Printing silicone hollow structures in a bath of hydrogel
摘要
This publication examines whether the production of additively manufactured hollow silicone components is feasible. The silicone components are manufactured in a hydrogel, as the silicone can be deposited in a suspended state and thus the deposited layers do not sink, as is the case with other additively manufactured silicone components. The investigation in this publication relates to the production of a hollow cube, whereby the minimum opening diameters for removing the hydrogel from the interior and the minimum possible silicone wall thickness are initially considered. The minimum possible wall thickness is confirmed by means of leak tests. In addition, tensile test specimens are produced in two different manufacturing directions as part of the investigations to demonstrate the isotropy of the Rapid Liquid Print process. The publication concludes with an outlook and possible areas of application.