Systems, devices, and methods for high-throughput three-dimensional printing
First Claim
1. An extrusion system, comprising:
- an extruder;
a pre-heater in fluid communication with the extruder; and
a liquefier in fluid communication with the pre-heater,wherein the extruder is configured to advance a filament through the pre-heater and the liquefier towards a build platform,wherein the pre-heater comprises an infrared radiation source, an infrared reflector chamber next to the infrared radiation source and a transparent flow channel arranged within the infrared reflector chamber and configured to receive the filament from the extruder, the infrared radiation source and the infrared reflector chamber are configured to transmit infrared radiation to the filament as the filament is advanced by the extruder through the transparent flow channel to volumetrically raise a temperature of the filament to at least a desired pre-heat temperature in a substantially uniform manner across a volume of the filament that extends normal to a longitudinal axis of the filament, andwherein the liquefier is configured to maintain or raise the temperature of the filament that passed through the pre-heater to at least a desired melt temperature prior to the filament exiting the liquefier, towards the build platform.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Printing devices and methods are provided that utilize high throughput extrusion to generate a printer material, such as a three-dimensional object. High-throughput extrusion systems as provided volumetrically pre-heat an extruded filament to a desired pre-heat temperature, and then either maintain or heat the extruded filament to a desired melt temperature prior to having the filament extruded out of the system and onto a surface, such as a build platform. By pre-heating the filament prior to heating it to the temperature at which it is excluded, it helps increase the throughput of the system. Likewise, by doing the heating volumetrically, it further helps increase the throughput of the system. Various embodiments of devices and methods typically used for printing in conjunction with the disclosed high throughput systems are also provided.
28 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An extrusion system, comprising:
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an extruder; a pre-heater in fluid communication with the extruder; and a liquefier in fluid communication with the pre-heater, wherein the extruder is configured to advance a filament through the pre-heater and the liquefier towards a build platform, wherein the pre-heater comprises an infrared radiation source, an infrared reflector chamber next to the infrared radiation source and a transparent flow channel arranged within the infrared reflector chamber and configured to receive the filament from the extruder, the infrared radiation source and the infrared reflector chamber are configured to transmit infrared radiation to the filament as the filament is advanced by the extruder through the transparent flow channel to volumetrically raise a temperature of the filament to at least a desired pre-heat temperature in a substantially uniform manner across a volume of the filament that extends normal to a longitudinal axis of the filament, and wherein the liquefier is configured to maintain or raise the temperature of the filament that passed through the pre-heater to at least a desired melt temperature prior to the filament exiting the liquefier, towards the build platform. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An extrusion system, comprising:
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an extruder including a feed nut, the feed nut being configured to advance a filament towards a build platform by rotating about a feed axis along which the filament is fed into the feed nut, and the feed nut having one or more internal engagement features formed thereon that are configured to engage with the filament such that the feed nut applies force to the filament along the feed axis; a pre-heater in fluid communication with the extruder; and a liquefier in fluid communication with the pre-heater, wherein the pre-heater comprises an infrared radiation source, an infrared reflector chamber next to the infrared radiation source, and a transparent flow channel arranged within the infrared reflector chamber and configured to receive the filament from the extruder, the infrared radiation source and the infrared reflector chamber are configured to transmit infrared radiation to the filament as the filament is advanced by the extruder through the transparent flow channel to volumetrically raise a temperature of the filament to at least a desired pre-heat temperature in a substantially uniform manner across a volume of the filament that extends normal to a longitudinal axis of the filament, and wherein the liquefier is configured to maintain or raise the temperature of the filament that passed through the pre-heater to at least a desired melt temperature prior to the filament exiting the liquefier, towards the build platform. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification