Three dimensional printing
AssigneeMarkforged, Inc.
InventorsGregory Thomas Mark, Antoni S. Gozdz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various embodiments related to three dimensional printers, and reinforced filaments, and their methods of use are described. In one embodiment, a void free reinforced filament is fed into an extrusion nozzle. The reinforced filament includes a core, which may be continuous or semi-continuous, and a matrix material surrounding the core. The reinforced filament is heated to a temperature greater than a melting temperature of the matrix material and less than a melting temperature of the core prior to extruding the filament from the extrusion nozzle.
Claims31
A method for manufacturing a part, the method comprising:
- supplying a reinforced filament comprising a matrix material impregnating fiber strands of a multistranded fiber core;
- feeding the reinforced filament through an interior channel in a nozzle to exit a distal end of the nozzle to an exterior rounded lip;
- guiding the reinforced filament to drag along the exterior rounded lip to transition a direction of the reinforced filament to parallel a deposition surface;
- applying heat with the exterior rounded lip to the reinforced filament to soften the matrix material below a melting temperature of the fiber strands;
- and
- applying a downward force toward the deposition surface with the exterior rounded lip to spread the fiber strands within the reinforced filament between the exterior rounded lip and the deposition surface to form the part.
A method for manufacturing a part, the method comprising:
- feeding a fiber reinforced filament through an interior channel within a heated nozzle to a heated exterior lip;
- guiding the fiber reinforced filament to bend from the interior channel and pass between the heated exterior lip and a deposition surface;
- and
- applying a spreading force to the fiber reinforced filament between the heated exterior lip of the heated nozzle and the deposition surface to iron the fiber reinforced filament down into the deposition surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.