Abstract: A dispensing system for particulate matter is disclosed comprising a primary receptacle, a guide member, a sliding tube, and a valve member. The primary receptacle receives particulate material and has an open end, an opposed bottom, and a surrounding wall. The guide member is fixed to the bottom of the primary receptacle and defines a supporting aperture and an associated axis approximately normal to the bottom. The sliding tube is slidably disposed within the supporting aperture of the guide member. The sliding tube is characterized by a longitudinal feed passage therethrough substantially parallel to the axis. The sliding tube has a travel limit restricting its axial translation relative to the guide member between a first position and a second position. The valve member is mounted inside the primary receptacle over the guide member. The valve member has bristles disposed over and operably blocking the supporting aperture.

Abstract: A light weight extruder (20) is suitable for high production, in-line extrusion of flowable materials with high precision in the placement and control of the extruded material. The extruder uses a high torque hydraulic motor (72) to drive a feed screw (88) in dispensing highly viscous but flowable material through an extrusion die (126) of preselected configuration. A plurality of heating bands (114-118) surrounding the barrel (86) of the extruder provide precise control over the material temperature at the point of extrusion. In an alternate embodiment, an injection nozzle (120a) is provided with a plurality of independently controllable extrusion dies (128, 130, 132). The extruder is sufficiently light and manipulable such that it can be mounted on the end of the arm of a robot (122).