Investigating the Impact of Acetone Vapor Smoothing on the Strength and Elongation of Printed ABS Parts

Harry Gao, Dorcas V. Kaweesa, Jacob Moore, Nicholas A. Meisel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

Acetone vapor smoothing is a chemical treatment that “melts” the surface of additively manufactured acrylonitrile butadiene styrene parts. The process fuses layers together and allows them to reform when vapor is removed, resulting in a smooth surface finish. Although commonly used to improve aesthetics, recent work has begun to investigate the effects of vapor smoothing on part strength. Nevertheless, most of this work has failed to take into account the anisotropic nature of printed parts. Prior research has shown that vapor smoothing reduces strength under best-case loading conditions, when the tensile load is parallel with the direction of the layers. In this article, the authors hypothesize that vapor smoothing may increase strength under nonoptimal loading conditions as a result of increased cohesion between layers and a reduction in stress concentrations. They use a design of experiments approach to identify the combined impact of printing and vapor smoothing parameters on part material properties.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)580-585
Number of pages6
JournalJOM
Volume69
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Materials Science
  • General Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Investigating the Impact of Acetone Vapor Smoothing on the Strength and Elongation of Printed ABS Parts'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this