Post-processing of PLA parts after additive manufacturing by FDM technology

Abstract

 At present, Additive Manufacturing (AM) with post-processing 
tasks combination is an interesting as well as a necessary 
procedure in many industrial areas that work with polymeric 
components. However, there are not enough studies related to 
finishing treatments on AM parts. This contribution analyses 
different post-treatments in order to achieve improvements 
in the physical aspect, superficial and mechanical properties 
of specimens manufactured by Fused Deposition Modelling 
technology (FDM). The material used in this case is Poly(lactic 
acid) (PLA) because it is one of the most used materials in this 
type of technology and at the same time, it is one of the least 
studied.
Immersions in different organic solvents is the proposal, varying 
concentration and dipping time. The results are evaluated 
obtaining very different effects for each solvent. In all cases, 
several variations are observed in the physical aspect and in the 
mechanical properties obtained, in particular, tensile strength.