Liquefier assembly for additive manufacturing systems, and methods of use thereof
First Claim
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1. A liquefier assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, the liquefier assembly comprising:
- a thermally-conductive main body having a first end and a second end and a channel extending from the first end to the second end;
a liquefier tube disposed within the channel, and having an inlet end and an outlet end having a nozzle attached thereto, the nozzle being configured to extrude molten material there-through;
a heater assembly at least partially disposed in the channel and in contact with the liquefier tube, the heater assembly comprising a plurality of independently controllable heating zones wherein the heater assembly and configured to impart heat into the liquefier tube and the main body, wherein heat provided to the liquefier tube is sufficient to cause the material therein to become molten;
a thermal resistor disposed in the channel between the heater assembly and the main body; and
a heat sink unit coupled to the main body and configured to draw heat away from the main member.
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Abstract
A liquefier assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, which includes a rigid member having a gap, a liquefier tube operably disposed in the gap, one or more heater assemblies disposed in the gap in contact with the liquefier tube, and configured to heat the liquefier tube in a zone-by-zone manner, preferably one or more thermal resistors disposed in the gap between the rigid member and the heater assemblies, and preferably one or more sensors configured to operably measure pressure within the liquefier tube. The one or more heater assemblies may be operated to provide dynamic heat flow control.
91 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A liquefier assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, the liquefier assembly comprising:
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a thermally-conductive main body having a first end and a second end and a channel extending from the first end to the second end; a liquefier tube disposed within the channel, and having an inlet end and an outlet end having a nozzle attached thereto, the nozzle being configured to extrude molten material there-through; a heater assembly at least partially disposed in the channel and in contact with the liquefier tube, the heater assembly comprising a plurality of independently controllable heating zones wherein the heater assembly and configured to impart heat into the liquefier tube and the main body, wherein heat provided to the liquefier tube is sufficient to cause the material therein to become molten; a thermal resistor disposed in the channel between the heater assembly and the main body; and a heat sink unit coupled to the main body and configured to draw heat away from the main member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A liquefier assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, the liquefier assembly comprising:
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a ribbon liquefier tube; a pair of heater assembly having a first side and a second side, wherein the first sides of the pair heater assemblies contact opposing sides of the retained liquefier tube, wherein each heater assembly includes a plurality of independently controllable zones that are configured to be controlled utilizing a closed loop control scheme; a pair of thermal resistors in contact with the second side of each heater assembly of the plurality of heater assemblies; a main body configured to retain the pair of thermal resistors, the pair of heater assemblies, and the ribbon liquefier tube under compression, wherein the main body is also configured to conduct heat from the pair of heater assemblies through the pair of thermal resistors such that the pair of heater assemblies can impart heat into the liquefier tube to increase flow rate of a material and the main body can draw heat away from the liquefier tube to decrease flow rate of the material. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification