Method for producing silicone elastomer parts

A process for the layer-by-layer production of shaped silicone elastomer parts, comprising the following steps:

• 1) dropwise applying drops by an independently controllable jetting apparatus in an x, y work plane via at least one printing head, of at least one silicone rubber composition curable by electromagnetic radiation, to an independently spatially controllable baseplate or to a shaped body affixed thereto,
• 2) crosslinking or incipiently crosslinking a drop or two or more drops by irradiating with at least one independently controllable source of electromagnetic radiation, to form a layer of a cured or partially cured shaped silicone elastomer part.
• 3) displacing the jetting apparatus (1) or the shaped silicone elastomer part from step 2 relative to each other in the z-direction only far enough such that a next drop layer can be applied in the x, y work plane,
• 4) repeating steps 1 to 3 until construction of the shaped silicone elastomer part is complete, wherein
• a) the curable silicone rubber composition is addition-crosslinkable and crosslinking in step 2 is induced by means of electromagnetic radiation either thermally and/or by UV or UV-VIS light,
• b) the silicone rubber composition has a viscosity of at least 10 Pa·s, measured at 25° C. and a shear rate of 0.5 s−1, and is formulated as a one-component or multi-component system, and wherein when the addition-crosslinkable silicone rubber composition is a multicomponent system, the components are homogeneously mixed prior to applying by drops in step 1),
• c) the drops in the x, y work plane are exposed to the electromagnetic radiation site-selectively or areally, in pulses or continuously, and with constant or variable intensity, and
• d) steps 1) and 2) and 3) take place independently of one another, or are coupled to one another, simultaneously or in succession, in any order.