Q&A with ViscoTec’s Johanna Bruckhuber

1. What sparked your interest in this particular field, and what continues to drive your passion for it?
Silicone is a material that is highly interesting for additive manufacturing. If you take the well-known advantages of Silicones, like biocompatibility, thermal stability, Elasticity, … and combine it with the advantages of additive manufacturing like personalization, small lot sizes and production on site, you get big advantages in a lot of industries, such as medical technology or general industry.

2. Your presentation at Silicone Expo Europe is titled “Silicone 3D Printing: Meet the Industrial Ecosystem (Machine, Materials, Manufacturers, Technology).” Can you provide a concise summary of the key takeaways attendees can expect to gain from your session?

With the vipro-HEADs of ViscoTec using the Endless Piston Principle you can 3d print with real silicones and other fluid or pasty materials (like PU, ceramics, biological materials, etc.) without adding any additives which is highly interesting for industries like medical technology.

It is an extrusion-based approach that uses a volumetric dosing system. Key advantages of the technology also include printing with multi materials, using materials with very high viscosity and achieving a high process stability with a dosing accuracy of 99 %. You can use the technology for one or two component materials. With additional equipment, the vipro-HEAD can be heat or an additive can be added to the process.

3. What are the most significant challenges or opportunities you see currently facing the Silicone 3d printing Industry? How does your presentation address these?

Opportunities: With our technology you can keep the outstanding material properties of Silicones (biocompatibility, thermal stability, Elasticity, …) and combine them with the advantages of additive manufacturing (personalization, production on site, …). Challenges: to create a reliable 3d printing process with Silicones you need a perfectly adjusted system, which includes a 3d printer, the software, material and our technology. We are happy to have such great collaborations and that we can create real added value for the printing processes of our partners.

4. Who is your ideal audience for this presentation? Which professionals would benefit the most from attending your session? (e.g., engineers, researchers, business leaders, etc.)
Anyone who wants to 3d print with Silicones or other fluids/pastes.

5. Can you share a real-world example or case study that illustrates the practical application of the concepts you’ll be discussing in your presentation?
In Medical technology it´s important to be able to work with certified materials / certified Silicones. Due to this a lot of our customers are heading in this direction. Also, personalization (a key advantage of additive manufacturing) can create important use cases in this sector. An example where our print heads are used is 3Deus Dynamics, who print anatomic models for training to enhance safety in real surgeries.

6. Beyond your presentation, what are you most looking forward to at Silicone Expo Europe? (e.g., networking, specific sessions, exploring the exhibition, etc.)
Networking at our first own booth this year!

7. What are some key resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) that you would recommend to someone looking to deepen their understanding of the topics covered in your presentation?
Website: 3D Druckköpfe

Youtube-Playlist: ViscoTec 2K Druckkopf für 3D-Druck von Fluiden und Pasten

LinkedIn: (15) 3D printing of fluids & pastes: Beiträge | LinkedIn

8. What are the most important questions that professionals in this industry should be asking themselves today?
– How can we keep the outstanding material properties of Silicone and still be able to use these materials in additive manufacturing?

– How can we create a reliable additive manufacturing process when printing with Silicone?

– What are real Use Cases that benefit from Silicone additive manufacturing?

9. If you could leave the audience with one lasting message from your presentation, what would it be?
With ViscoTec technology you can keep the outstanding material properties of Silicone while using it in a reliable additive manufacturing process.