Finishing of ABS-M30 Parts Manufactured with Fused Deposition Modeling with Focus on Dimensional Accuracy

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) parts are prone to process-related rough and wavy surfaces with stair-stepping effects whenever the parts produced have sloped or rounded geometries. These stair-stepping effects can be reduced by using a smaller slice height, but complete elimination is not possible. In this paper, FDM parts manufactured with the material ABS-M30 are finished using mass finishing methods. The mass finishing is done with a trough vibrator, which is comparatively gentle to the parts in comparison to other mass finishing technologies. The analysis discusses the surface-smoothing effect of finishing time and intensity on various part sizes and build orientations. In addition, the dimensional accuracy of the parts after the finishing process is examined.