| CPC B29C 64/277 (2017.08) [B29C 64/209 (2017.08); B29C 64/245 (2017.08); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B29C 64/112 (2017.08)] | 19 Claims |
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1. A 3D printing apparatus, comprising:
a substrate stage configured to support a substrate;
a droplet ejector comprising a plurality of droplet nozzles, each droplet nozzle in the plurality of droplet nozzles configured to discharge a photo-curable droplet on the substrate;
a first photo curing unit configured to irradiate light to a drop path along which the droplets discharged from the droplet nozzles fall, to change a viscosity of the droplets;
a second photo curing unit configured to irradiate light onto the droplets that have landed on the substrate, to cure the droplets; and
a controller configured to control an irradiation timing of light emitted from the first photo curing unit based on ejection signals of the droplets ejected from the droplet nozzles,
wherein the first photo curing unit comprises a plurality of light emission channels arranged in a vertical direction, the plurality of light emission channels comprising a first light emission channel at a first height from the substrate, a second light emission channel at a second height from the substrate, and a third light emission channel at a third height from the substrate,
the first height is greater than the second height and the second height is greater than the third height,
the controller is further configured to simultaneously control an irradiation timing of the light emitted from the first light emission channel, the second light emission channel, and the third light emission channel such that the first light emission channel irradiates a first droplet at the first height and at a first region that is a first distance from the first photo curing unit, the second light emission channel irradiates a second droplet at the second height and at a second region that is a second distance from the first photo curing unit, and the third light emission channel irradiates a third droplet at the third height and at a third region that is a third distance from the first photo curing unit, and
the first distance is less than the second distance and the second distance is less than the third distance.
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