Poor Man's 3D Printing: Finishing

You've obtained or made a 3D model and printed it on a 3D print service or perhaps your own 3D printer. Now the question is, "how can I finish it at low cost?" While there are several professional commercial finishing services, they're quite expensive and don't fit the theme here. There are only two reasonable options: 

 

• Print an object that doesn't require finishing by choosing an appropriate material and color. Select an object type that doesn't require a precision surface to avoid polishing.
• Do It Yourself. That's right, roll up your sleeves and do the finishing by hand. You'll need sandpaper and knives to bring the surface to the desired state. You'll need a selection of appropriate paints to colorize your model. Optional Approach: have an interested child do the painting for you. If they do a good job, they might do it just for the fun.

 

This article is part of a short series on Poor Man's 3D Printing. You might also want to read The Print and The Design. 

Micro-Machining Process

Swiss-based BESTinCLASS, developers of the very cool Micro-Machining Process  (MMP), have come to terms with EOS, makers of laser-sintering equipment for exclusive use of MMP in the UK. We're a little puzzled, since we heard earlier that BESTinCLASS had awarded exclusivity to First Surface.

Nevertheless, we believe this finishing process is quite interesting. The process apparently uses a combination of mechanical, physical and chemical techniques against a surface. Key features:

• Surface finishes can be controlled selectively up to a mirror-like polish
• Costs and turnaround times are predictable and controlled
• Finishes can be reproduced to industrial standards for multiple parts
• Treated parts are free from contamination

You can see the results in the image above.

We wonder whether MMP could be used on metal 3D printed objects? Or better yet, included as a feature in 3D printers. That capability would certainly raise the profile of 3D printing outside of the technically-oriented early adopters, because smooth finishes appear more professional to the uninitiated.

And everyone loves shiny objects.

Via EOS

Finish it with Metal

We ran across an interesting service that provides post-print finishing services, specifically in metal. According to their "about":

3DDC is the first European company to set up a metal coating facility specifically for products that have been produced using rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid manufacturing (RM) technologies. The Metalise™ it… process was developed by AT-3D SQUARED and can now, through the experts at 3DDC, provide customers with the highest quality of plated RP parts available on the market today. The company specialises in metal coating parts for one-off projects or small lot production runs.

Their finishing capability is impressive, as you can see in the image above. Metal finishes include:

• High Gloss Copper
• Technical Nickel
• High Gloss Nickel
• Brushed High Gloss Nickel
• Black Technical Nickel
• Black High Gloss Nickel
• Gold
• Chrome
• Art Copper

Metalised objects are clearly a lot different from the classic translucent plastic blobs that emerged from early 3D printers, simply because the visual and tactile aspects are so important to consumers. We think there will be a growing market for finishing services such as 3DDC's, or at least until printers can do it themselves.

Via 3DDC (Hat tip to Rachel)

First Surface

 

An interesting new service popped up this month: First Surface. According to their website:

First Surface delivers innovative precision surface finishing services using a proprietary Micro Machining Process (MMP). Working from its own treatment labs, First Surface is poised to provide manufacturers with custom finishes to meet their specifications.

And

First Surface has an exclusive license in the UK to provide the Swiss company BEST in CLASS's proprietary deburring/polishing method known as the Micro MachiningProcess (MMP). MMP is a physical-catalyst surface treatment applied to items placed inside a treatment tank.

In other words, the 3D Printing process could look like this:

• Obtain design using 3D Modeling Software, 3D Scan or 3D repository
• Print design using 3D printer or 3D print service
• Finish the object yourself … or use a service like First Surface!

We suspect their service is priced out of range for hobbyists (and it's only available from the UK), but the idea is interesting and we wonder whether there could be a market for finishing services? Perhaps a finishing service could pair up with the 3D print services to provide a variety of finishing approaches.

Via First Surface