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post-processing

Post-Processing for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

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Published on Aug 16, 2019 SKU SMP-AM-PPME-0819 Category Tags , ,

As additive manufacturing of metal parts continues to transform from prototyping to production, we’ve seen materials expand, systems improve, and automation advance. But, until recently, we haven’t seen an increased focus on post-processing. This is especially true as it pertains to post-processing for the newly emerging metal material extrusion (ME) technologies as offered by Desktop Metal (also known as Bound Metal Deposition (BMD)) and Markforged (also known as Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM)). But, with the growing demand for these systems, understanding the post-processing stage of the workflow is critical.

In this report, we look at the common post-processing steps for material extrusion parts, what they can achieve, and the challenges observed. We will discuss the relative cost considerations to keep in mind as well as costs that often go unaccounted for in the workflow. We will also discuss many of the OEMs and service providers that are active in this space. And, often forgotten, we will discuss some of the critical considerations in the design stage that can greatly influence the post-processing stage in the overall workflow. We finish with a discussion on the future trends, to include end-to-end solutions and automation, data optimization, software solutions, and the current state of standard and regulations as they pertain to post-processing in general.