A charging system for feeding processing material to at least one extruder screw including a hopper configured to conduct the processing material along a feed direction to the extruder screw, and a material reservoir for the gravity-driven feeding of the processing material to the hopper. The charging system also includes a feeding device via which processing material recirculated at the hopper against the feed direction by action of the extruder screw can again be conveyed in the direction of the extruder screw together with processing material fed from the material reservoir.

A shaping apparatus includes a stand that includes a shaping surface on which a product is shaped; a feeder that feeds a linear material obtained by impregnating continuous fiber with resin; a pressing portion that presses the material fed by the feeder against the stand; and an angle setting portion that sets an angle formed between the material fed from the feeder to the pressing portion and the shaping surface to be an acute angle.

A printing apparatus for 3D printing of feedstock. The printing apparatus comprises a hollow nozzle having an inlet and an outlet. The nozzle is mounted within a heating body that holds and heats the nozzle whereby the feedstock passing through the nozzle is heated prior to exiting the outlet. The nozzle can be mounted within the heating body such that an exterior surface of a portion of the nozzle locates outside of and extends away from the heating body to be exposed to ambient atmosphere. As a result, the temperature of the nozzle can vary across the nozzle.

A three-dimensional (3D) drawing pen can include a housing that has a port that permits insertion of a strand of material into the housing, an actuator for controlling a movement of the strand, and a nozzle assembly configured to permit the strand to be extruded out of the 3D drawing pen in a form that retains its shape against gravity in free space to draw a 3D object.

Various embodiments related to three dimensional printers, and reinforced filaments, and their methods of use are described. In one embodiment, a void free reinforced filament is fed into an extrusion nozzle. The reinforced filament includes a core, which may be continuous or semi-continuous, and a matrix material surrounding the core. The reinforced filament is heated to a temperature greater than a melting temperature of the matrix material and less than a melting temperature of the core prior to extruding the filament from the extrusion nozzle.

A film forming apparatus includes a die device which extrudes a molten resin in a tube shape to form a film and a controller which controls the die device. The die device includes an inner peripheral member which defines an inner periphery of an annular discharge port, an outer peripheral member which surrounds the inner peripheral member and defines an outer periphery of the discharge port, and an adjustment portion which applies a load to at least one of the inner peripheral member and the outer peripheral member to elastically deform the at least one of the inner peripheral member and the outer peripheral member and change a radial width of the discharge port. The controller controls a thickness of the film with the load applied by the adjustment portion.

Various embodiments related to three dimensional printers, and reinforced filaments, and their methods of use are described. In one embodiment, a void free reinforced filament is fed into an extrusion nozzle. The reinforced filament includes a core, which may be continuous or semi-continuous, and a matrix material surrounding the core. The reinforced filament is heated to a temperature greater than a melting temperature of the matrix material and less than a melting temperature of the core prior to extruding the filament from the extrusion nozzle.

An extrusion device includes a material inlet; a material outlet; a material guidance system; a body, which passes through the material outlet and a cross-sectional area through which the extrusion material is expelled from the material outlet changes; a drive device; a cooling line system for guiding coolant. A first part of the cooling line system is suitable for guiding the coolant along the axis, a second part is suitable for guiding the coolant out of the body and around the drive device, and a third part of the cooling line system guiding the coolant outwardly, into a discharge line for the coolant at an incline to the axis. The second part of the cooling line system adjoins the first part of the cooling line system, and the third part adjoins the second part against a flow direction of the extrusion material from the material inlet to the material outlet.

A three-dimensional (3D) drawing pen can include a housing that has a port that permits insertion of a strand of material into the housing, an actuator for controlling a movement of the strand, and a nozzle assembly configured to permit the strand to be extruded out of the 3D drawing pen in a form that retains its shape against gravity in free space to draw a 3D object.

Disclosed is an apparatus for the production of a blown tubular film (FT). The apparatus includes an independent device for the localized thickness adjustment at the strips adjacent to the folding edges resulting from the flattening of the tubular film (FT) by means of adjustment elements formed in angular sectors of limited extension symmetrically arranged 180° apart. The independent device for the localized thickness adjustment being a volumetric type device having a rotating ring that performs a rotating adjustment of the flow rate of a cooling air stream which takes into account the angular offset resulting from the operational parameters of the apparatus.