Title: A review of mechanical mass finishing methods in post-processing applications of additively manufactured parts

Authors: Ozhan Kitay; Yusuf Kaynak

Addresses: Department of Machine and Metal Technologies, Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, 11230, Bilecik, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marmara University, Maltepe Campus, 34854, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: Today, additive manufacturing (AM) continues its development by constantly increasing its popularity. The main reasons for this are rapid prototyping and easy production of complex shaped parts. However, since the poor surface quality of AM components negatively affects their performance, it is inevitable to apply post-processing methods. While the surface qualities of post-processed AM components are improving, it is necessary to pay attention to the changes that will occur in the surface integrity characteristics. Mechanical mass finishing methods both improve the surface quality of AM parts, whether metallic or plastic, and have positive effects on surface integrity. This study reviews the studies on the applicability of vibratory surface finishing (VSF), barrel finishing (BF) and drag finishing (DF) to AM parts, which are mechanical mass finishing methods also called tribofinishing. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods compared to each other are also discussed.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; post-processing; mass finishing; vibratory finishing; barrel finishing; drag finishing; fused deposition modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2025.148796

International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, 2025 Vol.10 No.2, pp.183 - 199

Received: 10 Feb 2022
Accepted: 15 Aug 2022
Published online: 25 Sep 2025 *

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