Innovative Extruder Concept for Fast and Efficient Additive Manufacturing

Abstract The current standard for the production of 3D printed components with the "Fused Deposition Modelling" (FDM) process allows the use of one or two printing nozzles with fixed diameters. The selected diameter of the nozzle represents a suboptimal compromise between the highest possible level of detail and a large flow rate to shorten the printing time. This paper describes the new concept of a rotatable print head with a slot-shaped nozzle opening and the real implementation of the print head in an FDM machine. The innovative concept presented here opens up new possibilities for the free adjustment of line widths to be printed and thus also of variable layer heights in a wide range. With the additional parameters achieved with this method, the printing time of parts with a high degree of detail, if necessary, can be enormously reduced. In addition, the modified printing nozzle and the modification of the program code used for conventional FDM machines are described.