US Patent 11938692 Material extruder

A soft material extruder including a housing having a cavity, an inlet configured to receive a material and an outlet. The extruder also includes a first intermeshed gear pair positioned in the cavity proximate the inlet, the first intermeshed gear pair that when driven is configured to draw material from the inlet into the cavity, a heating element positioned in the cavity proximate the outlet, wherein the heating element is configured to melt material in the vicinity of the outlet and a second intermeshed gear pair positioned in the cavity proximate the outlet, the second intermeshed gear pair forming a gear pump that when driven is configured to push molten material towards the outlet so that molten material is expelled from the outlet.