 29. [Appendix 31] The output device outputs the setting position and the three-dimensional shape data of the object in association with each other. 31. The molding unit according to claim 29 or 30. [Appendix 32] a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a measuring device for acquiring three-dimensional information of the base member and the object; and an output device that outputs the measurement results obtained by the measuring device; A molding unit equipped with [Appendix 33] The measuring device measures the base member in at least one of a period before the object is formed and a period while the object is being formed, to obtain a first measurement result, and measures the object in at least one of a period while the object is being formed and a period after the object is formed, to obtain a second measurement result. 33. The molding unit according to claim 32. [Appendix 34] The output device outputs the first measurement result and the second measurement result in association with each other. 34. The molding unit according to claim 33. [Appendix 35] a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a measuring device that measures the base member and the object; and an output device that outputs the measurement results obtained by the measuring device; Equipped with The measuring device measures the base member in at least one of a period before the object is formed and a period while the object is being formed, to obtain a first measurement result, and measures the object in at least one of a period while the object is being formed and a period after the object is formed, to obtain a second measurement result. Molding unit. [Appendix 36] The output device outputs the first measurement result and the second measurement result in association with each other. 36. The molding unit according to claim 35. [Appendix 37] The device further includes a measuring device for measuring the object. 32. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 31. [Appendix 38] The output device outputs position information relating to a set position set on the base member and a measurement result of the measuring device. 38. The molding unit according to claim 37. [Appendix 39] a control device that corrects position information related to a set position set on the base member based on a measurement result of the measurement device, The...

Claims

1. a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding the setting position; A molding unit equipped with:

2. The output device outputs the position information to a processing unit that performs a processing operation on the object. The molding unit according to claim 1 .

3. The processing unit performs the processing operation based on the position information output from the output device. The molding unit according to claim 2 .

4. The processing unit aligns the object with the processing unit based on the position information output from the output device, and performs the processing operation based on a result of the alignment. The molding unit according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The molding apparatus molds the object whose relative position with respect to the base member is fixed. The molding unit according to claim 1 .

6. The molding device molds the object coupled to the base member. The molding unit according to claim 1 .

7. The position information includes information regarding a relative position between the set position and the base member. The molding unit according to claim 1 .

8. The position information includes information regarding a relative position between the setting position and the object. The molding unit according to claim 1 .

9. a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relative position between the set position and the object; A molding unit equipped with:

10. a modeling device that forms a model on a base member based on a set position set on the base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relationship between the setting position and the position of the object; A molding unit equipped with:

11. The modeling apparatus models the object on the base member based on modeling data, The output device outputs the shaping data associated with the set position as the position information. The molding unit according to any one of claims 8 to 10.

12. The modeling data includes data that defines the content of a modeling operation for modeling the object. The molding unit according to claim 11 .

13. The modeling data includes three-dimensional shape data of the model. The molding unit according to claim 11 or 12.

14. The method further includes a measurement device for measuring the formed object and obtaining a measurement result. The modeling unit according to claim 8 , wherein the output device outputs, as the position information, the measurement result associated with the set position.

15. The measuring device measures a position of the base member in a reference coordinate system of the modeling unit, The output device outputs the position information regarding the set position in the reference coordinate system. The molding unit according to claim 14.

16. A support device for supporting the base member is further provided, The reference coordinate system includes a support position coordinate system for indicating a position on a support surface of the support device. The molding unit according to claim 15.

17. the measuring device measures a position of a portion of the base member in a reference coordinate system of the modeling unit, The output device outputs a position of the portion of the base member associated with the set position. The molding unit according to any one of claims 14 to 16.

18. The output device outputs information related to the setting position. The molding unit according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

19. The measuring device performs non-contact measurement of the object. The molding unit according to any one of claims 14 to 18.

20. The device further includes a control device for setting the set position. The molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. The control device sets the set position on the base member. The molding unit according to claim 19.

22. A control device for setting a set position on the base member; a modeling device that forms a model on the base member based on the set position; A molding unit equipped with:

23. an input device into which information for setting the setting position is input, The control device sets the setting position based on information input to the input device. The molding unit according to any one of claims 20 to 22.

24. The control device sets the setting position based on information about the base member. The molding unit according to any one of claims 20 to 23.

25. a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a control device that sets a set position on at least one of the base member and the object and controls the modeling device based on the set position; an output device that outputs first position information regarding the setting position and second position information regarding a positional relationship between the setting position and a position of the object; A molding unit equipped with:

26. a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; an output device that outputs position information regarding a relationship between a set position set on at least one of the base member and the object and a position of the object; A molding unit equipped with:

27. a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; an output device that outputs three-dimensional shape data of the base member and three-dimensional shape data of the shaped object; A molding unit equipped with:

28. The output device outputs the three-dimensional shape data of the base member and the three-dimensional shape data of the shaped object in association with each other. The molding unit according to claim 27.

29. The output device outputs information regarding a setting position set on the base member. The molding unit according to claim 27 or 28.

30. The output device outputs the setting position and the three-dimensional shape data of the base member in association with each other. The molding unit according to claim 29.

31. The output device outputs the setting position and the three-dimensional shape data of the object in association with each other. The molding unit according to claim 29 or 30.

32. a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a measuring device for acquiring three-dimensional information of the base member and the object; and an output device that outputs the measurement results obtained by the measuring device; A molding unit equipped with:

33. The measuring device measures the base member in at least one of a period before the object is formed and a period while the object is being formed, to obtain a first measurement result, and measures the object in at least one of a period while the object is being formed and a period after the object is formed, to obtain a second measurement result. The molding unit according to claim 32.

34. The output device outputs the first measurement result and the second measurement result in association with each other. The molding unit according to claim 33.

35. a molding device that molds a molded object on a base member; a measuring device that measures the base member and the object; and an output device that outputs the measurement results obtained by the measuring device; Equipped with The measuring device measures the base member in at least one of a period before the object is formed and a period while the object is being formed, to obtain a first measurement result, and measures the object in at least one of a period while the object is being formed and a period after the object is formed, to obtain a second measurement result. Molding unit.

36. The output device outputs the first measurement result and the second measurement result in association with each other. The molding unit according to claim 35.

37. The device further includes a measuring device for measuring the object. The molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

38. The output device outputs position information relating to a set position set on the base member and a measurement result of the measuring device. The molding unit according to claim 37.

39. a control device that corrects a set position set on the base member based on a measurement result of the measuring device, The output device outputs the modified position information. The molding unit according to claim 37 or 38.

40. The measuring device performs non-contact measurement of the object. A molding unit according to any one of claims 32 to 39.

41. The molding apparatus includes a supply device for supplying material to a molding position; The positional relationship between the set position set on the base member and the modeling position is a predetermined relationship. The molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

42. The modeling apparatus includes a beam irradiation device that irradiates the modeling position with an energy beam. The molding unit according to claim 41.

43. The molding device performs additional processing on the base member to mold the object. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 42.

44. The base member is provided with a mark. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

45. The position of the mark or a position having a predetermined relationship with the mark is set as a set position on the base member. The molding unit according to claim 44.

46. The characteristic point of the base member is set as a set position on the base member. A molding unit according to any one of claims 1 to 45.

47. The feature points include a boundary of the base member or a boundary of a structure on the base member. The molding unit according to claim 46.

48. The feature points include corners of the base member or corners of structures on the base member. The molding unit according to claim 43 or 44.

49. a molding device that molds a molded object including a planar surface on an upper surface of a base member having a planar side surface; a control device that controls the molding apparatus so that the side surface of the base member and the planar surface of the object are parallel to each other; A molding unit equipped with:

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