Surface Quality Improvement Techniques for 3D Printed Metal Samples

Additive manufacturing technologies can cover the needs for highly customized components characterized by complex shapes in a short lead time. Despite the benefits of AM processes, these techniques are generally characterized by a low-quality surface finish, one of the most important requirements in several industrial fields. Considering this aspect, it is important to define solutions able to improve the surface finish to benefit the low lead times and the elevated level of customization. This study aims to develop surface quality improvement techniques for metal material extrusion (metal-MEX) samples. Specifically, an investigation was carried out to improve the surface finish of AISI630 stainless steel samples fabricated by metal-ME using different approaches (e.g., thermal and mechanical). The techniques were defined avoiding overstressed components that could be damaged and evaluating the processing convenience of processing time.