Additive manufacturing of silicone for biomedical applications

Abstract

The manufacturing of silicone-based elastomers has been the center of research for several decades and the renaissance of the manufacturing industry via additive manufacturing (AM) seems to verve the hype of the widespread industrial applications of silicone by providing solutions to the challenges of manufacturing components with the material through the classical manufacturing approach. The unique flexibility of silicone combined with the geometrical precision printing capability of the AM has enabled the manufacturing of intricate microfluidics structures with surface functionalization properties, bionic fingers, wearable devices, bespoke nasal prostheses, customized sports mouth guards, heart valves, etc. The impending challenges such as the formulation of the silicone resin with the right viscosity, slow curing process, shear-thinning, printing of overhanging structures, small dimensions, printing speed, poor resolution, etc. are paving the way and becoming the driving force for progressive innovative research.