3D Printing of Silicone Elastomers for Soft Actuators

Abstract

A procedure for 3D printing of silicone elastomers with a direct ink writing (DIW) process has demonstrated great potential in areas as diverse as flexible electronics, medical devices, and soft robotics. In this report, we propose a comprehensive guide for printing highly stretchable silicones in response to material, equipment and process dilemmas. Specifically, we first tested the material properties of Dow Corning 737, then modeled and simulated two commonly used needles to select a suitable needle, followed by parameter optimization experiments using the built DIW printer to find out the appropriate printing speed and layer height with a defined air pressure and needle diameter. Finally, the optimal combination of parameters was obtained. For further demonstration, artificial muscles and structurally complex soft grippers were also printed directly to verify the feasibility of high-precision 3D printing of soft actuators with soft materials. We believe that this work could provide a guide for further work using the DIW process to print soft matter in a wide range of application scenarios.