Silicone Foam Additive Manufacturing by Liquid Rope Coiling

Abstract

This study investigates the additive manufacturing (AM) of a porous silicone foam by liquid rope coiling, a method in which a thin viscous fluid stream generates a helical coil structure while extruding from a specific height onto a moving surface. The moisture-cured silicone liquid rope coiling experiments were conducted to identify effects of four parameters, height, flow rate, nozzle size, and travelling speed, on the regime diagram and dimensions of coiling patterns, including steady, meandering, figure-of-eight, coiling, and side kicks. The coiling pattern was demonstrated to be feasible for layer-by-layer AM of silicone foams.