Co-extrusion Print Head Stair-stepped Nozzle Edge Bead Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Co-extrusion print heads often produce edge beads during the extrusion of highly-loaded slurries, which require mechanical or chemical post-processing to correct, increasing processing time and hardware complexity.

Innovation Solution

A co-extrusion print head with a stair-stepped exit nozzle geometry, where some orifices have a smaller vertical extent, reducing or eliminating edge beads by aligning fewer orifices on top of full-sized orifices, resulting in a flat print with minimal edge bead formation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional co-extrusion print head geometry is used, then materials can be extruded simultaneously, but edge beads form requiring post-processing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveextrusion capabilityVSAvoidedge bead formation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The print head orifice plate is segmented into multiple zones with different orifice heights. The first zone has full-height orifices while the second zone has reduced-height orifices, creating a stair-stepped configuration that segments the extrusion flow to control edge bead formation while maintaining simultaneous multi-material extrusion capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the orifice plate are given different local properties - specifically, different vertical extents of orifices in different zones. This local variation in orifice height creates different extrusion characteristics at different locations, suppressing edge beads at the boundaries while maintaining material flow in the central regions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Manufacturing precision

If mechanical or chemical post-processing is performed to remove edge beads, then film thickness uniformity improves, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefilm thickness uniformityVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The stair-stepped orifice geometry performs the edge bead suppression action during the extrusion process itself, before the material is deposited. By pre-configuring the orifice heights to control flow distribution, the system eliminates the need for subsequent edge bead removal operations, saving processing time while achieving uniform film thickness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of manufacture

If traditional print head geometry is used, then extrusion process is simple, but edge beads require additional hardware for removal

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveextrusion process simplicityVSAvoidpost-processing hardware

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts and eliminates the need for separate edge bead removal hardware by incorporating the edge bead suppression function directly into the print head orifice plate geometry. The stair-stepped configuration performs both extrusion and edge control functions in a single integrated component, removing the requirement for additional mechanical or chemical post-processing systems

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9855578B2Co-extrusion print head with edge bead reduction

Publication Date: 2018.01.02 GENESEE VALLEY INNOVATIONS LLC

AI summary

A co-extrusion print head has at least one channel, and a set of orifices fluidically connected to the channel, wherein the set of orifices has at least one orifice at each edge of the set has a smaller vertical extent than the other orifices.