Improving the Surface Roughness of SL Parts Using a Coating and Grinding Process

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology can fabricate any 3D physical model regardless of geometric complexity using the layered manufacturing (LM) process. Stereolithography (SL) is the best-known example of RP technology. In general, the surface quality of a raw SL-generated part is unsatisfactory for industrial purposes due to the step artefact created by the LM process. Despite of the increased number of applications for SL parts, this side effect limits their uses. In order to improve their surface quality, additional post-machining finishing, such as traditional grinding, is required, but post-machining is time consuming and can reduce the geometric accuracy of a part. Therefore, this study proposes a post-machining technology combining coating and grinding processes to improve the surface quality of SL parts. Paraffin wax and pulp are used as the coating and grinding materials. By grinding the coating wax only up to the boundary of the part, the surface smoothness can be improved without damaging the surface. Finally, moulding and casting experiments were performed to confirm the suitability of the SL parts finished using the proposed process with rapid tooling (RT) techniques.