3D PRINTING METHODS USING MIXING NOZZLES
The present invention generally relates to the printing of materials, using 3-dimensional printing and other printing techniques, including the use of one or more mixing nozzles, and/or multi-axis control over the translation and/or rotation of the print head or the substrate onto which materials are printed. In some embodiments, a material may be prepared by extruding material through print head comprising a nozzle, such as a microfluidic printing nozzle, which may be used to mix materials within the nozzle and direct the resulting product onto a substrate. The print head and/or the substrate may be configured to be translated and/or rotated, for example, using a computer or other controller, in order to control the deposition of material onto the substrate.
1 . A method for printing an article, comprising:
flowing a first fluid through a first inlet into a microfluidic printing nozzle;
flowing a second fluid through a second inlet into the microfluidic printing nozzle;
flowing at least one additional fluid through at least one additional inlet into the microfluidic printing nozzle;
actively mixing the first fluid, the second fluid, and the at least one additional fluid in the microfluidic printing nozzle to form a mixture; and
depositing the mixture onto a substrate.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first fluid contains isocyanate functional groups.
3 - 4 . (canceled)
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second fluid contains alcohol functional groups and/or amine functional groups.
6 - 41 . (canceled)
42 . A method of printing of an article, comprising:
receiving object information associated with the article;
identifying, using the object information, characteristics of a target material to be printed at each location of a machine tool path that will be used to create the article;
identifying two or more input materials to create the target material;
identifying a set of printer settings for printing the target material;
generating print instructions using the set of printer parameters; and
printing the article using the print instructions.
43 . The method of claim 42 , comprising calculating the ratios of at least two material inputs to a microfluidic printing nozzle required to achieve the target material characteristics in each location.
44 - 45 . (canceled)
46 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the system uses at least 3 inputs.
47 - 62 . (canceled)
63 . A method of printing an article, comprising:
flowing at least two materials into a mixing chamber, wherein at least one of the materials is polymeric;
mixing the at least two materials in the mixing chamber containing an impeller to form a mixture; and
depositing the mixture onto a textile.
64 . The method of 63 , comprising flowing the at least two materials into the mixing chamber while rotating the impeller in the mixing chamber.
65 . The method of claim 63 , wherein the mixing chamber contains at least a portion of the impeller.
66 - 147 . (canceled)
148 . A method, comprising:
mixing a first fluid and a second fluid in a first mixing chamber to form a first mixture;
flowing the first mixture out of a first nozzle;
depositing the first mixture onto a substrate to form a layer;
inkjetting one or more additional layers of the first mixture on top of the first layer;
mixing a third fluid and a fourth fluid in a second mixing chamber to form a second mixture;
flowing the second mixture out of a second nozzle; and
depositing the second mixture on top of an inkjetted layer of the first mixture.
149 . The method of claim 148 , wherein the first mixing chamber and the second mixing chamber are the same.
150 . The method of claim 148 , wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are the same.
151 - 160 . (canceled)
161 . A method, comprising:
passing a formulation through a print head, the print head comprising:
a compressed gas source;
a printing nozzle; and
two or more material inlets in fluid communication with the printing nozzle;
wherein an outlet of the printing nozzle is configured to intersect with an outlet fluidly connected to the compressed gas source.
162 . A method, comprising:
passing a formulation through a print head, the print head comprising:
a printing nozzle;
two or more material inlets in fluid communication with the printing nozzle; and
an ultraviolet (UV) light source adjacent to the printing nozzle.
163 . The method of claim 161 , wherein the printing nozzle comprises:
a mixing chamber; and
an impeller disposed in the mixing chamber;
wherein the two or more material inlets are in fluid communication with the mixing chamber.
164 . The method of claim 161 , wherein the formulation comprises two or more parts, and wherein passing a formulation through the print head involves flowing at least two of the two or more parts of the formulation through a respective material inlet of the two or more material inlets into the printing nozzle.
165 . The method of claim 161 , wherein an outlet of the printing nozzle is configured to intersect with an outlet fluidly connected to the compressed gas source.
166 . The method of claim 161 , wherein the formulation comprises molecules that have a UV-curable functional group.
167 . The method of claim 161 , wherein the formulation comprises molecules that have a functional group curable by means other than UV exposure.
168 . The method of claim 161 , wherein the formulation comprises molecules that have a UV-curable functional group, and molecules that have a functional group curable by means other than UV exposure.
169 - 182 . (canceled)