patents

One granted and one pending U.S. patent covering printhead-integrated in-situ annealing for fused filament fabrication.

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Fused filament fabrication print head system

U.S. Patent 12,496,776 B2, granted 16 December 2025 Application 18/360,150, filed 27 July 2023. Priority 9 August 2022. Assignee: University of Texas System

Taylor, R. M., Rane, R., Mrinal, M., Patel, P. T., & Shanto, T. A.

Photograph and exploded CAD view of the print head, labelling the insulation tube, fan, duct, fins, throat, heater block and nozzle
The print head as built and as an exploded assembly: insulation tube, fan, duct, fins, throat, heater block, and nozzle.

A print head that applies thermal treatment during printing rather than after it. A heating block delivers energy at the deposition zone. Upstream, a fan, duct, and finned heat sink keep the incoming filament rigid so the back pressure needed for extrusion is preserved.

That combination is what makes in-process annealing workable: the weld is heated without softening the feed, so parts gain mechanical performance without the distortion that oven annealing causes on thin geometries.

View the patent record

Fused filament fabrication adaptive annealing print head system

U.S. Patent Application 19/660,770, pending

Shanto, T. A., Taylor, R. M., Mrinal, M., Ahmed, R., Patel, P. T., Rahman, M. M., Dola, I. S., & Deshpande, R.

Assembly and exploded views of the adaptive annealing print head, labelling the mounting bracket, locking nuts, stepped screw, thermistor hole, heater clamp, ring heater, annealing plate, adapter, fixed frame, heat sink, heating block and nozzle
The adaptive print head. A ring heater drives a separate annealing plate, controlled independently of the nozzle and adjustable in height through the stepped screw.

The adaptive design separates annealing from extrusion. A ring heater drives its own annealing plate, adding two controls the first design lacked: plate temperature, set independently of the nozzle, and plate height, adjusted through a stepped screw.

Both matter because annealing effectiveness is not fixed by the printhead alone. It depends on print speed, part spacing, and geometry, so a setting correct for one configuration is wrong for another. Independent control of temperature and standoff holds the weld interface in its productive window as conditions change. The adaptive annealing study reports a 3.8-fold rise in bonding potential and a threefold drop in void fraction.

Patents are identified by patent and application number rather than DOI.