Patent ID: 11945150
Assignee: EXTRUDE TO FILL, INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G  H  Y | IPC B  G  H

Claim 17:
18. An apparatus comprising:
an extrusion screw defining a hollow interior configured to receive a heater inside the extrusion screw;
a barrel enclosing the extrusion screw and defining a nozzle first end associated with a mold;
a hopper coupled to a second end of the barrel and configured to feed a raw material into the barrel; and
one or more heaters placed outside of the barrel at a separation distance from the hopper to heat the raw material and transform the raw material into a molten material;
wherein:
the extrusion screw is configured to move in an axial direction within and with respect to the barrel between a first position in which the extrusion screw is fixed axially to open the nozzle and rotates in a first direction relative to the barrel to extrude the molten material into the mold through the nozzle and a second position in which a tip of the extrusion screw is received in the nozzle to seal the nozzle;
the extrusion screw is configured to move in the axial direction from the first position to the second position to seal the nozzle when the mold is filled while rotating the extrusion screw in the second direction to decompress the barrel and to break a non-Newtonian action of the molten material;
the extrusion screw is configured to move in the axial direction from the second position to the first position to open the nozzle while rotating the extrusion screw in the second direction; and
the barrel is configured to operate with an internal pressure in the barrel that ranges between the same as and 10% higher than a pressure inside the mold when the molten material is extruded into the mold.