Barrel finishing of FDM parts

In this paper an investigation on the hybridization of two technology is proposed: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Barrel Finishing (BF). FDM is able to fabricate parts with no complexity limitation but with poor surface roughness and tolerances. The coupling with BF showed the capability to improve both these limiting aspects. A theoretical model has been proposed to predict heights attainable by the hybrid machining. A particular geometry has been designed and fabricated to conduct an experimental campaign to determine effects of process parameters on attainable surface quality. The results evidenced that average roughness remarkably decreases, while tolerances depend upon the deposition angle. Thus a design for manufacturing is proposed, that is a modification of the original virtual model to reduce FDM deviation. A case study has been investigated to verify the method.