Surface modification of prototypes in fused deposition modelling using lapping process

Purpose Parts created with fused deposition modelling (FDM) have poor surface quality and dimensional accuracy, which limits their applicability in a variety of applications. Therefore, post process of FDM parts seems to be essential to tackle these problems. The purpose of this study is to study the influence of lapping parameters (time, weight and angular velocity) on the surface roughness, material removal rate (MRR) and flexural strength of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) parts manufactured by FDM were post processed with the aid of lapping operation. Design/methodology/approach After printing the specimens, parts were lapped according to the Taguchi design of experiments. The surface roughness of the lapped parts was then evaluated by using laser profilometry, and the results were compared to study how lapping parameters affected surface roughness. A digital microscope was used to examine the surface damage of components that were being lapped. After that, the flexural strength of lapped parts was compared with the untreated part to study the effect of lapping process on the flexural strength. Finally, the influence of lapping parameters was investigated on the thickness change and MRR. Findings The results showed that while by increasing lapping time the surface roughness would improve; angular velocity and weight have an optimal value. The results also illustrated that not only the surface roughness of all ABS samples improve significantly but also the antistrophic behaviour of additively manufactured parts is turned to isotropic behaviour without decreasing flexural strength of specimens. MRR is also proportional to these parameters and by rising the value of them, MRR will increase. Originality/value The previous techniques of improving surface roughness whether chemical treatment or mechanical treatment had some disadvantages such as reducing mechanical properties, cost, long time of the process and so forth. As a result, finding a new approach such as lapping process to overcome the problems of previous methods seems to be necessary.

Automated summary

This study investigates the influence of lapping parameters on the surface roughness, material removal rate, and flexural strength of FDM manufactured ABS parts. The results demonstrate that increasing lapping time improves the surface roughness, while optimizing angular velocity and weight is necessary. Additionally, lapping significantly enhances the surface roughness of ABS samples and transforms the anisotropic behavior of additively manufactured parts to isotropic behavior without reducing the flexural strength. This study provides a new approach to improve the surface quality of FDM parts.