Can we cease calling post-processing AM’s ‘soiled little secret’?

If there was a Room 101 scenario for 3D printing, you’d barely be capable to squeeze the door shut from the pile of drained phrases and phrases I am positive most of us want to by no means see once more. You realize those: the ‘sport changer’s, the ‘trade chief’s, the tech firm bios that use a variety of phrases however say little or no …

However, if there’s room for another, I’d throw in: ‘AM’s soiled little secret’.

The time period has been the albatross across the neck of post-processing ever since I can bear in mind. It is a sentiment given to the entire bits of the method chain that occur after a print has come off the construct platform – the depowdering, assist removing, dyeing, smoothing, blasting, warmth remedy, and so forth. Like an undesirable highschool nickname that simply will not shift, I noticed the phrase used whilst lately as Formnext in press releases to explain post-processing’s necessity. I may even assure I’ve used it myself on this very journal through the years – we have been all younger and impressionable as soon as.

Granted, 10 years in the past, it felt warranted. I’d go to futuristic-looking factories, proudly exhibiting off their dashboards of information and automatic guided autos zipping round a spotless ground, solely to finish up in a room the place a man with a chisel was hacking away at a chunk of metallic that is imagined to characterize the digitisation of producing. Hardly. It was the bit no one needed to speak about when demonstrating completely shiny components on a commerce present sales space; warmth exchangers with wafer skinny partitions introduced with no point out as to the way you would possibly do away with any leftover powder from such extremely complicated buildings.

However as post-processing specialists like DyeMansion and Solukon mark 10-year anniversaries, absolutely the key is properly and actually out?