Cutting Tool, Method for Manufacturing Molding Die, and Molding Die for Array Lens

A cutting tool comprising:

• a cutting blade;
• a shank section;
• and
• a supporting member for supporting and fixing the cutting blade, the cutting blade being fixed on one end of the supporting member, and the other end of the supporting member being fixed to the shank section,
• wherein a void formed among the shank section, the cutting blade, and the supporting member is filled with a filling agent.

A cutting tool which cuts a subject material by making a swirling revolution of a cutting blade while rotating a part of the cutting blade about a rotation center part of the cutting blade, the cutting tool comprising:

• a shank section;
• and
• a supporting member for supporting and fixing the cutting blade, the cutting blade being fixed on one end of the supporting member, and the other end of the supporting member being fixed to the shank section,
• wherein a void formed among the shank section, the cutting blade, and the supporting member is filled with a filling agent, and
• wherein the rotation center part is a part of a circular arc, and a radius r of the circular arc of the rotation center part satisfies the condition of:
• 0.05≦r≦5 μm.

A method for manufacturing a molding die by a cutting work using a cutting tool, the cutting tool comprising a cutting blade, a shank section, and a supporting member for supporting and fixing the cutting blade, the cutting blade being fixed on one end of the supporting member, and the other end of the supporting member being fixed to the shank section;

• wherein a void formed among the shank section, the cutting blade, and the supporting member is filled with a filling agent, the method comprising the steps of:
• forming a convex or concave part by applying a rough processing to a subject material to be cut;
• and
• applying a finish processing to the convex or concave part by making swirling revolution of a ball end mill while rotating the ball end mill with respect to the convex or concave part,
• wherein in the step of applying the finish processing to the convex or concave part, with respect to a first area including an area perpendicular to the optical axis of the convex or concave part, a cutting work of the finish processing is executed by inclining a rotation axis of the ball end mill against the optical axis, and with respect to a second area adjacent to the first area, the cutting work is executed by making the rotation axis of the ball end mill parallel to the optical axis.