“Vector Clay Printer: A Dual-Material 3D Clay Printer with Steerable Inner Nozzle and Concentric Piston” by Cassinelli, Mok, Huang, Leung and Klein
Conference:
Experience Type(s):
Title:
- Vector Clay Printer: A Dual-Material 3D Clay Printer with Steerable Inner Nozzle and Concentric Piston
Organizer(s)/Presenter(s):
Interest Areas(s):
- New Technologies
Description:
We present a dual-extruder clay printer with a fully steerable concentric nozzle. Through precise directional control of the inner needle, the system achieves either complete material encapsulation or controlled ratios of material exposure on interior and exterior print surfaces. The system produces graded or high-contrast textured surfaces in a single pass before firing. The movable inner nozzle enables mechanical mixing at the extruder tip, ensuring optimal water distribution in the colloidal suspension while improving both inter-material adhesion and layer-to-layer bonding. We demonstrate two implementations: one using separate syringes and plungers, and a more compact version using concentric reservoirs with a single plunger. Through independent material flow control, precise inner extruder positioning, and adjustable retraction within the outer cone, this research opens new possibilities in multi-material clay printing by harnessing the physics of wet, granular matter directly at the extrusion point.
References:
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