Potentials and challenges of additive manufacturing using highly transparent silicone materials

While additive manufacturing technologies for metals and classical polymers have been available industrially for years, research in additive manufacturing using highly transparent silicone materials is still in its early stages. Silicone-based optics offer better resistance to environmental impacts and higher ambient temperatures compared to conventionally manufactured optics made of thermoplastics. Further advantages are the reversible deformability of silicone materials, enabling adaptive optics with a high degree of design freedom. In addition, due to their biocompatibility, specific silicones can be applied in the field of biomedical engineering. The main challenges using additive manufacturing for optical elements are the layered structure and the necessity of support structures, leading to high transmission losses and a high degree of post-processing. In addition the viscosity of silicone plays a decisive role in the extrusion of the material. This contribution investigates potentials and challenges in additive manufacturing using highly transparent silicone materials with the objective to identify a suitable process type for manufacturing silicone-based optical elements.