Laser-Based Polishing of Additively Manufactured PA12 and PAEK Polymer Components Using a Robotic System

Polymers, vol. 18, pp. 1106

Abstract

A non-contact laser polishing method for additively manufactured polymer components with complex three-dimensional geometries is presented, employing a 6-axis robotic system. Robot-guided sample orientation, a quasi-top-hat scanning strategy, and closed-loop temperature control are combined to address curved geometries. On Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)-manufactured Polyamide 12 (PA12) tensile samples with three build orientations and two thicknesses, laser polishing yields up to a 15% increase in tensile strength (Rm) and a 50% increase in elongation at break (A). For 45°-built 5 mm samples, Rm increases from 31.53 MPa to 36.33 MPa and A from 6.52% to 9.8%, approaching the tensile strength reported for optimally oriented SLS-printed PA12 Smooth samples of the same grade. For convex–concave PA12 demonstrators, areal roughness (Sa) on convex surfaces is reduced from 33.6 µm to 2.7 µm (approximately 92%) and the high-pass-filtered micro-roughness (SaHP) on concave surfaces by 98.2% to 0.15 µm. For Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)-printed Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) samples, Sa is reduced from 28.35 µm to 4.1 µm and SaHP from 15.98 µm to 0.23 µm (98.6%), despite the high melting temperature and anisotropic raster topography. These results demonstrate that robotic laser polishing constitutes a viable post-processing approach for functionally demanding polymer applications.

Authors 4

1. Emrah Uluz Aachen Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT Chair for Laser Technology LLT

   RWTH Aachen University · Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair for Laser Technology LLT, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Leander Metz Aachen Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics

   FH Aachen · Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Goethestraße 1, 52064 Aachen, Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany

3. Lukas Hedwig Aachen Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Goethestraße 1, 52064 Aachen, Germany

4. Sebastian Bremen Aachen Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics

   FH Aachen · Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Goethestraße 1, 52064 Aachen, Germany

   Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Steinbachstraße 15, 52074 Aachen, Germany