Flexible Materials for 3D Printing

3D printing method to create structures with directional fibers in situ during printing. The method involves using a multi-phase ink with a continuous phase and discrete phase. During extrusion, the discrete phase fibers form within the continuous phase due to shear forces. This allows creating structures with oriented fibers inside without preloading short fibers. The orientation can be controlled by the ink composition and printing parameters. The method enables manufacturing of directional microfilament/through-hole hydrogel structures, composite hydrogel oriented structures, and oriented hydrogel scaffolds.

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3D printing method to create deformable 3D objects with reduced deformation forces during printing. The method involves printing deformable filaments on a deformable substrate using a 3D printer. The filament volume flow rate is controlled to reduce the deformation force applied to the substrate. This allows forming intricate, void-free 3D articles with reduced deformation compared to conventional printing methods. The deformable substrate and filaments enable higher complexity structures with reduced deformation. The reduced deformation forces prevent tilting and warping during printing. The controlled flow rate avoids deformation while still providing void-free layers.

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3D printing silicone elastomer articles with complex shapes using water-based supports that can be easily removed and recycled. The method involves 3D printing a silicone elastomer with a cross-linkable composition and support with a nano clay and water composition. The clay-water support is compatible with the silicone printing material and allows for printing complex shapes. The support can be dissolved and reused after printing.

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Body-mounted components like orthoses have improved flexibility and resistance to breakage when bent. The components are made by 3D printing using a resin material that has high elongation at break when stretched. This elongation property allows the 3D-printed parts to bend and stretch without breaking.

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3D printed structures made from liquid crystal elastomers that can change shape in response to environmental stimuli. The structures are printed using stereolithography and have segments in different orientations to enable 3D-to-3D shape change. To achieve this, magnetic fields control liquid crystal alignment during printing.

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3D printing of elastomeric rubber seals using a 3D printer with two print heads. The first head extrudes the rubber material, which is heated and mixed in an extruder like a screw to cure it partially. The extruder is also heated. The second head prints a support structure of a more rigid material around the rubber layers to prevent sagging. The rubber layers are printed on a heated bed.

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The additive manufacturing method for customizing 3D printed footwear using selective powder deposition, curing, and shaping. The process involves spraying a liquid to coat select areas of a sheet, applying powder only to uncoated areas, and removing excess powder via suction. The sheets are stacked, compressed, heated, and cured. Uncured powder is removed, leaving a flexible, flat sheet that can be molded into a 3D shoe upper. The method allows different material properties in different areas of the product.

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Smart rings are wearables that have improved fit, charging, customization, and interactivity over conventional rings. The smart ring has a flexible body with removable parts that can be customized to fit the user's finger. Magnetic break-away portions secure the parts together, allowing the ring to be adjusted for a better fit. The ring can also have sensors, batteries, and other components to provide functionality like biometric tracking. The ring can be additively manufactured using 3D printing and scanning to create user-specific designs.

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A laser manufacturing method for making flexible sensors that can conformally attach to curved 3D surfaces. The method involves coating a laser-sensitive material directly onto the curved surface and then using a 3D dynamic focus laser system to pattern and cure the material into the desired flexible sensor structure. This allows the sensor to be manufactured directly on the curved surface instead of using transfer printing or splitting 2D patterns. The laser conformal manufacturing achieves precise sensor attachment to the curved surface.

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A method for 3D printing complex shapes with overhangs and apertures that allows simpler and more efficient printing compared to existing methods. The method involves printing a 3D structure in a first plane, cooling it, heating one surface, deforming it in a second plane, cooling the deformed structure, and printing is complete. The deformation step lets you print complex shapes with overhangs and apertures without support structures by bending the printed material in a different plane.

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Additive manufacturing method for printing soft materials like silicones that deform after extrusion. The method involves using a support material surrounding the extrusion nozzle and depositing the soft material within it. The support material prevents warping and helps the soft material retain shape. The printing process also optimizes parameters like printing speed and flow setting to match the deformable ink properties. The support bath is dissolved after printing to release the object. The slicing software is modified to account for the unique filament morphology and deformability of soft materials in embedded printing.

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Elastic polymer structure with controlled porosity and roughness for applications like vehicle seats. The structure is made by 3D printing using selective laser sintering (SLS) with thermoplastic powder, then post-processing at specific pressure and temperature to reduce porosity below 0.16 and surface roughness below 400 nm. This prevents moisture penetration and deformation while improving texture compared to unprocessed 3D printed parts.

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3D printing thermosetting materials like urethane resins to create objects with overhangs without support structures. The printing process involves depositing layers of thermoset material with offset bead placement. This allows the thermoset to cure and form a scaffold before the next layer is printed. By adjusting parameters like print speed, flow rate, and residence time, the thermoset can be controlled to prevent sagging and collapse. The offset bead placement provides stability for overhangs without requiring support structures.

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Freeform 3D printing of polymeric materials using a liquid build material, solvent, and nebulized coagulation agent. The method involves dispensing the liquid build material into air, spraying a coagulation agent nearby to partially coagulate it, then repeating for subsequent layers. The partial coagulation allows building without supports. The printed part is further coagulated post-printing to fully solidify. The solvent evaporates during printing. This allows 3D printing of soft, non-melting polymers at room temp without thermal residual stress.

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A method for 3D printing highly porous structures using melt suspension additive manufacturing. The method involves suspending the material in a liquid during printing instead of extruding it. This allows printing of structures with internal voids and cantilevered overhangs without support structures. The process involves: 1) mixing the print material with an oil, 2) feeding the suspension through a nozzle, 3) depositing the suspension layer by layer, and 4) curing the printed structure to solidify it. The oil allows the suspended material to maintain shape without gravity collapse. The cured structure has internal voids and can be easily removed from the oil.

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A 3D printed structure with expanded dimensions when heated. The structure is made by 3D printing a mixture of a thermoplastic material and a thermal expansion material. The thermoplastic material is 50-90% of the total weight, and the thermal expansion material is 10-50% of the total weight. When the printed object is heated, the thermal expansion material expands more than the thermoplastic material, causing the overall structure to expand proportionally. This allows rapid production of complex shapes with the 3D printer, as the expansion occurs during post-processing heating rather than during printing.

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Method for 3D printing complex shapes with improved strength and formability. The method involves using filaments with one end bonded to a substrate when printing. This prevents the filament from curling inside the printer nozzle. The bonded filament is then extruded onto the substrate using a 3D printer. By adhering the filament to the substrate, it can be stretched and controlled during printing, avoiding curling and enabling accurate shape formation.

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3D printing method for preparing shape-free self-deformable shape memory smart materials without requiring manual shaping. The method involves pre-stretching the extruded filaments during 3D printing by adjusting the distance between the extruder head and bottom plate. This imparts prestress that can be fixed into temporary shapes. The printed samples can then spontaneously deform when heated above the glass transition temperature due to the stored prestress. By varying printing height and angles, multi-mode self-deformation is achieved. The 3D printed shape-free self-deformable shape memory smart materials have applications in areas like space systems, underwater robots, and self-assembly systems where remote self-deformation is desired.

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3D printing complex objects with custom properties by additively manufacturing them layer by layer using a print compound containing multiple silicone rubber compositions. The print compound is applied as droplets onto a build platform and crosslinked to form the object. The silicone compositions can have different colors, hardnesses, or chemical functionalities to create composite structures with segments made of different materials. The method allows printing objects with customized shapes and properties by combining silicone rubber segments with other materials.

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Method to prepare 3D printing smart deformable materials that can be printed with complex shapes and large deformations. The method involves modifying polyether ether ketone (PEEK), a high-performance plastic with shape memory, to make it suitable for 3D printing while retaining its deformation properties. The modification involves adding a compounding agent that improves the printability of PEEK at higher temperatures without degrading its shape memory. This allows 3D printing of complex structures with gradients, biomimicry, spirals, and microfeatures that have large deformations.

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Freeform 3D printing method that allows printing of complex parts using dissolved polymers without melting or support structures. The method involves dissolving the polymer in a solvent to form a printable ink. This ink is then extruded into a yield-stress support bath containing a material with high viscosity. The part solidifies in the support bath and can be removed after post-treatment immersion. This allows printing complex shapes without internal supports and avoids thermal damage to the polymer.

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Improving interlayer adhesion in 3D printed objects by preheating the layers before extruding new material. The method involves using a heater on the print head to heat the previously deposited layer to a temperature above the material's transition point before adding the next layer. This preheating step enhances the bonding between the layers as the fresh material fuses with the preheated layer.

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3D printing system for fabricating structures with customized properties by controlling fluid exchange in real time during printing. The system has a platform for supporting a liquid phase, an extruder for printing polymers, inflow and outflow ports to add and remove fluids, and reservoirs to supply fluids. The printing is done in the liquid phase to modify the physical, chemical, mechanical, and biofunctional properties of the printed structure. This allows controlling fluid exchange to tailor the properties of the 3D structure as it's being printed.

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Hybrid 3D printing technique that uses extrusion of potentially photo-curable materials and light curing to generate objects with high spatial resolution and/or without support structures. The technique involves extruding a highly viscous photo-curable material to form layers of an object, then curing it with a focused light beam smaller than the extrusion nozzle diameter. This allows finer details than just extrusion alone. The hybrid technique enables printing high viscosity resins that can't be used in SLA/DLP printers, and avoids support structures in overhangs. It also allows incorporating drugs, sensors, etc into the printed object.

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Method for forming complex 3D structures using PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) that can be printed in a gel medium to provide support during the printing process. The PDMS is printed in layers inside a gel medium, then cured and the gel is removed to leave the final 3D structure. This allows printing of complex shapes that would collapse if printed directly in air. The gel support prevents collapse during printing and provides mechanical stability. After printing, the gel is removed leaving the solid PDMS structure. The gel support is easily dissolved compared to PDMS, making removal simpler. The method enables complex PDMS structures with good stability and cell adhesion.

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A method to improve the mechanical properties of 3D printed objects by embedding reinforced structures inside them. The method involves 3D printing the object with channels, filling them with a curable material, and curing the material to create reinforced structures embedded in the printed object. The channels can have bifurcations or sutures to anchor the reinforced material. The curable material has lower stiffness than the printed material. This provides reinforced areas with improved mechanical properties compared to the surrounding printed material.

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A method for 3D printing complex structures from shape memory and thermoresponsive polymers using fused filament fabrication. The key steps are: 1. Extrude the polymer at low speed (max 20 mm/s) through the printer nozzle to deposit thin layers. 2. Move the printer head back and forth between areas within the layer immediately after deposition. This prevents local melting of the polymer. 3. Use thermoplastic elastomers and shape memory polymers with thermoresponsive properties. These allow complex structures to be printed due to their shape recovery when heated. 4. The printed polymers can contain additives like dyes, pigments, fillers, etc. 5. The printed objects can have sections made from different thermoplastic elastomers and shape memory polymers. 6. The printed parts can be

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3D printing method for crystalline polymers that allows printing of high-performance crystalline polymers without sacrificing mechanical properties. The method involves printing a thin amorphous layer between two crystalline layers during 3D printing. This amorphous layer is then heat treated during printing. The heat treatment is below the crystallization temperature of the crystalline polymer to avoid crystallization. This prevents internal stress buildup and maintains the crystalline polymer's mechanical properties. The amorphous layer provides flexibility and prevents cracking during the heat treatment.

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A method for additive manufacturing of 3D structures using unsupported material deposition without the need for external supports. The method involves generating hollow gel fibers using a dual-nozzle setup where an alginate solution extrudes into a calcium chloride solution. The alginate reacts with the calcium to form a calcium alginate gel on the outer surface of the fiber, leaving an inner core of incompletely reacted alginate. These hollow fibers are then deposited to build the 3D structure. The incompletely reacted alginate in adjacent fibers fuses together due to the restriction of the granular gel. The hollow fiber deposition and fusion process allows for unsupported 3D printing without the need for external supports.

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Method to improve the strength and dimensional accuracy of 3D printed parts by wrapping them in a molten filling material before sintering. The method involves immersing a 3D printed part in a fluid mold, solidifying the filling material around it, then sintering to melt the printed part. This leaves a solid-filled part with better internal layer adhesion and reduced warping compared to conventional 3D printing. After sintering, the filled part is cooled and the exterior filling is removed to leave the improved internal structure.

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4D printing ceramic objects that can change shape over time through the inherent properties of the printed material. The process involves 3D printing an elastic object using a ceramic precursor ink, folding it into a complex structure, and then converting the elastic object into a ceramic object. The folding occurs due to material properties and allows the printed ceramic to have a different shape compared to the initial 3D printed elastic object. The conversion from elastomer to ceramic is achieved through pyrolysis.

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Three-dimensional printing method using a fluid as support instead of solid materials. The method involves slicing the 3D model, then printing it in a container filled with a high viscosity fluid. After printing, the structure is cured in the fluid. When done, the printed object is removed using a colander. The high viscosity fluid has intrinsic fluidity and fills gaps as the print head moves, fixing the printed material in place. Gravity or buoyancy due to density differences supports and holds the printed structure without additional solid supports. This eliminates the need for additional support structures, reduces material consumption, and simplifies post-processing compared to traditional 3D printing methods.

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Preparing 3D printed temperature sensitive flexible actuators using bionics to simplify the printing process, improve stability, and enhance temperature sensitivity. The method involves 3D printing temperature sensitive hydrogel using N-isopropyl acrylamide as the base material. The bionic inspiration comes from the spiral deformation of dew grass, which is used as a biological model to simplify the 3D printing structure and improve temperature sensitivity deformation efficiency. This involves streamlined hydrogel curing molding, simplifying the hydrogel printing process, and improving temperature sensitivity deformation efficiency compared to traditional methods.

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3D printing apparatus and method that enables integrated manufacturing of multi-material and multi-scale structures using a single printhead instead of multiple printheads. The single printhead has multiple material inlets, a mixing chamber, and an agitator to thoroughly mix the printed materials after feeding them into the printhead. This allows seamless transition between different materials like flexible and rigid, accurate control of material components, and rapid material replacement during printing. The printhead can also move relative to the substrate for precise positioning of the printed objects. This single-printhead approach overcomes the limitations of multiple printheads for multi-material and multi-scale 3D printing.

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3D printing method to produce objects with reinforced interior structures. The method involves printing an outer structure using a first material, and then filling the enclosed interior space with a filler material that has a liquid or paste component above the melting point of the outer material. This filler material is introduced into the enclosed space after the outer structure is printed. The filler material solidifies or polymerizes inside the outer structure, creating a reinforced interior. The filler material can be reinforced with fibers to further enhance mechanical properties. The filler material temperature allows it to flow and fill the enclosed space, while the outer structure provides a boundary.

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A 3D printing method that allows producing complex 3D objects with intricate internal structures by filling a printed scaffold with a liquid monomer and polymerizing it. The method involves 3D printing a structure with an internal shape, filling it with a liquid monomer, and polymerizing the monomer to solidify the object. This allows separating the filling process from the shaping process, enabling faster production of complex objects with intricate internal features. The printed scaffold provides the initial shape while the filler fills the internal voids.

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A manufacturing method and apparatus for creating 3D thin shell structures with smooth surfaces and the ability to use materials like soft elastomers or hollow structures that can't be easily formed using conventional laminated manufacturing. The method involves scanning the object to be formed, fixing a cutting material, cutting it into a workpiece based on the scanned data, then extruding a thin shell material on the workpiece surface to create the desired 3D structure. The cutting and extrusion steps are integrated into a single module to avoid errors from using separate machines for each process.

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A new three-dimensional printing method that allows for printing of complex overhanging structures without support materials. The method involves using a two-component print resin with a curable resin and a curing agent. The resin is printed first and then the curing agent is selectively sprayed onto the overhanging areas to cure them, solidifying and supporting the structure. This allows for selective curing of the resin without using a full support material. The curing agent prevents the resin from sagging or warping during printing of overhangs. The curing agent is sprayed from a separate nozzle to avoid clogging the main print nozzle.

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Three-dimensional (3D) inkjet printing using ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and free-radical polymerization (FRP) curable systems. The method involves sequentially forming layers of a composite building material by dispensing ROMP and FRP inks through inkjet heads. The ROMP ink cures at room temperature while the FRP ink requires heat. By controlling the curing conditions, layers can be selectively cured. This allows using ROMP inks with lower viscosities suitable for inkjet printing. The FRP inks cure at higher temperatures. The composites have properties combining ROMP's toughness and thermal resistance with FRP's impact and solvent resistance.

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3D printing using ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) to produce objects with exceptional mechanical properties like high thermal resistance and impact. The method involves sequential layer-by-layer inkjet printing using ROMP materials. The ROMP monomer, catalyst, and toughening agent are dispensed in separate inks. The catalyst is physically separated from the monomer until printing. After deposition, conditions like heat, irradiation, or shear activate the catalyst and initiate ROMP polymerization. This allows using ROMP materials in 3D printing without instant polymerization clogging inkjet heads. The separate catalyst ink prevents instant polymerization. Controlled catalyst activation after deposition allows ROMP to occur.

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3D printing method using thixotropic thermosetting materials to create parts with better mechanical properties compared to conventional thermoplastic 3D printing. The method involves extruding and depositing layers of thixotropic thermoset resin that have thixotropic index greater than 5. The thixotropic resin flows when extruded but doesn't flow under gravity due to a yield strength. The layers don't fuse immediately and retain shape. After deposition, the layers crosslink and cure. This allows building complex parts without supports since the layers don't bond until cured. The thixotropic resin provides improved strength in the z-direction compared to thermoplastics.

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A 3D printing method for temperature-sensitive shape memory polymers that improves print quality and properties compared to conventional methods. The method involves optimized 3D printing parameters like layer thickness, print speed, and extrusion temperature for the specific polymer. This allows fine, flexible, and faster printing of the temperature-sensitive resin compared to generic printing settings.

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Method for manufacturing three-dimensional objects with improved interlayer adherence and reduced distortion using radically polymerized UV curing ink. The key is using UV curing ink with elongation after cure of 130% to 300%. This ink has high wettability to already cured layers, preventing exfoliation and delamination. To form the 3D object, the ink is printed and semi-cured, then more ink is printed and fully cured. This multi-step process allows the ink to flow and bond between layers.

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3D printing method that involves filling a cavity or void in a 3D printed object with a non-Newtonian fluid that solidifies when heated. The fluid is dispensed into the cavity after the object is printed. The fluid can be a thermoplastic, resin, epoxy, or other non-Newtonian material. The fluid is dispensed through a larger opening than the 3D printing layer thickness to fill the cavity quickly. The fluid solidifies in the cavity to create a stronger part.

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3D printing process that improves strength and surface quality of 3D printed objects by infusing them with fiber-reinforced plastic and curable resin. The printing process involves filling the inner layers with fiber-reinforced plastic and the outer layers with curable resin. This provides a reinforced core and a smooth, curable surface. The outer resin is then cured to complete the object. The fiber-reinforced plastic fills voids in the inner layers to improve strength, while the outer resin provides a smooth finish. The process involves separate print heads for fiber-reinforced plastic and resin, and a curing unit for the outer resin.

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Three-dimensional printing method that reduces the cost of 3D printing complex objects by eliminating the need for support structures during printing. The method uses a special print material that undergoes a sol-gel phase transition when hardened. The printer discharges the material in a sol state onto the build platform to form the object layers. The sol material is then irradiated with energy to initiate the gelation process. This allows the printer to print overhangs and complex shapes without needing additional support structures. The sol material transitions to a gel state as it hardens, stabilizing the printed features. The sol-gel transition temperature of the print material is higher than the print chamber temperature to prevent premature gelation. This enables printing complex objects without requiring separate support material.

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