3D printing technology provides a revolutionary solution for manufacturing complex structures with silicone rubber. Through optimized printing processes and material formulations, silicone rubber is transitioning from traditional molding to customized, high-precision manufacturing.
1. UV-Curable 3D Printing Technology
A UV-curable silicone rubber system has been developed, enabling micro-nano precision printing using digital light processing (DLP) technology. For example, a silicone rubber precursor containing Irgacure 819 initiator cures in just 100 ms under 405 nm light, allowing the fabrication of microfluidic chips with a minimum feature size of 50 μm. This technology is used for rapid prototyping of lab-on-a-chip devices.
2. Multi-Material Composite Printing
By combining fused deposition modeling (FDM) with UV-curing technology, composite printing of silicone rubber with other materials (e.g., metals, ceramics) is achieved. For instance, printing silver nanowire-containing silicone rubber electrodes with polylactic acid (PLA) support structures yields flexible sensors with high conductivity (10² S/cm) and complex 3D geometries.
3. Customized Biomedical Applications
3D printing technology is used to fabricate personalized silicone rubber implants. By modeling medical imaging data, bionic-structured artificial joint spacers are printed. Their surface micropores (50-200 μm) promote bone cell ingrowth, and mechanical properties match natural cartilage (compression modulus: 1-5 MPa). Clinical trials show a 90% recovery rate of joint mobility post-surgery.
High Temperature Resistance Silicone Rubber
