CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 189192

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CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology

journal homepage: http://ees.elsevier.com/cirp/default.asp

Experimental study aiming to enhance the surface nish of fused deposition

modeled parts
L.M. Galantucci (1)*, F. Lavecchia, G. Percoco
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Gestionale, Politecnico di Bari, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Keywords:
Rapid prototyping
Fused deposition modeling
Surface nish

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive technology that suffers badly from low surface quality,
requiring hand nishing for even the most basic levels of part quality.
In this paper the authors study the inuence of FDM machining parameters on acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene (ABS) prototypes surface nish. The surface nish of products after the modication of extrusion
parameters has been measured and processed through designed experiments. The chemical posttreatment does not require human intervention and has led to a signicant improvement in surface nish
at the expense of a negligible change in the prototype size.
2009 CIRP.

1. Introduction
As the complexity of products increases, rapid prototyping (RP)
technologies are gaining ever greater importance, and industrial
demand is driving manufacturers to improve the specications of
RP machines. The great spread of these technologies used for RP,
rapid tooling (RT) or rapid manufacturing (RM) [1] has fueled a
strong research effort to improve their characteristics.
One of the most commonly used technologies is fused
deposition modeling (FDM). The main advantages of this
technology include: a good variety of materials available, easy
material change, low maintenance costs, quick production of thin
parts, a tolerance equal to 0.1 mm overall, no need for supervision,
no toxic materials, very compact size, low temperature operation. The
main disadvantages are that it leaves a seam line between layers, the
material tends to bump up, supports are required, there is axial
weakness perpendicularly, a larger area of slices requires longer
building times, and temperature uctuations during production could
lead to delamination, and high surface roughness.
In particular, poor surface nish affects the function of RP parts,
depending on the geometry of the enclosing surface, the building
strategy, layer thickness and orientation of the part; this drawback
may outweigh the advantages of RP parts [2].
In general, the lesser the layer thickness the better the surface
nish with RP machines, but this issue is also affected by the angle
between the vertical axis and surface tangents (staircase effect).
Moreover, since the solid model is approximated by series of
triangles (STL format), this results in a chordal approximation error
that will also negatively affect the surface smoothness. As regards
FDM, the road width, air gap between roads and model
temperature will also have an impact on the surface roughness.

* Corresponding author.
0007-8506/$ see front matter 2009 CIRP.
doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2009.03.071

As a consequence, customers often demand hand nishing for

even the most basic levels of part quality, with the result that the
geometrical features of the prototypes are strongly dependent on
the operators skill.
2. Research background
In literature a wide variety of approaches has addressed the
problem of analyzing [3,4] and improving surface roughness of
rapid prototyped parts. This last category can be roughly
subdivided into four categories, namely (i) optimal build direction,
(ii) slicing strategy (iii) fabrication parameters optimization, (iv)
post-treatment. Categories (i) and (ii) address the reduction of
roughness due to the staircase effect, while (iii) and (iv) include
more general approaches that can also be applied to surfaces not
affected by the staircase effect, such as horizontal surfaces.
To optimize the building direction (i) some examples are
reported in ref. [5]. To reduce roughness the authors establish
decision criteria and develop algorithms based on the considerations of surface quality, building time, and the complexity of
support structure, as a means of identifying desirable fabrication
orientations for a given design.
FDM technology has been investigated in ref. [6] where two
aspects are considered: roughness and manufacturing time
optimization. These opposite issues are both improved by using
an adaptive slicing scheme. Models for evaluating the average part
surface roughness and building time have been developed. A coded
genetic algorithm is used to obtain the optimal solution. In ref. [7] a
more recent study is reported, that focused on optimal construction direction nding for different rapid prototyping techniques,
using a multi-criterion decision method. The importance of part
orientation and build direction is stressed, as it affects the product
roughness, manufacturing building time and cost. To minimize the
required post-machining region (RPMR) in the product, an
intelligent methodology for determining the optimal fabrication

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L.M. Galantucci et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 189192

direction is proposed. An equation expressing the distribution of

surface roughness is presented and the relation between the RPMR
and the fabrication direction is investigated, taking real layered
manufacturing environments into consideration. Then, a genetic
algorithm is applied to obtain a reliable solution for a complex
geometry CAD model.
To improve slicing strategies (ii), the most widely investigated
approach is adaptive slicing. In adaptive slicing, the number of
layers is drastically reduced by using sloping layer walls. For
vertical and sloping outer walls, the strategies for determining slice
height generally take into account a number of vertical sections
along the contour of a slice. Surface deviation error is calculated at
these sections and then slice height is determined. In traditional
adaptive slicing the user imposes a single surface nish requirement for the whole object. In literature, region-based adaptive
slicing has been proposed [8] where the user is free to impose
different surface nish requirements on different surfaces of the
model. In ref. [9] a method is proposed to compute the error over
the surface. This method approximates the outer wall between two
successive contours by a series of taut cubic spline patches. The
deviation between the patch and the actual surface is considered to
yield a better and more exhaustive estimate of surface error. The
predicted number of slices is slightly higher than the number
predicted by existing methods for sloping layer walls.
An example of category (iii) is reported in [10], where
roughness and dimensional errors are evaluated. A benchmark
with several dimensional, geometrical, and surface roughness
features is used and the Taguchi experimental design method is
developed to nd the least number of experimental runs and best
process parameter settings. Several measurements are performed
while evaluating the stereolithography part quality to nd the
functional relationships between the output part quality and the
input manufacturing process parameters.
In ref. [11] a slicing method ensuring unilateral tolerance over
the whole prototype is proposed. The slicing rule is chosen by
computing the inner product of the parts normal vector on an STL
le and the working direction, together with the desired function
of the part to be manufactured. The error is reduced by adopting
proper solutions proposed for geometric shapes that lose their
qualities easily, such as peaks, valleys, at areas and ne features.
The amounts of tolerance volume and effective cusp are computed
to facilitate post-processing of the part and slicing procedures are
proposed and experimentally veried.
Finally, for category (iv), in ref. [12] the reduction of surface
roughness is approached by using CNC milling machines, focusing
on the development of the CNC program, once the part has been
produced by layer deposition. Unfortunately, when complex
surfaces with small details have to be realized this approach is
time-costly because of the layered fabrication, the machining
setup, the generation of the CNC code and the subtractive
machining phase. Moreover, complex features remain inaccessible.
In literature [13] abrasive ow machining (AFM) has been
experimented also for the manufacture of holes or small complex
shaped surfaces but this is limited by poor precision of the viscous
agent pressure distribution, that can lead to non-homogeneous
material removal from the workpiece. In ref. [14] abrasive jet
deburring is used to improve the surface roughness of rapid
prototypes. The processing parameters such as ow pressure and
time are rstly studied, then dimensional errors and roughness
reduction are measured. In ref. [15] a semi-empirical model for the
evaluation of the surface roughness of a layered part manufactured
by fused deposition modeling is presented. The surface nish of
FDM rapid prototyped components is improved by using a simple
material removal method consisting of hot cutter machining
(HCM). The drawback is that certain areas of the prototyped
component remain inaccessible. Very recently Stratasys, the owner
of the FDM patent, has launched in the market a semi-automated
nishing system for ABS parts [16,17]. However, it is very costly,
the operator is heavily involved in the evaluation of the surface
nish, and post-curing time is long (1218 h).

3. Proposed approach
In this paper the authors investigate the link between the FDM
process parameters and the surface aspect of prototypes, studying
a chemical method to improve the surface nish of the products.
This method performs better if compared to that reported in refs.
[16,17], because it needs marginal human intervention, the cost is
very low and curing times are about few minutes. Fig. 1 shows the
workow of the present paper. The experimental activity was
carried out over two phases, focusing on independent variables in
both the FDM process and the chemical nishing.
In the rst phase, consisting of specimens manufacturing, the
variables considered are tip size, raster width and slice height.
These parameters were chosen on the basis of previous studies and
literature reports [18].
The tip size refers to the diameter of the through hole where
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is extruded. The raster width
is the distance between two adjacent roads deposited on the slice
by the extrusion head, i.e. the tool-path width of the raster pattern
used to ll the inner regions of the part curves. The slice height
affects the number of slices making up each prototype.
3.1. First phase specimen manufacturing
A complete and balanced 23 full factorial experimental plan has
been performed; each combination has the same number of
replications, equal to 3 for a total of 24 experiments.
The experimentation has been carried out using the specimens
shown in Fig. 2, that have been kept very simple in shape so as to
facilitate the subsequent measurements: 18 mm  18 mm  8 mm
square base prisms have been manufactured using different levels
of the input variables. The Tip values were 0.254 mm (low)
and 0.305 mm (high), the raster width was 0.305 mm (low) and
0.709 mm (high), the slice height was 0.178 mm (low) and
0.254 mm (high). The response variable is surface roughness Ra.
Due to the strong inuence of building and deposition direction
two different methods for measuring the surface roughness were
compared: a contact system and a non-contact optical system. The
contact system consists of a rugosimeter Surtronic 3P mounted
onto a feedback controlled motorized axis. The optical system is
the Optimet MiniConoscan 3000, that combines a non-contact,
single-point measuring sensor (ConoProbe 1000) based on
conoscopic holography technology with precise xy scanning.
The high accuracy and repeatability of this technology makes it
suitable for reverse engineering, quality control and roughness
measurement.
Thanks to the good agreement between the two methodologies,
the non-contact method was chosen because measurement is easier
and faster, particularly on side surfaces. Before 3D digitization,
reection problems over the specimens were eliminated by
depositing a lm of carbon black on the surfaces. The 24 specimens
were digitized and the roughness was evaluated on the top surface
and on one side surface for each piece (Fig. 2). The measurement was
performed considering one 5 mm  5 mm for each face.
On the side surface only one prole perpendicular to the main
direction was considered for each specimen. The direction of the
considered proles is shown by the arrows in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. Approach workow.

L.M. Galantucci et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 58 (2009) 189192

191

Fig. 2. Specimen shape.

Fig. 4. Polar diagram Ra vs. independent variables.

3.2. Second phase chemical nishing

In the second phase of the experimentation, the specimens
were subjected to a chemical nishing process. The chemical bath
was chosen according to the following considerations: ABS is a
polymer with a low reticulation degree, including nitrile functionality having weak interaction with polar solvents such as
dimethylketone (acetone), ester and chloride solvents. Dimethylketone was chosen due to its low cost, very low toxicity and to his
very high diffusion.
Because the process resulted to be difcultly controlled using
pure acetone, the bath was added with water due to its very high
mixability with acetone. An accurate trial and error procedure was
carried out to detect suitable values of the independent variables:
concentration and immersion time. The process consisted of
immersion in a volume of 90% dimethylketone and 10% water for
300 s. All the specimens sizes were measured before and after the
chemical nishing, in order to evaluate any variations. The
roughness of specimens was then measured again using the
conoscopic sensor in order to evaluate any differences in terms of
improvement of the roughness. The three specimens with the best
and with the worst surface nish (totally six) before the chemical
process were assessed.
4. Results
4.1. First phase roughness before chemical nishing
In this section the results of measurements performed on
specimens as manufactured are illustrated. In Fig. 4 the polar
diagram of roughness vs. the independent variables slice height,
part raster and tip diameter is shown. The blue line is the average
roughness of the top face, while the red line represents the
roughness measured over the side surface. The numbers 18
represent the variable combinations shown on the left side of the
gure. It can be seen that the measured value is similar in both
cases except for group number 4, where the average roughness
measured on the top surface is signicantly higher despite the low
tip diameter, suggesting a minor inuence of the tip diameter on
roughness.

Fig. 3. 3D digitization (a) top surface (b) side surface.

For the sake of brevity, in Fig. 5 only the main effects plot
related to the top surface, derived from the full factorial plan is
shown.
The main effects plot shows the average values at each level of
all the factors considered. When varying the tip dimension, the
response variable Ra remains virtually the same while the raster
width affects the top surface; also the slice height is an important
factor. In particular the slice height also affects the top surface due
to the altered width of the lament. Moreover the factorial plan has
shown that the Ra on side surface does not depend on tip and raster
dimension. As regards the study of interactions between independent variables, it has resulted that for the top surface there is a
low interaction between raster and slice height, while for the side
surface this interaction is the only signicant one. All the other
interactions are signicant.
4.2. Second phase roughness after chemical nishing
In the second experimental phase the roughness of the
specimens has been improved by using the chemical process
described above.
The size of the specimens was measured with a precision
calliper and weighed before and after the immersion, in order to
analyze the variations due to the chemical bath. After the
immersion all the specimen were kept at room temperature in a
vacuum atmosphere for 1 h.
The linear dimensions considered were the base sides (l1 and l2
with l1 = l2 = 18 mm) and the height (h = 8 mm) of each specimen.
The size variations are shown in Table 1. The specimens shrank by
less than 1%, while they increased their average weight by less than
1% considering a starting average weight of 2.5 g per specimen. The
chemical treatment cuts away material but the subtracted ABS is
balanced by the absorption of the solution.
As regards roughness after chemical treatment, for the sake of
brevity in Table 2 only the specimens with the highest (group 1)
and lowest (group 4) surface quality after prototyping have been
considered. The improvement is dramatic in both cases.
These results are conrmed in Fig. 6, where the top surface is
examined before and after the chemical treatment. The x axis

Fig. 5. Main effects plot for top surface results.

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192

Table 1
Size variations after the chemical treatment.

to the reduction of the staircase effect, shown by the yellow and

cyan areas.

h (mm)

l1 (mm)

l2 (mm)

0.06
0.01

0.06
0.01

0.04
0.01

Average
Variance

Weight (g)
+0.02
0.00

Table 2
Roughness effect on specimens belonging to two groups.
Before treatment

Group 1
Group 4

After treatment

Average Ra
top surface

Average Ra
side surface

Average Ra
top surface

Average Ra
side surface

11.8
17.2

16.2
18.8

2.2
4.6

5.1
8.7

5. Conclusions
In this paper the roughness of FDM prototypes is analyzed.
Process parameters have been shown to affect the Ra. In particular
the slice height and the raster width are important parameters
while the tip diameter has little importance for surfaces running
either parallel or perpendicular to the build direction. A chemical
post-processing treatment has been analyzed and yields a
signicant improvement of the Ra of the treated specimens. The
proposed chemical treatment is economic, fast and easy to use.
Instead, the existing state of the art commercial systems are still
operator-dependent, last several hours and have high costs.
Further studies need to be conducted on freeform products, also
using other dimethylketone solvents such as ethylene and using
designed experiments to optimize the process in terms of the
solution concentration and process time.

References

Fig. 6. Effect of the chemical treatment on top surface.

Fig. 7. Freeform surface.

shows the groups indicated in Fig. 4, while the mean Ra (mm) is

shown on the y axis.
To provide an example of the behaviour of the treatment on
freeform surfaces, an Illyrian artwork copy (Fig. 7 left side) was
manufactured using the group 4 parameters. The bounding box of
the prototype measures 34 mm  24 mm  62 mm. The prototype
was immersed in the chemical bath and its roughness was
measured on a 5 mm  5 mm area considered on the rear part.
From an average Ra equal to 28.5 mm, the roughness reduced to
11.5 mm. In Fig. 7 right side, a 3D map of a detail is shown, with a
scale in millimetres. It can be seen that the main difference is due

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