Liquefier assembly for use in extrusion-based digital manufacturing systems
First Claim
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1. A liquefier assembly for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the liquefier comprising:
- a liquefier tube comprising;
a sidewall having a longitudinal length, and an inlet opening and an outlet opening on opposing ends of the sidewall, wherein the inlet opening is configured to receive a filament strand, wherein the sidewall further comprises an interior surface extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening; and
a port disposed through the sidewall at a location between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the port being configured to provide access for a filament drive mechanism to engage with the received filament strand, wherein the interior surface of the sidewall includes a portion adjacent to and opposite of the port that is configured to laterally support the engaged filament strand; and
a heat transfer component configured to generate a thermal gradient along at least a portion of the longitudinal length of the sidewall between the port and the outlet opening.
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Abstract
A liquefier assembly comprising a liquefier tube, where the liquefier tube comprises a sidewall having an inlet opening configured to receive a filament strand, an outlet opening, and a port disposed through the sidewall at a location between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the port being configured to provide access for a filament drive mechanism to engage with the received filament strand. The liquefier assembly further comprises a heat transfer component configured to generate a thermal gradient along a longitudinal length of the sidewall between the port and the outlet opening.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A liquefier assembly for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the liquefier comprising:
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a liquefier tube comprising; a sidewall having a longitudinal length, and an inlet opening and an outlet opening on opposing ends of the sidewall, wherein the inlet opening is configured to receive a filament strand, wherein the sidewall further comprises an interior surface extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening; and a port disposed through the sidewall at a location between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the port being configured to provide access for a filament drive mechanism to engage with the received filament strand, wherein the interior surface of the sidewall includes a portion adjacent to and opposite of the port that is configured to laterally support the engaged filament strand; and a heat transfer component configured to generate a thermal gradient along at least a portion of the longitudinal length of the sidewall between the port and the outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An extrusion head for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the extrusion head comprising:
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a filament drive mechanism configured to drive a filament strand; a liquefier tube comprising; a sidewall having an interior surface; an inlet opening located at a first end of the sidewall and configured to receive the filament strand; an outlet opening located at the second end of the sidewall; and a port disposed through the sidewall at a location between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the port being configured to receive the filament drive mechanism for engaging the filament strand after the filament strand is received through the inlet opening, and wherein the interior surface of the sidewall includes a portion adjacent to and opposite of the port that is configured to laterally support the engaged filament; a heat transfer component extending around at least a portion of the sidewall between the port and the outlet opening, the heat transfer component being configured to create a thermal gradient along at least a portion of the sidewall; and an extrusion tip secured to the sidewall at the outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of building a three-dimensional object with an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system having an extrusion head, the method comprising:
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loading a filament stand into an inlet opening of a liquefier tube of the extrusion head, wherein the liquefier tube comprises an interior surface and a sidewall port disposed between the inlet opening and an outlet opening, wherein the outlet opening is separated from the inlet opening along a longitudinal length of the liquefier tube; engaging a filament drive mechanism with the filament strand at the sidewall port after the filament strand is loaded into the inlet opening, wherein a portion of the interior surface adjacent to and opposite of the sidewall port laterally supports the engaged filament strand; driving successive portions of the engaged filament strand toward a thermal gradient region of the liquefier tube with the filament drive mechanism; melting the driven successive portions of the engaged filament strand at the thermal gradient region; and extruding the molten portions of the filament strand through an extrusion tip. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification