At the world trade show K 2016 on Wednesday October 19th, we discovered an interesting product called Sterne Elastomers, a silicone printer. Sterne Elastomers is a silicone-based company based in caveron, France. The new silicone-based printer is called sio-shaping 1601 and USES a silicone-based material that can be 100% photocured by ultraviolet light.


The sio-shaping 1601 printer combines both FDM and SLA technologies and is currently capable of printing at a minimum thickness of 0.25mm. Anthony Pellafol, a materials engineer at the company, says it is expected to reduce the thickness to 0.1mm next year with technological breakthroughs. This machine has two main advantages. First, the curing process is almost instantaneous, so it can be very efficient to print products; The second is that the photocuring process takes place at very low temperatures, so sophisticated electronic components, such as leds, can be safely embedded into the product。


Currently, Sterne is positioning its 3D uv-cured silicone printing products for medical devices. Silicone is a biocompatible material, which can be used for long - or short-term biological transplantation. Products that can be manufactured include catheters, feeding tubes, scar materials, etc. At present, 60% of the clients are from the medical field.


To summarize the parameters of sio-shaping 1601 silicone 3D printer:

• maximum print size 250*200*100mm

• minimum print layer thickness: 0.25mm

• hardness: 30-60 shore's hardness

• coloring: transparent material, opaque material (red, green, yellow, black...) , phosphorescent material

Check out the Antarctic bear 3D printing network, check out the 3D mall below, for high performance 3D printing resins.