Integratable assisted cooling system for precision extrusion deposition in the fabrication of 3D scaffolds

A system for cooling a polymer filament extruded from a polymer extruder of a precision extrusion deposition system, comprising:

• a flow line comprising a continuous loop having a hollow interior, at least one inlet providing access to the hollow interior of the continuous loop, and a plurality of outlets also accessing the hollow interior of the continuous loop;
• a mounting structure for attaching the device to the polymer extruder, the mounting structure dimensioned for mounting over the polymer extruder without interfacing or interfering with flow of the polymer filament;
• and
• at least one support connector for securely attaching the flow line to the mounting structure;
• and
• a cooling medium introduced into the hollow interior of the flow line via the at least one inlet, such that the cooling medium travels through the continuous loop and exits through the plurality of outlets towards a central radial axis of the system.

A method of fabricating scaffolds from polymers having a high melting point, the method comprising:

• adding at least one polymer having a melting point of at least about 120° C. to a polymer extruding device of a precision extrusion deposition system;
• melting the at least one polymer in the polymer extruding device and maintaining the at least one polymer in a fluid state as the at least one polymer moves through the polymer extruding device;
• extruding the at least one polymer from the polymer extruding device as a filament;
• and
• cooling the filament with a cooling device as the filament is extruded from the polymer extruding device, the cooling device comprising:
• a flow line comprising a continuous loop having a hollow interior, at least one inlet providing access to the hollow interior of the continuous loop, and a plurality of outlets also accessing the hollow interior of the continuous loop;
• a mounting structure for attaching the cooling device to the polymer extruder, the mounting structure dimensioned for mounting over the polymer extruder without interfacing or interfering with flow of the polymer filament;
• and
• at least one support connector for securely attaching the flow line to the mounting structure;
• wherein the plurality of outlets are angled towards a central radial axis of the cooling device, such that when a cooling medium is introduced into the hollow interior of the continuous loop of the flow line via the at least one inlet and exits the flow line via the plurality of outlets, the cooling medium is directed towards the central radial axis of the cooling device;
• wherein the scaffold comprises the cooled filament.

A precision extrusion deposition system comprising:

• a polymer extruder;
• a motion controller adapted and configured to move the polymer extruder along at least an X axis and a Y axis;
• and
• the device for cooling a polymer filament mounted over the polymer extruder without interfacing or interfering with flow of the polymer filament, the device comprising:
• a flow line comprising a continuous loop having a hollow interior, at least one inlet providing access to the hollow interior of the continuous loop, and a plurality of outlets also accessing the hollow interior of the continuous loop;
• a mounting structure for attaching the device to the polymer extruder, the mounting structure dimensioned for mounting over the polymer extruder without interfacing or interfering with flow of the polymer filament;
• and
• at least one support connector for securely attaching the flow line to the mounting structure;
• wherein the plurality of outlets are angled towards a central radial axis of the device, such that when a cooling medium is introduced into the hollow interior of the continuous loop of the flow line via the at least one inlet and exits the flow line via the plurality of outlets, the cooling medium is directed towards the central radial axis of the device;
• wherein the device is arranged so that the a first opposing pair of the four outlets are parallel to the X axis and a second opposing pair of the four outlets is parallel to the Y axis.