Abstract: A support structure of a 3D printer may include a printable surface that receives a heated bead of material and can support one or more extruded layers of material from the 3D printer. The support structure may include at least one inlet adjacent to the printable surface and one or more outlets that exit onto the printable surface. The one or more outlets are hermetically sealed to the inlet. The support structure may also include an injection mechanism operatively coupled to the at least one input.

Abstract: A support structure of a 3D printer may include a printable surface that receives a heated bead of material and can support one or more extruded layers of material from the 3D printer. The support structure may include at least one inlet adjacent to the printable surface and one or more outlets that exit onto the printable surface. The one or more outlets are hermetically sealed to the inlet. The support structure may also include an injection mechanism operatively coupled to the at least one input.

Abstract: A technique for consolidating threads of diverse materials into a cohesive consolidated composite thread that includes a channel with an entry and exit, designed to accommodate threads of both the first and second materials. Equipped with one or more heaters, the technique raises the temperature of the second material above its melting point. A driver propels the threads through the channel, while a thermal conditioner, positioned between the driver and exit of the channel, lowers the temperature of the second material below its melting point prior to entering an extruder nozzle, where it is reheated above the second material below its melting point and deposited onto a 3D printed object.

Abstract: The attachment system includes an inner carrier, in which the object being carried is held in place, and an outer jacket sized to fit around the inner carrier and slidingly move with respect to said inner carrier. A first set of hooks oriented in a first direction are mounted on the inner carrier and a second set of hooks are mounted on the outer jacket and oriented in a direction opposite to the first set of hooks. Each set of hooks are sized to fit into corresponding web panels or straps (webbing) on the web panel carrier. The inner carrier and jacket are then manually separated vertically by a user and held in place by means of at least one detent formed by the inner carrier and jacket, such that the first and second sets of hooks vertically separate. The detent comprises one or more latching tabs on the surface of one of the carrier and jacket and a plurality of apertures, ridges, or the like formed on one surface of the other of said carrier and jacket and opposite to said latching tabs.