Hydrostatic 3D-printing for soft material structures using low one-photon polymerization

This paper studies the feasibility of a 3D printing method that enables a hydrostatic condition for support-free fabrication, named hydrostatic 3D printing (H3P). Soft structures are difficult to build in additive manufacturing due to the low stiffness. H3P utilizes low one-photon polymerization (LOPP) to achieve “in-liquid” curing surrounded by the hydrostatic pressure. Single-spot curing and continuous printing were investigated for a UV-curable silicone material under different light intensities and exposure times. Initial results have demonstrated LOPP effects for H3P. The equivalent exposure time in continuous printing was found shorter than a stationary single-spot curing due to a non-linear intensity distribution.