US Patent 11872751 Printer jetting mechanism and printer employing the printer jetting mechanism

A three-dimensional (“3D”) printer. The 3D printer comprises a plurality of ejector conduits arranged in an array, each ejector conduit comprising a first end positioned to accept a print material, a second end comprising an ejector nozzle, and a passageway defined by an inner surface of the ejector conduit for allowing the print material to pass through the ejector conduit from the first end to the second end. The 3D printer further comprises: a plurality of radiant energy sources, the plurality of radiant energy sources being positionable so that a path of radiant energy emitted from one or more of the plurality of radiant energy sources is capable of striking the ejector nozzle of each of the plurality of ejector conduits during operation of the 3D printer; and a positioning system for controlling the relative position of the array with a print substrate in a manner that would allow the print substrate to receive print material jettable from the plurality of ejector conduits during operation of the 3D printer.