Three-Dimensional Printing Ink Preparation and Process Analysis of Magnetorheological Elastomer With Complex Structure

Abstract

Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) has great application prospects in the fields of shock absorption, isolation, sensing, and soft robots. However, the MRE precursor mixture cannot be printed directly due to its low viscosity and long curing time, which makes it difficult to manufacture MRE with complex structure, or multifunctional composite. Aiming at the MRE 3D printing dilemmas of material and process issues, a rheology modifier ink preparation method of MRE precursor mixture and a MRE 3D printing process that use MRE precursor mixtures to print directly with direct ink writing (DIW) are proposed. To obtain high-precision manufacturing process, the influence of process parameters such as nozzle diameter, extrusion pressure, feed speed, and nozzle height on the ink filaments is analyzed on the basis of theoretical models and experiments. The experiment results show that MREs with different characteristics and complex structures can be printed with high precision(≤0.2 mm), and the proposed MRE ink and 3D printing process are valid. To further verify the feasibility of 3D printing MRE, the magnetorheological effects of 3D-printed MRE samples are tested, and their stiffness can be improved under magnetic field conditions.