Heat-not-burn (HNB) aerosol-generating devices with compression assembly

A aerosol-generating device, comprising:

• a heating chamber structure defining an enclosure, the enclosure having a fixed volume, the heating chamber structure configured to hold an aerosol-forming substrate within a first region of the enclosure, the heating chamber structure including a first surface at least partially defining the first region, the heating chamber structure further including an inlet configured to direct air into the enclosure, the heating chamber structure further including an outlet configured to enable air to be drawn out of the enclosure;
• a heater adjacent to the first surface and coupled to the heating chamber structure, the heater configured to generate heat that is transmitted to the first surface to cause the aerosol-forming substrate to form an aerosol without any combustion of the aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the heating chamber structure is configured to direct the aerosol to be drawn out of the enclosure via the outlet;
• and
• a compression assembly at least partially within the enclosure, the compression assembly including a compression plate and a compression actuator coupled to the compression plate, the compression plate configured to define a portion of the enclosure as the first region of the enclosure such that the compression plate and the first surface define opposing boundaries of the first region, the compression actuator configured to linearly move the compression plate through the enclosure in a direction along an axis that is normal to at least a portion of the first surface to reduce a volume of the first region and to adjustably compress the aerosol-forming substrate in the first region against the first surface and maintain the compression of the aerosol-forming substrate such that a substantially uniform packing density in the aerosol-forming substrate is maintained during separate generations of separate instances of aerosol over time.