Patent ID: 11922637
Assignee: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 13:
14. A system for characterizing materials and inks utilized in additive manufacturing of nanocomposites comprising:
a testbed platform comprising:
a base comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and a pair of opposing sidewalls, at least a portion of the top surface and the bottom surface forming an aperture that receives light rays;
a plurality of electromagnets coupled to the opposing sidewalls of the base;
a microscope slide seated in the aperture formed by the top surface and the bottom surface of the base;

an interchangeable channel comprising a microfluidic flow cell coupled to the microscope slide;
a plurality of needle tips in fluidic communication with the microfluidic flow cell, wherein a first needle tip in the plurality of needle tips is coupled to a syringe inlet via a lock connector and is configured to receive magnetic inks utilized in additive manufacturing from a syringe for dispensing into the microfluidic flow cell and wherein a second needle tip in the plurality of needle tips is coupled to a syringe outlet via another lock connector and is configured to pull the magnetic inks from the microfluidic flow cell into a reservoir;

an inverted microscope lens in optical communication with the base, the microscope slide, and the microfluidic flow cell; and
a high-speed camera coupled to the inverted microscope lens, wherein the high-speed camera is utilized to capture one or more images of a flow behavior of the magnetic inks dispensed into the microfluidic flow cell for performing an analysis that determines an optimal nozzle design for microdispensing the magnetic inks during an additive manufacturing process; and

a divergent nozzle apparatus, based on the optimal nozzle design, the divergent nozzle comprising:
a variable angled nozzle that provides rotational forces for an alignment of particles during the additive manufacturing process;
a primary magnetic device that provides an initial alignment of magnetic particles in the magnetic inks during the additive manufacturing process;
a secondary magnetic device, coupled to the variable angled nozzle, that provides a secondary alignment of magnetic particles in the magnetic inks during the additive manufacturing process; and
a connecting member that connects a housing comprising the primary magnetic device to a housing comprising the variable angled nozzle.