Title: Post-processing opportunities of professional and consumer grade 3D printing equipment: a comparative study

Authors: Iñigo Flores Ituarte; Sergei Chekurov; Mika Salmi; Jukka Tuomi; Jouni Partanen

Addresses: Department of Engineering Design and Production, Aalto University School of Engineering, Espoo, Finland ' Department of Engineering Design and Production, Aalto University School of Engineering, Espoo, Finland ' Department of Engineering Design and Production, Aalto University School of Engineering, Espoo, Finland ' Department of Engineering Design and Production, Aalto University School of Engineering, Espoo, Finland ' Department of Engineering Design and Production, Aalto University School of Engineering, Espoo, Finland

Abstract: The paper describes to the machine user community how to improve surface quality and dimensional stability of additively produced parts. A case geometry is designed to compare the subtractive finishing process of FDM parts. Two different machines are used to produce a sample to be post-processed with a CNC milling machine. Geometrical and dimensional features are analysed with a 3D scanner to assess the reliability and repeatability of the post-processing for engineering applications. In addition, causal relationships of the hybrid approaches and final part geometric accuracy can be understood. Results show that the reliability of consumer grade machines needs to be improved substantially to implement them into engineering applications. Geometry distortions, due to thermal warping and delamination problems and due to lack of shear strength, are the obstacles to overcome in the development of hybrid subtractive processes. Nevertheless, machine users can benefit from the methodology presented in order to plan hybrid processes and improve final manufacturing quality.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; 3D printing; hybrid manufacturing; post-processing; tolerance analysis; comparative study; surface quality; dimensional stability; FDM parts; fused deposition modelling; CNC milling; machine reliability; engineering applications; geometry distortions; thermal warping; delamination; shear strength.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2015.073548

International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, 2015 Vol.5 No.1, pp.58 - 75

Received: 02 Sep 2015
Accepted: 15 Oct 2015
Published online: 11 Dec 2015 *

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