3D printing in Silicone

Silicone is an elastic material with outstanding mechanical, chemical and thermal properties. A higher degree of customisation and precision is achievable with 3D printing in silicone in comparison to injection molding.

Medical grade silicone • Biocompatible • Food Safe 

3D printed silicone

About silicone

Silicone is a biocompatible elastomeric polymer with excellent mechanical and chemical properties. The ability of 3D printing industrial parts in real silicone is one of the major technological breakthroughs in the additive manufacturing world of the last 5 years. Until recent years, the alternative was to use either injection molding or other materials that attempted to mimic the rubber-like properties of silicone.

Silicone is an extremely versatile material with unique properties that can be used for many high-performance applications due to its resistance to extreme environments. For instance, 3D printing in Silicone enables the creation of end-parts with a high degree of flexibility and precision that can be sterilized. It can withstand high extremes, it offers good electrical resistance and the possibility of printing parts with different levels of elasticity.

In comparison to injection molding, 3D printing offers a higher degree of customization and enables the production of parts that are higher in complexity. For those reasons, silicone printing is very popular in the automotive and medical industries.

Strengths

✦ Biocompatible, versatile and elastic material

✦ Medical grade silicone

✦ High performance material with outstanding mechanical and chemical properties

✦ Great accuracy and precision

✦ Highly complex and customised parts in comparison to injection molded silicone

✦ No need for molds

Weaknesses

✧ Higher cost than injection molding

✧ Not recyclable

common applications of silicone

+ Dental prothesis & hearing aids

+ Custom sealings

+ Orthopedic shoes insoles

available technologies on our Silicone 3D Print Service

SLA

Stereolithography creates objects with a high level of precision and surface quality.

Drop on Demand

ACEO’s DoD printer is able to create extremely fine structure with impressive precision.

Characteristics of 3D printing in Silicone with sla

Max. Bed Size (mm)

300x445x200 mm

Max. Bed Size (in)

11.9×17.5×7.9 in

Layer Height

100 μm

Lead Time

10 days

Accuracy

★★☆☆☆

Smoothness

★★☆☆☆

Flexibility

★★★★★

Rigidity

★☆☆☆☆

Biocompatible

Yes

Food Safe

Yes

Watertight

Yes

Recyclable

No

general technical data for 3d printing in silicone

Density

1.08 g/cm3

Young Modulus

0.1 MPa

Yield Strength

Not tested

UTS

1.4 Mpa

Elongation at Break

700%

Hardness

Shore A0, A10, A20, A30, A40, A50, A60

* These values are meant to give a general idea of the material. Actual values may vary according to chosen material brand, 3D print service and build condition. Please refer to the Beamler online quoting platform for actual technical data of each material brand. 

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