Materials post-processing questions

#1

Hello, I’ve got a project coming up and I was wondering if I can get my questions answered regarding some of the materials so I can finalize the details:

  • My parts’ sizes (300mx100x20) are outside of i.materialise’s “polishable” and “dyeable” range so they will come to me raw, coarse and not the color I want.
  1. Are there any ways/methods/tips to polish them to achieve smooth finish at home?
  2. Can polyamide be cerakoted? (for both printing type MJF and SLS)
  3. I have never used MJF or SLS so I was wondering which one comes out smoother after “polishing”?
  4. Does heated inserts work the same way with MJF and SLS the way it works with FDM?
#2

Hello,

There are actually multiple way to achieve smooth finish of printed plastic parts. SLS produced polyamide will come out more “powdery” than the MJF printed one and thus would normally require more work on this. What we do is put a part into a tumbler with small stones that vibrate at a high frequency to smooth the part’s surface. You may also use a fine sandpaper or water with soap cleaning to achieve smoother finish.

As to cerakoting, we can’t guarantee the success of this procedure since never offered this finish. However there should be no issues applying this finish.

Talking about heated inserts in Polyamide printing and FDM technology, they will not work the same since the material and technologies are different and will depend on heat temperature at which material deflects/melts.