Some Insights on Chemical Treatment of 3D Printed Parts

The substantial increase in the use of the FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) process for the production of plastic parts in ever wider fields has led to the search for methods to improve the quality of the printed parts. In the case of ABS parts (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), one of the most common and used methods to improve surface quality is the process of acetone steam treatment, but the application of this method also brings more or less negative effects on the part. The main side effects when applying this method is the low breaking strength and loss of part details on the sharp edges. This paper presents a set of contributions on the relationship between surface quality and the level of detail of parts subjected to acetone steam treatment. In order to analyze the influence of the treatment on the details of the parts, a reverse engineering method was used in which a polyarticular arm FARO Edge 7.5 was used to scan the parts and reconstruct them. The study was performed on parts with 20% infill, grid tipe.