Patent ID: 7897074

Claim:
A liquefier assembly for use in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the liquefier comprising: a liquefier tube comprising: a sidewall having a longitudinal length, and an inlet opening and an outlet opening on opposing ends of the sidewall, wherein the inlet opening is configured to receive a filament strand, wherein the sidewall further comprises an interior surface extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening; and a port disposed through the sidewall at a location between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the port being configured to provide access for a filament drive mechanism to engage with the received filament strand, wherein the interior surface of the sidewall includes a portion adjacent to and opposite of the port that is configured to laterally support the engaged filament strand; and a heat transfer component configured to generate a thermal gradient along at least a portion of the longitudinal length of the sidewall between the port and the outlet opening.