3D Printing for Dielectric Elastomers

We present an analysis on the feasibility of the 3D printing technology known as Stereolithography for adaption to Dielectric Elastomer (DE) Production. We also present a method for 3D printing in two materials using Stereolithography, solving one of the main challenges identified in adapting this technology to DEs. Stereolithography is well suited to DE production because of similarities in the materials used and because of its high achievable resolution. However, DE production requires the use of two separate materials, and of soft materials, both of which are difficult with Stereolithography. Our method makes two material printing with Stereolithography possible by using multiple resin baths and an intermediary cleaning step. If the other challenges can be overcome, automatic 3D production of DEs will be possible.