Additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology using thermoplastics and metals have found mainstream use and acceptance. Nevertheless, these methods are not suitable for several industrially important materials, such as silicones and epoxies that are formed by mixing two or more reactive components and chemically inducing crosslinking. The reaction increases the viscosity of the material significantly, which greatly affects the printing process. Here, we develop an inkjet-based printing method that generates droplets of the reactive components simultaneously, merges and mixes them in free space and deposits these curing droplets so that 3D structures can be formed. It uses low viscosity, highly reactive silicone inks that cannot be printed using conventional methods of additive manufacturing and expands the range of 3D printable materials. The method enables stable and uninterrupted printing and allows for multi and rapid start-stop cycles. The high reactivity of the ink used allows printing of high aspect ratio features, as well as structures that do not require supporting scaffolds. The capabilities of the new printing method, such as non-contact printing, on-demand printing, and the ability to handle highly reactive materials make it suitable for a wide range of industrial and home use of 3D printing technology for non-thermoplastic polymeric materials.

使用热塑性塑料和金属的增材制造和 3D 打印技术已被主流使用和接受。然而，这些方法不适用于几种工业上重要的材料，例如通过混合两种或多种反应性成分并通过化学诱导交联形成的有机硅和环氧树脂。该反应显着增加了材料的粘度，极大地影响了印刷过程。在这里，我们开发了一种基于喷墨的打印方法，可以同时生成反应组分的液滴，将它们合并和混合在自由空间中，然后沉积这些固化液滴，从而形成 3D 结构。它使用无法使用传统增材制造方法打印的低粘度、高反应性有机硅墨水，并扩展了 3D 可打印材料的范围。该方法可实现稳定和不间断的打印，并允许多次快速启动-停止循环。所用墨水的高反应性允许打印高纵横比特征，以及不需要支撑支架的结构。新打印方法的功能，例如非接触式打印、按需打印以及处理高反应性材料的能力，使其适用于非热塑性聚合物材料的 3D 打印技术的广泛工业和家庭使用.