An apparatus for additively manufacturing an article comprises a heat block, a nozzle configured to receive a feed material in operable communication with the heat block, and a radiator configured to transfer heat from the heat block to an external environment by thermal radiation, Related tools for additively manufacturing a material in a vacuum, and related methods are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a material extrusion head comprising at least one material feeding tube for feeding some extrusion material from one or multiple reservoirs to a heating block, the heating block, which comprises a through-hole and is adapted to generate heat for melting the material to be extruded passing by said through-hole, at least one extrusion nozzle provided at the end of the though-hole of the heating block for outputting the molten material, a support element detachably supporting the heating block and mounted on an extrusion system, and at least one rigid heat break tube portion provided at the end of each of the one or multiple material feeding tube and in contact with said heating block and an actioning system adapted to urge an end of each rigid heat break tube portion against said heating block or directly against the extrusion nozzle so as to provide a sealed extrusion material path.

A method of operating an additive manufacturing system feeds solid extrusion material into a heater using a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver to supply thermoplastic material into a manifold in an extruder head. The method sets a speed of the actuator so the actuator operates at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This method helps maintain the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

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. The strand can be moved through the housing toward 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.

An additive manufacturing system includes a heater for converting a filament of extrusion material into thermoplastic material. The heater has a channel configured to change the cross-sectional shape of the filament to a cross-sectional shape that has a greater surface area than the surface area of the filament before the heater receives the filament. The channel of the heater can also be configured to drive the center portion of the filament toward the heated walls of the channel and to mix thermoplastic material in the channel while exposing the center portion of the filament to the heated wall of the channel.

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.

An interchangeable unit adapted to couple to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine is disclosed comprising a holder that couples to a spindle of the CNC machine, a controller, wherein said controller is configured to receive the rotational speed of the spindle as an input, and a material processing unit, wherein said material processing unit executes a first function in response to a first rotational speed range of the spindle and executes a second function in response to a second rotational speed range of the spindle.

Fibers that are formed from a thermoplastic composition that contains a rigid renewable polyester and has a voided structure and low density are provided. To achieve such a structure, the renewable polyester is blended with a polymeric toughening additive in which the toughening additive can be dispersed as discrete physical domains within a continuous matrix of the renewable polyester. Fibers are thereafter formed and then stretched or drawn at a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polyester (i.e., cold drawn).

An apparatus includes a heater for converting a filament of extrusion material into thermoplastic material. The heater has a channel configured to change the cross-sectional shape of the filament to a cross-sectional shape that has a greater surface area than the surface area of the filament before the heater receives the filament. The channel of the heater can also be configured to drive the center portion of the filament toward the heated walls of the channel and to mix thermoplastic material in the channel while exposing the center portion of the filament to the heated wall of the channel.

The invention relates to a filter device comprising an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, a filter system which separates the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber. The filter device is characterised in that the inlet chamber comprises at least one liquid supply line and at least one liquid discharge line and the outlet chamber does not comprise a liquid supply and comprises at least one liquid discharge line. The invention also relates to a corresponding filter method.