New research highlights the success of the newly developed solution, which is a modified version of AMT’s existing PostPro3D technology, for polypropylene 3D printed parts. 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.
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.
Medical standards 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. Polypropylene is a particularly versatile material with its lightweight, flexible and watertight properties, but its use was restricted in certain applications due to its grainy surface finish.
Tests of AMT’s smoothing process reported that surface roughness of the processed parts decreased significantly with a reduction of around 95%.
From a mechanical perspective, the average elongation at break for processed parts was up to four times that of unprocessed parts. No detrimental effects on other properties, such as tensile strengths and tensile modulus were found.
Ricoh sees such developments as key to the future growth of polypropylene as an additive manufacturing material, and plan to test with AMT for regulations in medical and food contact applications in the next phase of research.
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Mark Dickin, additive manufacturing and moulding engineering manager at Ricoh 3D, said: “Whatever the shape and size, we are now in a position to offer consistent smoothing of the whole part. Other technologies, such as vibro-smoothing, can only smooth the outer surfaces of the part.”
Giorgio Ioannides, business development manager at Additive Manufacturing Technologies, said: “AMT regards polypropylene for powder bed fusion technologies as a key material for the growth of additive manufacturing, which inspired our research into an innovative new process for smoothing. Ricoh’s versatile translucent off-white polypropylene material is one of the most commonly used polymers in the manufacturing industry. Our process has shown that it is possible to dramatically improve the mechanical performance and surface characteristics of parts, which is a really exciting development for the industry.”