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Jan 29, 2024

What are the advantages of silicone 3D printing?

21 April 2023 14:50 Sterne discusses the advantages of silicone 3D printing.

21 April 2023

14:50

Sterne discusses the advantages of silicone 3D printing.

Prototyping is the first application that comes to one's mind when referring to 3D printing. A use which makes sense regarding today's sustainable development issues.

Prototyping gives the client the possibility to reduce the development costs and secure its investment. By being able to visualise and test a real copy of the final piece, the client can thus validate their project without having to heavily invest immediately, for instance, in a machined mould used for big series.

The design loop stages are done upstream, before launching the design and making a machined mould, and all the modifications are done before to time and money - which is a valuable asset in today's era where sustainable investment and limiting your carbon footprint is a consideration.

But silicone 3D printing is much more than prototyping.

Technologies used for a wide panel of solutions

These technologies, developed by Sterne, allow to multiply the possibilities. 3D printing is a valuable answer to small series or tailor-made unique needs, for which the making of a machined mould would not be cost-effective.

The SiO-Shaping technologies open the scope of possibilities to answer to unique or tailor-made components. Whether it is to replace a broken part, or to produce a tailor-made component in small quantities, silicone 3D printing brings solutions in a reduced delay (+/- 2 weeks) and at a lower cost.

But sometimes, some components can hardly be 3D printed because they are too complex. Fortunately, there is a solution: low-pressure moulding.

This technology consists of making a 3D printed plastic mould, in which the component is then moulded by low-pressure injection. The advantage of the lower pressure moulding technology is the possibility to print an infinity of shapes.

21 April 2023

14:50