A plasticizing device includes: a drive motor; a rotating unit driven to rotate about a rotation axis by the drive motor and having an end surface perpendicular to the rotation axis and a lateral surface intersecting with the end surface; a barrel having a bottom surface facing the end surface of the rotating unit, and a heater; a case accommodating the rotating unit; and a material supply unit accommodating the material. At least one of the barrel and the case has a sidewall surface facing the lateral surface of the rotating unit and standing up along an outer circumference of the bottom surface of the barrel. At the bottom surface of the barrel, a communication hole through which the molten material flows out and a spiral groove part coupled to the communication hole are formed. The lateral surface of the rotating unit and the sidewall surface together define a supply space where the material is supplied from the material supply unit to the groove part.

An extrusion assembly, a method of constructing an extrusion assembly, and an additive manufacturing system including an extrusion assembly are disclosed. The extrusion assembly includes an extrusion die; a channel having an inlet and an outlet, which is in fluid communication with the extrusion die; and a heating element that melts a filament material drive through the channel so that the melted material is extruded by the extrusion die. The heating element can be helically wound about the channel or extend parallel to the channel, among other configurations. Further, the extrusion assembly includes a temperature sensor that is positioned adjacent to the channel between the extrusion die and the heating element. The channel, heating element, and temperature sensor are enclosed together within a sheath as a single integral unit. An additive manufacturing system utilizing the extrusion assembly can include a drive assembly, a support assembly, and a controller.

A biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material being a product of processing a biomass feed material via a twin screw extruder having a length extending between an inlet and an outlet. Hot water from a water heater is injected into at least one inlet along the length of the twin screw extruder, the at least one inlet generally corresponding with a pressure boundary within the twin screw extruder. A pressure-sustaining valve is connected between the length of the twin screw extruder and the outlet, with the valve being adjusted to produce the biomass-derived thermosetting polymer material.

A tube for a peristaltic pump comprises an elastically deformable tubular body (2) made from a PVC composition containing: 100 phr of a PVC resin having a K value, measured according to standard ISO 1628-2, of not less than 85, from 40 to 100 phr of DEHA plasticizer, from 0.05 to 1.0 phr of lubricant, from 0.3 to 15.0 phr of stabilizer and co-stabilizer. The deformable tube, which is usefully employed for liquid transport in a dialysis apparatus, enables a high level of fluid transport efficiency to be maintained, even after many hours of peristaltic pump operation.

In one embodiment, a method of forming an extruded board includes mixing a resin and a foaming agent, melting the mixed resin and foaming agent to form a uniformly colored extrudate, differentially expanding voids formed from the foaming agent within the uniformly colored extrudate by passing the uniformly colored extrudate through a breaker plate, forming a board with the differentially expanded voids and uniformly colored extrudate, and forming lightened portions on an outermost surface of the formed board.

A method for manufacturing an antibacterial resin according to the present invention includes the following steps. The method includes: a preparation step of preparing synthetic resin powder and an antibacterial additive; a dispersion step of introducing into a mixer the synthetic resin powder together with iron balls having a pointed protrusion formed on an outer surface thereof and dispersing particles; a dispersion and mixing step of introducing the antibacterial additive into the mixer containing the synthetic resin powder, followed by dispersion and mixing; a pellet forming step of separating the iron balls and forming the mixture of the synthetic resin powder and the antibacterial additive into pellets by melting, extrusion and cutting; and a product producing step of introducing the pellets into an injection molding machine to produce an antibacterial resin product; wherein white charcoal powder is included in the antibacterial additive in the mixing step.

A method for rapid manufacturing of three dimensional discontinuous fiber preforms is provided. The method includes the deposition of a polymeric material containing fibers on a surface to form a tailored charge for compression molding. The reinforced polymeric material may be a thermoplastic or a reactive polymer with viscosity low enough to allow flow through an orifice during deposition, yet high enough zero shear viscosity to retain the approximate shape of the deposited charge. The material can be deposited in a predetermined pattern to induce the desired mechanical properties through alignment of the fibers. This deposition can be performed in a single layer or in multiple layers. The alignment is achieved passively by shear alignment of the fibers or actively through fiber orientation control or mixing. The fibers can be of the desired material, length, and morphology, including short and long filaments.

A screw for a plasticating apparatus has one or more helical flights. A portion of the screw has a plurality of advancing grooves arranged in a noncontinuous helix cut in the screw. The advancing grooves are dimensioned to receive material therein as the material is conveyed through the barrel. The screw has a plurality of noncontinuous cross-cut grooves traversing one or more of the advancing grooves. The cross-cut grooves have a second helix angle greater than the first helix angle and less than ninety degrees; and/or one or more of the cross-cut grooves have a third helix angle of about ninety degrees.

An extrusion head or other similar tool head of a three-dimensional printer is slidably mounted along a feedpath of build material so that the extruder can move into and out of contact with a build surface according to whether build material is being extruded. The extrusion head may be spring-biased forward along a feedpath to rest in a downward position, or the extrusion head may be spring-biased against the forward feedpath so that the extruder remains above the build surface in the absence of applied forces, and then moves downward into a position for extrusion when build material is fed into the extruder.

An extruder or other similar tool head of a three-dimensional printer is slidably mounted along a feedpath of build material so that the extruder can move into and out of contact with a build surface according to whether build material is being extruded. The extruder may be spring-biased against the forward feedpath so that the extruder remains above the build surface in the absence of applied forces, and then moves downward into a position for extrusion when build material is fed into the extruder. In another aspect, modular tool heads are disclosed that can be automatically coupled to and removed from the three-dimensional printer by a suitable robotics system. A tool crib may be provided to store multiple tool heads while not in use.