Method for manufacturing a silicone elastomer article using a 3D printer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a silicone elastomer article comprising the following step: 1) providing a composition C, comprising water and at least 20% by weight of at least one poloxamer, into a container; 2) placing the container comprising the composition C at the required temperature T1 to form a gel; 3) printing a crosslinkable silicone composition X into the gel obtained in 2) with a 3D printer at the required temperature T1; 4) optionally allowing the printed composition X to partially or totally crosslink, optionally by heating, to obtain a silicone elastomer article, into the container; 5) optionally placing the container obtained in step 4) at a temperature T3 lower than the sol-gel transition temperature of composition C; 6) recovering the silicone elastomer article; and 7) optionally washing the obtained silicone elastomer article for example with water at a temperature T3 lower than the sol-gel transition temperature of composition C.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.