ProtoCAM: Excellence in Additive Manufacturing & Rapid Prototyping

Post-Processing & Finish Levels

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.

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.