3D Printing of High Viscosity Reinforced Silicone Elastomers

Nicholas Rodriguez; Samantha Ruelas; Jean-Baptiste Forien; Nikola Dudukovic; Josh DeOtte; Jennifer Rodriguez; Bryan Moran; James P. Lewicki; Eric B. Duoss; James S. Oakdale

doi:10.3390/polym13142239

journal article Open Access Jul 08, 2021

3D Printing of High Viscosity Reinforced Silicone Elastomers

Nicholas Rodriguez

Samantha Ruelas

Jean-Baptiste Forien

Nikola Dudukovic Josh DeOtte

Jennifer Rodriguez Bryan Moran James P. Lewicki Eric B. Duoss

James S. Oakdale

Polymers Vol. 13 No. 14 pp. 2239 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/polym13142239

Abstract

Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, including biomedical devices, prosthetics, metamaterials, and soft robotics. Stereolithography (SLA) is a complementary approach with the ability to print with finer features and potentially higher throughput. However, all high-performance silicone elastomers are composites of polysiloxane networks reinforced with particulate filler, and consequently, silicone resins tend to have high viscosities (gel- or paste-like), which complicates or completely inhibits the layer-by-layer recoating process central to most SLA technologies. Herein, the design and build of a digital light projection SLA printer suitable for handling high-viscosity resins is demonstrated. Further, a series of UV-curable silicone resins with thiol-ene crosslinking and reinforced by a combination of fumed silica and MQ resins are also described. The resulting silicone elastomers are shown to have tunable mechanical properties, with 100–350% elongation and ultimate tensile strength from 1 to 2.5 MPa. Three-dimensional printed features of 0.4 mm were achieved, and complexity is demonstrated by octet-truss lattices that display negative stiffness.

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References

Details

Published: Jul 08, 2021
Vol/Issue: 13(14)
Pages: 2239
License: View

Authors

N

Nicholas Rodriguez

Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 204 E. Dean Keeton Street, Austin, TX 78712, USA

S

Samantha Ruelas

Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, USA

J

Jean-Baptiste Forien

Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550, USA

N

Nikola Dudukovic