Additive Manufacturing Aerosol Components for Non-Nicotine Actives
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aerosol-generating systems lack the ability to efficiently incorporate non-nicotine active substances and flavors in a manner that provides a consistent and customizable user experience, particularly in non-combustible delivery systems.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing processes to create aerosol-generating components from multiple feedstock materials, allowing for the formation of unitary components with different actives and flavors, where each portion can be optimized for specific properties such as pH and aerosol release profiles, enabling a customizable and consistent sensory experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional manufacturing methods are used for aerosol-generating components, then production is simpler and faster, but the ability to incorporate multiple non-nicotine actives with different properties (such as pH and aerosol release profiles) is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The component is divided into multiple portions, each containing different non-nicotine actives with different properties (such as pH and aerosol release profiles). This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for specific functions while maintaining a unitary component structure through additive manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the component have different local properties (pH, aerosol release profiles) tailored to specific actives. This enables customization of aerosol generation characteristics in different regions of the component, improving versatility without requiring multiple separate components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate components are used to provide different actives, then each active can be optimized, but the overall system becomes more complex and less consistent
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple portions containing different actives are merged into a single unitary component through additive manufacturing. This integration ensures consistent physical and chemical properties throughout the component while maintaining the ability to deliver different actives with different optimized profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The single component serves multiple functions by incorporating different non-nicotine actives with different properties (pH, aerosol release profiles) in different portions. This multi-functionality is achieved within a unified structure, providing both customization and consistency.
3Manufacturing precision
If additive manufacturing is used to create unitary components with multiple actives, then customization and consistency are improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The additive manufacturing process allows preliminary placement of different actives in specific portions during the layer-by-layer construction. This preliminary action enables precise control over the distribution and concentration of actives, ensuring consistent pH and aerosol release profiles before final component assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
An aerosol-generating component including at least one active that is not nicotine, wherein the aerosol-generating component is formed by an additive manufacturing process from a feedstock material including the at least one active. There is also provided a process for preparing an aerosol-generating component including at least one active that is not nicotine, wherein the at least one active is included in a feedstock material that is used to form the aerosol-generating component by an additive manufacturing process. Also provided is a delivery system including an aerosol-generating component as described herein.