Post-Processing & Finish Levels 
All additive manufacturing pieces require some sort of final post-processing when they come off of the machine. In some cases, post-processing is as simple as lightly sanding the areas where support structures were attached. In other cases, innovative finishing techniques are utilized to deliver beautiful end-use parts that are rugged enough to stand up to real-world impacts.
At ProtoCAM, we offer a wide variety of finishing levels and options which help to provide our customers with exactly the end product they’re looking for. If you’re not sure what post-processing is right for you, contact us and allow our experienced engineers to help guide you towards the ideal finish for your unique project.
Advanced Finishing Gallery
Does your project require special, advanced finishing not covered by our standard levels listed below? Check out some past examples of our advanced finishing work to see if our services might fit your unique project, then contact us today to get started.
Choosing Your Finishing Level
Not all finishing options are available for all additive manufacturing techniques, so process and finish level selection should be two parts of the same decision-making process.
1. Research Your Options
ProtoCAM offers a variety of finishing options including a proprietary crystal-clear bottle finish—a technique developed in-house and available only to ProtoCAM customers. Read on to learn more about all our available options.
2. Consider Budget and Timeline
The more intense the finish, the higher the cost, and the longer it will take to deliver. Assess the look you want versus the look you really need and balance it against your available budget and target deadline. For example, if you are on a tight budget or under time constraints, you may want to skip the higher-finish levels.
List of Polymer Finish Levels and Options at ProtoCAM
Finish Levels – SLA, DLP, HPS, and Polyjet
** Note | Not all finishes are available for all materials. Flexible materials, for example, have a limited offering.
Natural
Support faces are sanded, and layer lines are visible.
Standard
Support faces are sanded, and the entire part is bead-blasted for a matte/opaque finish with some layer lines visible (black will appear grey).
Improved Exterior
Exterior (cosmetic) surfaces are sanded, and the entire part is bead-blasted for a smooth matte finish.
Improved All
All accessible surfaces are sanded, and the entire part is bead-blasted for a smooth matte finish.
Clear
Natural finish with clear coat. The layer lines are still visible.
Improved Clear
All accessible surfaces are sanded smooth with a clear coat for optimal clarity on transparent materials.
Primed Exterior
Exterior (cosmetic) surfaces are sanded, bead-blasted, and primed grey.
Primed All
All accessible surfaces are sanded, bead-blasted, and primed grey.
Painted
All accessible surfaces are sanded, bead-blasted, primed, and painted (provide a drawing with your paint specifications).
Custom
Custom finish. Let us know if your project requires special finishing. Please fill out our engineer-assisted quote form.
Finish Levels – SLA and MJF
Natural
Laser Sintering | Matte, white finish.
Multi Jet Fusion | Matte, grey finish.
Standard
Laser Sintering | N/A
Multi Jet Fusion | Matte finish dyed black.
Tumbled
The surface is smoothed with a media for an eggshell finish.
Smoothed & Sealed
Bead-blasted and vapor smoothed for a sealed, satin watertight finish.
Dyed
Laser Sintering | Dyed, please specify the color.
Multi Jet Fusion | N/A
Smoothed, Sealed, & Dyed
Laser Sintering | Vapor-sealed and dyed (specify color) for a satin, watertight finish.
Material Jet Fusion. | Vapor-sealed and dyed black for a satin, watertight finish.
Primed Exterior
Exterior (cosmetic) surfaces are smoothed and coated in grey primer.
Painted
Parts are smoothed, primed, and painted (provide drawing with paint specifications).
Custom
Custom finish. Let us know if your project requires special finishing. Please fill out our engineer-assisted quote form.
Finish Levels – FFF
Standard
Supports are removed. Parts will have visible layer lines.
Improved Exterior
Exterior (cosmetic) surfaces are sanded to reduce layer lines.
Smoothed & Sealed
Vapor smoothed and sealed for a watertight finish. May modify the geometry slightly.
Primed Exterior
Exterior (cosmetic) surfaces are smoothed to reduce layer lines and coated in grey primer.
Painted
Parts are smoothed to reduce layer lines, primed, and painted (provide drawing with paint specifications).
Custom
Custom finish. Let us know if your project requires special finishing. Please fill out our engineer-assisted quote form.
Other Post-Processing Options
Clear Bottle
While a good, clear surface can be achieved on most prototypes with the improved clear finish, bottles and other parts with large internal surfaces and small entries have always presented a particular challenge for rapid prototyping companies. Inside surfaces remained somewhat matte resulting in a rather cloudy finished product. ProtoCAM customers can achieve exceptional clarity on even complex pieces. The clear bottle finish addresses both the interior surface as well as the exterior surface, replicating a production bottle almost perfectly and creating truly clear, transparent parts.
Results: Exceptional transparency on even complex parts and bottles
Available for: SLA
USP Class VI
This finish is specific to medical-grade parts and prototypes that need to conform to USP Class VI certification. It ensures parts are safe for in vivo use.
Results: USP Class VI certified part; acceptable for in vivo use
Available for: SLA
Plating
ProtoCAM also offers plating options; plating helps to enhance the strength, visualization, and overall value of your project. The design and build phases are critical when plating is desired to allow room for the additional plating and to create a structure that will be strong enough in the end product.
Various materials will be affected by our plating processes differently, so it is very important to choose an appropriate material type and technology to build the plated parts. Our engineers are always available to assist you in choosing the correct technology and materials for your desired end product. Our available plating materials, which can be utilized for both SLA and MJF parts include:
- Nickel – ideal for strength and aesthetics
- Vacuum Metalized Aluminum – ideal for aesthetics (replicates a chrome finish)
Thickness of the metal plating is also a factor to consider and will depend on the desired end product. Our engineers work with each customer to determine the appropriate thickness that will achieved their ideal final piece.
Please contact us to learn more about what options are available for your additive manufacturing project.
Metal Inserts
We utilize professional thermal inserter equipment to offer the option of including metal inserts in thermoplastic parts to our customers. Our inserter equipment has accurate control of temperature to prevent damage to plastic parts and provides a strong, permanent installation of inserts with high resistance to rotation and pull-out. Our equipment also allows for inserts of many different sizes and is available for use with any of our technologies.
Please contact us to learn more about what options are available for your additive manufacturing project.
For more detail on choosing a finish, click here. Or, contact us and discuss with one of our engineers what might work best for your particular additive manufacturing project.
