CSIRO develops silicone resins suitable for 3D printing biomedical parts

Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed a family of silicone resins for 3D printing that offers high resolution and tunable mechanical properties. Additionally, the silicone resins can be printed on common, off-the-shelf 3D printers.

The silicone resins work on the digital light processing 3D printer (light wavelength range from 360-500 nm). It is accessible to common commercially available desktop DLP printers with no need for modification.

The technology is likely to also work in stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers and perhaps, with modification, in other photocurable 3D printers such as inkjet and extrusion.

CSIRO’s biomedical polymer chemists have paved the way for a new era of manufacturing silicone parts with their patented silicone resins for 3D printers.

The silicone resins can be used to 3D print customized parts with high resolution and tunable mechanical properties. Most importantly, and unlike any other product currently on the market, CSIRO’s silicone resins can be used with off-the-shelf 3D printers without need for modification.

The tough, super soft silicone has excellent resilience, elasticity and compressive properties. It can be used to print complex and irregular shapes with hollow structures and thin walls.

Applications include dental and hearing devices, prosthetics and intricate biomedical parts.