Additive manufacturing of silicone-thermoplastic elastomeric composite architectures

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) and direct ink writing (DIW) enable the free-form design and printing of complex architectures using a range of materials. Compared with traditional manufacturing technologies, AM methods are highly automated to reduce waste, assembly costs, and processing errors. By combining different AM deposition methods, we can fabricate composite materials with desired spatial arrangements and anisotropies to meet unique design requirements and to produce integrated multi-material components that are not easily manufactured by traditional strategies. To address a wide variety of mechanical performance requirements, developing hybrid AM technologies into a low-cost, fully-automated manufacturing process can realize a number of new types of elastomer composite architectures. In this work, FFF and DIW methods have been combined to fabricate thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) reinforced silicone composite materials. Several specimens with different silicone and TPU infill patterns have been designed to characterize the mechanical compression responses of these structures. With 40-80% infill percentages of silicone and 20-60% infill percentages of TPU, composites specimens can be designed to get any specified compression response between 600 N and 9000 N. This TPU-reinforced silicone printing technique can be applied for silicone composite architecture design in a wide range of applications that require tunable elastic responses.

Automated summary

Additive manufacturing methods allow for the design and printing of complex structures using various materials. In this study, fused filament fabrication and direct ink writing methods were combined to fabricate TPU-reinforced silicone composite materials, with different infill patterns designed to achieve specific compression responses. This hybrid AM technology has the potential to create a wide range of elastomer composite architectures with tunable elastic responses.