Honeycomb extrusion dies and forming methods

A method of manufacturing a honeycomb structure, comprising:

• coupling an extrusion die to an extruder, the extrusion die comprising:
• an inlet face and an outlet face;
• a plurality of pins, wherein the pins are arranged to define primary slots and secondary slots, the primary slots comprising primary slot inlets and primary slot outlets, the secondary slots comprising secondary slot inlets and secondary slot outlets;
• a plurality of feedholes extending from the inlet face, the feedholes comprising feedhole outlets, wherein the feedhole outlets intersect with the primary slot inlets;
• first surface indentation features extending into side surfaces of the plurality of pins defining the primary slots, the first surface indentation features spaced from the primary slot outlets;
• and
• second surface indentation features extending into side surfaces of the plurality of pins defining the primary slots, the second surface indentation features extending from the primary slot inlets toward the outlet face, wherein the secondary slots are devoid of surface indentation features;
• and
• extruding a batch mixture through the extrusion die.

A method of manufacturing a honeycomb extrusion die, comprising:

• forming a plurality of pins in a die body comprising an inlet face and an outlet face, wherein the pins are arranged to define primary slots and secondary slots, the primary slots comprising primary slot inlets and primary slot outlets, the secondary slots comprising secondary slot inlets and secondary slot outlets;
• forming a plurality of feedholes extending within the die body from the inlet face, the feedholes comprising feedhole outlets, wherein the feedhole outlets intersected with the primary slot inlets;
• forming first surface indentation features extending into side surfaces of the plurality of pins defining the primary slots, the first surface indentation features spaced from the primary slot outlets;
• and
• forming second surface indentation features extending into side surfaces of the plurality of pins defining the primary slots, the second surface indentation features extending from the primary slot inlets toward the outlet face,
• wherein the secondary slots are devoid of surface indentation features.