What Are the Available Post-processing Solutions for 3D Printing?

The additive manufacturing process rarely stops once your 3D printer has completed the part. Often, it takes varying amounts of time to complete post-processing steps, depending on the printing technology used. In fact, a recent study showed that the biggest challenge in post-processing in 2022 was the time required to complete it – 55% of respondents still feel it is too time consuming. This is surely one of the reasons why some manufacturers are coming up with faster, more accessible and automated solutions, regardless of the method used. We have therefore decided to present the post-processing solutions available on the market by classifying them by process: cleaning of the part, whether to remove excess material and/or supports; surface treatment and finally coloring. Each post-processing solution is listed by the name of its manufacturer, in alphabetical order.

But before we begin to introduce you to these solutions, please note that we will only focus on the manufacturers of the actual post-processing machines. As you know, many 3D printer manufacturers have also developed an offer dedicated to post-processing – Formlabs, for example, with its cleaning and heat treatment solutions, or SLS specialists who offer de-powdering machines. We decided not to include them in this article.

Cleaning of the part

Once the 3D printer has finished the part, the piece is rarely usable as is, and often a step is required to remove excess material: this is called de-powdering in the case of powder bed technologies – metal or plastic – or cleaning in the case of resin technologies. In some cases, you will also need to remove the print supports: some are easily removed by hand, but when it comes to metal processes, a machine is required.