Finishing 3D Printed Objects with a Vapor BathFinishing 3D Printed Objects with a Vapor Bath

One way to provide a smooth and shiny finish to plastic 3D-printed products is to use a vapor bath of acetone or isopropyl alcohol.

Rob Spiegel

May 11, 2023

1 Min Read
3D printed surfaces
Marina_Skoropadskaya iStock / Getty Images Plus for Getty Images

Vapor polishing is a method of polishing plastics to reduce surface roughness or improve clarity. The technique is often used to improve the surface of objects created with 3D printing techniques. Typically, an object is exposed to a chemical vapor such as acetone or isopropyl alcohol. This causes the surface to flow thereby improving the surface finish.

This method of polishing can be used to return clear materials to an optical-quality finish after machining. Vapor polishing also works well in the internal features of components. This process generally doesn’t change the shape or size of the object.

Plastics that respond well to vapor polishing are polycarbonate, acrylic, polysulfone, PEI, and ABS. As the printer deposits layer upon layer of material to build the object, the surface is often not entirely smooth. The smoothness of the surface can be greatly increased by vapor polishing.

The following video shows a method for using acetone for vapor polishing the surface of 3D-printed objects.

 

About the Author

Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel serves as a senior editor for Design News. He started with Design News in 2002 as a freelancer covering sustainability issues, including the transistion in electronic components to RoHS compliance. Rob was hired by Design News as senior editor in 2011 to cover automation, manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, AI, and more.

Prior to his work with Design News, Rob worked as a senior editor for Electronic News and Ecommerce Business. He served as contributing editolr to Automation World for eight years, and he has contributed to Supply Chain Management Review, Logistics Management, Ecommerce Times, and many other trade publications. He is the author of six books on small business and internet commerce, inclluding Net Strategy: Charting the Digital Course for Your Company's Growth.

He has been published in magazines that range from Rolling Stone to True Confessions.

Rob has won a number of awards for his technolloghy coverage, including a Maggy Award for a Design News article on the Jeep Cherokee hacking, and a Launch Team award for Ecommerce Business. Rob has also won awards for his leadership postions in the American Marketing Association and SouthWest Writers.

Before covering technology, Rob spent 10 years as publisher and owner of Chile Pepper Magazine, a national consumer food publication. He has published hundreds of poems and scores of short stories in national publications.

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