Patent ID: 11896942
Assignee: NIKE, INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 6:
7. A mixing and dispensing head for additive manufacturing, comprising:
a mixing chamber including at least two material inlets coupled to at least one positive displacement pump;
a mixing rod adapted to rotate around a central axis and move linearly along the central axis during mixing and dispensing with the mixing and dispensing head between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position, the mixing rod having a tapered section, and
a controller with computer readable instructions stored on non-transitory memory that when executed during operation of the mixing and dispensing head, cause the controller to:
in response to a request to stop dispensing from a dispensing nozzle, adjust a linear position of the mixing rod to the fully retracted position and stopping operation of the at least one positive displacement pump,
wherein the at least two material inlets are between a bottom of a high pressure bearing and a top of the tapered section when the mixing rod is in the fully extended position,
wherein a length of the mixing rod between the high pressure bearing and a top portion of the tapered section defines a dynamic volume of the mixing head,
wherein the tapered section has an upper portion that has a first radius and a lower portion that has a second radius, wherein the first radius is greater than the second radius and defines an angled transition between the upper portion and the lower portion, and
wherein the at least two material inlets are positioned in an outer wall of the mixing chamber at a vertical position that is within the dynamic volume.