ActOn Case Studies

Post-Processing 3D Printed Stainless Steel Pen Parts to an Ra Below 0.5µm

3D printing opens new possibilities for custom, complex designs, but achieving a premium, polished finish often requires advanced post-processing. This case study showcases how ActOn Finishing helped a client transform 3D printed stainless steel pen parts from a rough Ra 4.87µm to a polished Ra 0.12µm, providing a repeatable, production-ready finishing solution.

Project Background

Our client delivers customised manufacturing solutions (including 3d printing) tailored to meet the specific needs of each of their customers. They have approached ActOn with the requirement to provide a post-processing solution for 3D printed pen parts, manufactured by them:

Remove printing-related surface roughness and imperfections
Deburr and smooth complex geometries
Achieve a polished, defect-free finish with Ra under 0.5µm
Maintain efficient cycle times for production scalability

Finishing Process

We designed a three-stage post-processing workflow using our CHE50 High Energy Machine, ensuring consistent, high-quality results:

Stage 1: Deburring & Initial Surface Finishing

Used aggressive ceramic media with a concentrated liquid compound featuring cleaning and polishing properties.
Objective: remove burrs and reduce roughness left by the 3D printing process.

Stage 2: Smoothing & Surface Preparation

Transitioned to medium-abrasive plastic media with the same liquid compound.
Objective: smooth the surface and eliminate micro-defects, preparing parts for the final polish.

Stage 3: High-Quality Polishing

Finished with pretreated Maizorb media in the CHE50 machine.
Objective: achieve a flawless, mirror-like finish with a final Ra of 0.12µm.

The Post-Processing Solution

The solution implemented included:

CHE50 High Energy Machine: for rapid, uniform finishing of complex 3D printed parts
Aggressive Ceramic Media: for heavy deburring and initial smoothing
Medium-Abrasive Plastic Media: for intermediate surface refinement
Pretreated Maizorb Media: for high-quality polishing
Concentrated Liquid Compound: to clean and enhance the finish at every stage

This surface finishing solution was built with industrial-grade reliability in mind, delivering a long-term solution with minimal downtime, on a wide range of 3d printed components.

Results

The CHE50 system delivered immediate benefits to the production process:

Surface Roughness: reduced from Ra 4.87µm to Ra 0.12µm
Time Efficiency: full process completed in 3.5 hours
Premium Finish: smooth, defect-free surfaces ideal for high-end pen production
Scalability: consistent, repeatable results suitable for ongoing 3d printed production batches

Before / After