MICROFLUIDIC ACTIVE MIXING NOZZLE FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING OF VISCOELASTIC INKS

• Main Authors: OBER, Thomas J, LEWIS, Jennifer A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 17.05.2018
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL; ATOMISING APPARATUS; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; LINING MACHINES; MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING, DISPERSING; NOZZLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PREPARING CLAY; PRINTING; PRODUCING MIXTURES CONTAINING CLAY OR CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL,e.g. PLASTER; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SPRAYING APPARATUS; SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; STAMPS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS; WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

The present disclosure relates to a device for three-dimensional ink deposition from an impeller-driven active mixing microfluidic printing nozzle. The device is configured to receive a material property associated with the plurality of fluids and receive a structure property of the printing nozzle. The device then determines a threshold relation between a rotating speed Ω of an impeller in the nozzle and a volumetric flow rate Q of fluids that flow through the nozzle based on the material property of the plurality of fluids, the structure property of the printing nozzle. Based on the threshold relation, the device then determines an actual volumetric flow rate of the fluids and actual rotation speed of the impeller.