Sure, I can design and 3d print a case - been doing it for a while. But the surfaces are rough, they aren't very flexible, and I don't trust the plastics. I've read too many stories about rashes and reactions to mystery plastics. I wanted something that I could wear and that I felt safe giving to other people to wear, something that wasn't rough or toxic or irritating to the skin.
Think of Fit-Bit cases, Swatch watchbands, Croc shoes or even that Cosplay costume that you wear to every convention. I'm okay with a few VOCs and weird plastics touching my skin occasionally. But if I'm going to wear a product all day, seven days a week then I want to know it's safe. And I want my customers to be safe. So, I did some research and wound up finding the same company I've used for years.
I've used Smooth-On casting plastics for years, (affiliate) but I found out they also make a huge line of other products including a wide selection of food and skin safe silicones. They all have special characteristics that make them good for wearing next to the skin and some for making food with. And they all make good molds for casting resin in, so I could always use them for producing other items.
So, I made a quick list of the various food/skin safe materials (NOTE: Food-safe and Skin-safe are not the same thing.)
List of Food and Skin Safe Silicone
Dragon Skin series is a platinum cure silicone with very stretchy characteristics. (affiliate) It's a popular material for special FX, so actors have to wear it for hours at a time. I also like this series because it is easy to mix with a 1:1 ratio. Although vacuum degassing is recommended, I have made good molds and casts with simple shapes.- Dragon Skin 10 (Certified Skin Safe)
- Dragon Skin FX Pro (Certified Skin Safe)
- Dragon Skin 20 - Skin Safe
- Dragon Skin 30 - Skin Safe
Ecoflex line has some skin safe versions. (affiliate) Also stretchy, and I like it because it is low viscosity which makes it easier to get good results without vacuum degassing.
- Ecoflex Gel - Skin Safe
- Ecoflex 00-20 - Skin Safe
- Ecoflex 00-30 (Certified Skin Safe)
- Ecoflex 00-35 fast (Lifecasting)
Smooth-Sil has a few versions that are food safe mold making material. (affiliate) It's not as stretchy and has a Shore Hardness of 40 to 60, but it is very durable. That's good for food molds and maybe electronics cases, but not for stretchy watch bands etc.
- Smooth-Sil 940
- Smooth-Sil 950
- Smooth-Sil 960
SORTA-Clear is another line that has some food safe versions. (affiliate) I like the fact that you can see the electronics embedded inside the case.
- SORTA-Clear 18
- SORTA-Clear 37
- SORTA-Clear 40
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| List of skin safe silicone to cast 3d prints |
NOTES:
The Body Double and Skin Tite lines are also meant to make body casts with or be worn as FX so they might be good for wearable cases also. They look like they would be better for making casts for custom fit devices instead of making the actual object, but I've never tried these two lines so I can't say for sure.
I also want to try the sprayable silicone coating products. It looks like it might be good for my weather station and snow blower robot. These products create a clear protective rubberized coating and could help keep my electronic boards safer in outdoor installations.
And I need to research the safety of pigments and colorings to see if the silicone remains food and skin safe after the colorants are applied.
