Filament drive mechanism for use in extrusion-based digital manufacturing systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A filament drive mechanism for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the filament drive mechanism comprising:
- a rotatable component comprising an axis of rotation and a central hole aligned with the axis of rotation, the central hole being defined at least in part by an internally-threaded surface, wherein the rotatable component is configured to receive a filament strand through the central hole to engage the internally-threaded surface with the filament strand; and
at least one rotation mechanism configured to rotate the rotatable component around the axis of rotation to drive the filament strand through the central hole of the rotatable component in a direction along the axis of rotation with the engaged internally-threaded surface.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A filament drive mechanism comprising a rotatable component comprising a central hole defined at least in part by an internally-threaded surface, and is configured to receive a filament strand through the central hole to engage the internally-threaded surface with the filament strand. The filament drive mechanism further comprises at least one rotation mechanism configured to rotate the rotatable component, thereby allowing the engaged internally-threaded surface to drive the filament strand through the central hole of the rotatable component.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A filament drive mechanism for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the filament drive mechanism comprising:
-
a rotatable component comprising an axis of rotation and a central hole aligned with the axis of rotation, the central hole being defined at least in part by an internally-threaded surface, wherein the rotatable component is configured to receive a filament strand through the central hole to engage the internally-threaded surface with the filament strand; and at least one rotation mechanism configured to rotate the rotatable component around the axis of rotation to drive the filament strand through the central hole of the rotatable component in a direction along the axis of rotation with the engaged internally-threaded surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A filament drive mechanism for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the filament drive assembly comprising:
-
a support component configured to be secured to an extrusion head of the extrusion-based digital manufacturing system; a first rotatable component retained by the support component with a fixed rotational axis; a second rotatable component retained by the support component, and comprising an axis of rotation and a central hole aligned with the axis of rotation, the central hole being defined at least in part by an internally-threaded surface, wherein the second rotatable component is biased in a first direction toward the first rotatable component, the first direction being perpendicular to the axis of rotation; and a filament tube configured to receive a filament strand, wherein the filament tube extends through the central hole of the second rotatable component, and comprises a sidewall port disposed adjacent to the internally-threaded surface, and wherein the biasing of the second rotatable component in the first direction is configured to engage the internally-threaded surface with the received filament strand within the sidewall port. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method for building a three-dimensional object with a filament drive mechanism of an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the method comprising:
-
providing a rotatable component of the filament drive mechanism, the rotatable component comprising an axis of rotation and a central hole with the axis of rotation, the central hole being defined at least in part by an internally-threaded surface; providing a filament tube, wherein the internally-threaded surface is positioned around the filament tube such that the internally-threaded surface is disposed at a sidewall port of the filament tube; biasing the rotatable component in a first direction that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation to contact the internally-threaded surface with the filament tube at the sidewall port; biasing the rotatable component in a second direction that is substantially opposite of the first direction, thereby substantially aligning the internally-threaded surface with the filament tube; loading a filament strand into the filament tube such that the filament strand extends through the central hole of the rotatable component while the rotatable component is biased in the second direction; removing the bias on the rotatable component in the second direction to move the rotatable component in the first direction to engage the internally-threaded surface with the filament strand; and rotating the rotatable component to drive the filament strand through the filament tube in a direction along the axis of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification