Improving the aesthetic quality of polypropylene 3D printed parts

The newly developed solution is a modified version of AMT’s existing PostPro3D technology for polypropylene 3D printed parts. According to the two companies, results include dramatic improvements to both mechanical and surface characteristics when the smoothing process was used on parts 3D-printed in Ricoh’s polypropylene material, which, according to the company, is fatigue-resistant, durable and chemical-resistant. Ricoh’s laser-sintered 3D parts were used for the evaluation testing, with AMT developing its smoothing process to improve the quality of the parts and reduce production lead times and costs.

AMT’s smoothing technology is described as a process that delivers surface engineering for polymers, eliminating surface imperfections of parts, including complex geometries with internal cavities and other non-visible internal structure.

Polypropylene is a particularly versatile material with its lightweight, flexible and watertight properties, but its use was restricted in certain applications owing to its grainy surface finish. Medical standards, for example, require that certain drug-delivery devices or parts in contact with the human body must have a smooth finish, to prevent the growth of micro-organisms on the part surface.

AMT says its smoothing process leaves surfaces with an injection moulded-like quality. Testing reported that surface roughness of the processed parts decreased significantly with a reduction of around 95 per cent, creating a highly aesthetic visual appearance. The company also points out that the average elongation at break for processed parts was up to four times that of unprocessed parts.

Ricoh sees such developments as key to the future growth of polypropylene as an additive manufacturing material and plans to test with AMT for regulations in medical and food-contact applications in the next phase of research.

A white paper on the collaboration can be found here: https://amtechnologies.com/resources/downloads