A look at the latest advances in silicone 3D printing
Silicone, a material widely used in the production of consumer products, construction materials, electronics, medical devices and much more, has remained something of a challenge within the 3D printing industry. These challenges are associated with processing a material with the specific properties of silicone, particularly its high viscosity, which makes it difficult to extrude or deposit with precision, as well as its thermoset nature, which prohibits traditional extrusion processes that rely on melting the material. Fortunately, however, there have been significant advances in the field of silicone 3D printing—some within just the last few months. In this article, we want to look at the latest breakthroughs in the still very niche segment of silicone 3D printing, from world-first materials to cameos on hit TV shows.
The industry’s first silicone filament
First, let’s rewind to Formnext 2024, where Filament2 unveiled the industry’s first silicone 3D printing filament, capable of being used on standard FFF 3D printers. The pure silicone filament isn’t quite a normal filament, and using it on an FFF platform does require a simple hardware adaptation. Here’s how the material works: Filament2 has developed a technology that essentially fills a hollow filament-sized tube with a silicone paste. This silicone-filled filament can be fed easily into standard 3D printers, provided they are fitted with a special cutting nozzle, which removes the filament casing as it is fed through the printhead and extruded onto the print bed. This tube-core filament approach—also compatible with other paste materials, like biogels and ceramic pastes—can open up greater efficiency for prototyping silicone parts, as well as making silicone manufacturing more accessible.
Pure silicone for HPS 3D printing
Around the same as as the silicone filament was introduced, Axtra3D launched the first 100% pure silicone material for the Lumia X1, a resin 3D printer based on the company’s Hybrid PhotoSynthesis (HPS) technology. Called TrueSil-X50, the material is a 50-shore-hardness silicone that has applications in the healthcare industry, like anatomical models, wearable devices and implants; in the electronics and robotics sectors for the production of grippers and connectors; and in consumer goods, for wearables, custom-fit headphones and more. Being able to 3D print pure silicone using Axtra3D’s HPS technology—which combines the benefits of SLA (high precision) with those of DLP (namely, rapid throughput)—enables end users to produce high-quality silicone components, with isotropic properties and ultra-fine details, at efficient rates. According to Rajeev Kulkarni, CSO of Axtra3D, TrueSil-X50 is just the first in a series of silicone materials to be released for the Lumia X1.
For context, TrueSil-X50 isn’t the first 100% silicone compatible with a resin technology: Formlabs also introduced Silicone 40A in 2023, compatible with its Form 3D printers, while previously Carbon had launched SIL 30, a silicone urethane. Though not pure, this material offers many of the benefits of pure silicone, like biocompatibility and flexibility.
Lynxter x 3DEUS Dynamics
Most recently, France-based silicone and elastomer 3D printing pioneer Lynxter announced it was teaming up with 3DEUS, Dynamics, another French company pursuing silicone 3D printing. 3DEUS has developed a technology called Dynamic Molding, a patented process that involves depositing silicone material within a powder bed that acts as a support (the “dynamic mold”) for the extruded material. This approach eliminates the need for supports and minimizes waste since 100% of the support powder is reusable. It also opens up the ability to effectively print silicone parts without the effects of gravity. Lynxter’s dedicated silicone 3D printer, the S300X is compatible with 3DEUS’ innovative process, and customers will soon be able to leverage the Dynamic Molding capability as an add-on feature for the S300X, which will include a tray adapter kit, material bundles, support powder and various guides on design and process.
Notably, Lynxter’s S300X 3D printer was used to 3D print a series of silicone handbags by design label Incxnnue, one of which was recently featured on Netflix’s hit show Emily in Paris. The bag in question is COMETE, an eye-grabbing piece that combines cutting-edge silicone 3D printing with traditional leatherwork. Lynxter experts, including CEO Thomas Batigue, assisted in the creation of the handbag, helping to bring the floral-inspired design to life.
Overall, for a technology that many thought near impossible just a handful of years ago, silicone 3D printing has progressed incredibly in a short time. We’re eager, as always, to see what applications, materials and technologies come up in this innovative space.
