Enhanced additive manufacturing with a reciprocating platen
AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorsRandall F. LIND, Craig A. Blue, Lonnie J. Love, Brian K. Post, Peter D. Lloyd
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An additive manufacturing extrusion head that includes a heated nozzle for accepting a feedstock and extruding the feedstock onto a substrate at a deposition plane, the nozzle having a longitudinal extrusion axis. A reciprocating platen surrounds the nozzle, the platen operable to reciprocate along the extrusion axis at or above the deposition plane as the nozzle extrudes feedstock onto the substrate; and wherein the platen flattens the extruded feedstock such that it does not protrude above the deposition plane as the extrusion head traverses over the substrate.
Claims17
An additive manufacturing extrusion head comprising:
- a heated nozzle for accepting a feedstock and extruding the feedstock onto a substrate at a deposition plane, said nozzle having a longitudinal extrusion axis;
- a reciprocating platen surrounding said nozzle, said platen operable to reciprocate along the extrusion axis at or above the deposition plane as said nozzle extrudes feedstock onto the substrate;
- and
- wherein said platen flattens the extruded feedstock such that it does not protrude above the deposition plane as the extrusion head traverses over the substrate.
An additive manufacturing extrusion head comprising:
- a heated nozzle depositing feedstock along a deposition plane;
- a platen positioned at a tip of the nozzle wherein the platen reciprocates between a position above the deposition plane and a position at or below the deposition plane;
- and
- a load cell positioned with respect to the platen.
A method for additive manufacturing comprising:
- providing a supply of feedstock to a heated nozzle, said nozzle having a longitudinal extrusion axis;
- extruding the feedstock onto a substrate at a deposition plane;
- reciprocating a platen surrounding said nozzle along the extrusion axis at or above the deposition plane as said nozzle extrudes feedstock onto the substrate;
- and
- flattening the extruded feedstock with the platen such that a flattened extruded feedstock does not protrude above the deposition plane as the extrusion head traverses over the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.