Patent ID: 11945160
Assignee: CONTINUOUS COMPOSITES INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 12:
13. A continuous-composite printing apparatus for manufacturing an object, the apparatus comprising:
a platform;
a positioning system;
a providing device that provides a fiber strand pre-pregged with polymer;
a supply device that provides a supply of polymer;
a mount;
an extruder connected to the positioning system via the mount, the extruder including:
a head configured to receive the pre-pregged fiber strand; and
a dispensing port located at an outlet end of the head and configured to dispense the pre-pregged fiber strand onto at least one of the platform and the object;

a heater configured to heat the pre-pregged fiber strand within the extruder;
a computer system including a processor operatively coupled to the providing device, the positioning system, and the extruder, the computer system configured to:
store a location plan for the object, the location plan defining a plurality of paths for the extruder to follow when printing the object, a plurality of locations along the plurality of paths, and corresponding dispensing amounts for the plurality of locations;
control, based on the stored location plan, movement of at least one of the positioning system and the platform such that the extruder moves to the plurality of locations along the plurality of paths;
control, while the extruder moves to the plurality of locations along the plurality of paths, at least one of the extruder, the positioning system, and the platform to extrude the heated pre-pregged fiber strand through the dispensing port and onto at least one of the platform and the object, to form the object; and
control, while the extruder moves to the plurality of locations along the plurality of paths, at least one of the extruder, the positioning system, and the platform to extrude the heated pre-pregged fiber strand at the plurality of locations and in the corresponding dispensing amounts for the plurality of locations identified by the location plan, to form the object; and
a hardening device that hardens the extruded pre-pregged fiber strand to form the object, wherein the hardening device aims toward the dispensing port to harden the pre-pregged fiber strand after discharge through the dispensing port.