Post-Processing Page 1

After the turbulence of 2020 and the cancellation of nearly all trade shows, conferences and in-person meetings, the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) returned to an in-person event in Orlando, FL for the AMUG 2021 conference. Considering additive manufacturing is an industry that thrives on collaboration and training, this was a welcome relief after a year of Zoom, WebEx and GoToMeeting calls!

Since March 2020, additive manufacturing has gained a lot of press for the way in which it was relied upon for pandemic emergency supply production. When hospitals and healthcare facilities were suddenly short on everything from personal protective equipment (PPE) to breathing apparatuses, additive manufacturing stepped up to the plate to produce mass volumes of these critical supplies.

Specifically, additive users often turn to vat photopolymerization print technologies like stereolithography (SLA), Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) for benefits like highly accurate part builds and cost-effectiveness. However, the final leg of this process, post-printing and especially resin removal, has traditionally been prohibitive to this technology’s progress, until recently. 

This week's Product Story showcases the Toro Company and the solution they used for rapidly increasing 3D print volume while reducing existing bottlenecks. 

The Toro Company first implemented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) in 2012 to prototype smaller product components in-house. This soon turned into a full additive manufacturing shop with six 3D printers on site so they could better serve their customers and expand their additive potential. However, with the rapidly increasing print volume there were post-processing bottlenecks that arose, so Toro turned to the PostProcess BASE support removal solution to more efficiently match throughput to demand. 

The importance of increased productivity, quality and consistency are rapidly growing in necessity in many industries to stay a step ahead of the competition. Many are taking advantage of rapid prototyping to produce jigs, fixtures and tools with FDM materials that provide engineering-grade strength and a faster timeline to production. This advancement of improved design and build processes is very important to the improved productivity, but the final step in production is often overlooked as an opportunity to further optimize overall production times.

Selecting the right 3D printing technology can be difficult, especially when you consider all the different key drivers in the decision-making process. Are you looking for a smooth surface finish? Maybe you’re looking for strong mechanical properties with a common, easy to use plastic such as ABS or ASA? Now, what if I told you that you didn’t always need to compromise here? With minimal amounts of post-processing techniques, you can achieve a smooth injection molded finish using FDM technology. Sure, parts are fully functional right off the print tray, but utilizing an additional post-processing step can help elevate your part to the next level, and really catch the end user’s eye. Like the flexibility that 3D printing provides, users have many different solutions for their post-processing needs, so let’s dive in!