Consumable assembly with payout tube for additive manufacturing system
First Claim
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1. A consumable assembly for use with an additive manufacturing system, the consumable assembly comprising:
- a coil of a consumable filament having a payout hole extending from an inner layer of the coil to an outer layer of the coil;
a payout tube extending through the payout hole in the coil, the payout tube comprising;
a tip end extending beyond the payout hole at the inner layer of the coil, and having an inlet opening with an effective inner diameter less than about 7.6 millimeters, wherein the inlet opening also has a cross-sectional area ranging from about 110% to about 300% of an average cross-sectional area of the consumable filament;
a base end having an outlet opening; and
a tube body extending along a longitudinal length between the tip end and the base end, the tube body having an average effective outer diameter along the longitudinal length that is at least about three times greater than the effective inner diameter of the inlet opening; and
a filament drive mechanism retained within the tube body, wherein the filament drive mechanism comprises an electrically-powered motor, and wherein the filament drive mechanism is configured to feed successive segments of the consumable filament through the payout tube.
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Abstract
A payout tube for enabling payout of a consumable filament from a consumable assembly that is configured for use with an additive manufacturing system, the payout tube comprising a tip end having an inlet opening, a base end having an outlet opening, and a tube body having an average effective outer diameter that is substantially greater than an effective inner diameter of the inlet opening.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A consumable assembly for use with an additive manufacturing system, the consumable assembly comprising:
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a coil of a consumable filament having a payout hole extending from an inner layer of the coil to an outer layer of the coil; a payout tube extending through the payout hole in the coil, the payout tube comprising; a tip end extending beyond the payout hole at the inner layer of the coil, and having an inlet opening with an effective inner diameter less than about 7.6 millimeters, wherein the inlet opening also has a cross-sectional area ranging from about 110% to about 300% of an average cross-sectional area of the consumable filament; a base end having an outlet opening; and a tube body extending along a longitudinal length between the tip end and the base end, the tube body having an average effective outer diameter along the longitudinal length that is at least about three times greater than the effective inner diameter of the inlet opening; and a filament drive mechanism retained within the tube body, wherein the filament drive mechanism comprises an electrically-powered motor, and wherein the filament drive mechanism is configured to feed successive segments of the consumable filament through the payout tube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A consumable assembly for use with an additive manufacturing system, the consumable assembly comprising:
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a coil of a consumable filament having a payout hole extending from an inner layer of the coil to an outer layer of the coil; a payout tube extending through the payout hole in the coil, the payout tube comprising; a tip end extending beyond the payout hole at the inner layer of the coil, and having an inlet opening with an inner diameter less than about 7.6 millimeters, and that also ranges from about 110% to about 300% of an average diameter of the consumable filament; a base end having an outlet opening with an inner diameter that is at least as great as the inner diameter of the inlet opening; and a tube body extending along a longitudinal length between the tip end and the base end, the tube body having an average outer diameter along the longitudinal length that is at least about three times greater than the inner diameter of the inlet opening; and a filament drive mechanism secured within the tube body between the tip end and the base end, wherein the filament drive mechanism comprises an electrically-powered motor, and is configured to feed successive segments of the consumable filament through the payout tube. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A consumable assembly for use with an additive manufacturing system, the consumable assembly comprising:
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a coil of a consumable filament retained in a figure-8 configuration, and having a payout hole extending from an inner layer of the coil to an outer layer of the coil, wherein the consumable filament has an average cross-sectional area ranging from about 0.5 square millimeters to about 11.3 square millimeters; and a payout tube comprising; a tip end extending beyond the payout hole at the inner layer of the coil, wherein the tip end has an inlet opening with a cross-sectional area ranging from about 110% to about 300% of the average cross-sectional area of the consumable filament; a base end extending beyond the payout hole at the outer layer of the coil, wherein the base end has an outlet opening; and a tube body disposed through the payout hole, and extending along a longitudinal length between the tip end and the base end, the tube body having an average effective outer diameter along the longitudinal length that is at least about three times greater than the effective inner diameter of the inlet opening; and a filament drive mechanism secured within the tube body between the tip end and the base end, wherein the filament drive mechanism comprises an electrically-powered motor, and is configured to feed successive segments of the consumable filament through the payout tube; and a flexible guide tube comprising; a first end secured within the tube body; a second end located outside of the tube body; and a segment between the first end and the second end that extends through the outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification