--- title: "Vapor Smoothing Glossary for PostPro Users | AMT PostPro" description: "Vapor smoothing terms in plain words: the four process stages, sealing, Ra, the powder bed technologies, materials and AMT PostPro products." canonical: https://amtechnologies.com/community/guides/glossary/ updated: 2026-10-06 type: guide --- Community guide Start here # Vapor smoothing glossary: the words you will see in the guides A quick reference to the words used in these guides and on the community forum. - By AMT Team - FAQ - 3 min read - Updated Oct 2026 - Sources[1,2,3,4,5] ## The process - **Vapor smoothing.** A surface finishing process for thermoplastic parts. In AMT’s words, the rough surface of a printed part “is exposed to solvent vapors under controlled conditions. The vapor condenses on the part’s surface, eliminating peaks and troughs.” The result is a smooth, sealed surface. - **The four stages.** AMT’s product pages describe a cycle as **conditioning** (parts reach processing conditions), **processing** (vaporized consumable is injected into the chamber), **curing** (the surface resolidifies) and **drying** (no consumable traces remain in the chamber). - **Sealing.** Smoothing closes the open, porous surface of a powder bed part. AMT’s pages and customers describe the result as easier to clean and more resistant to water. - **Recipe.** The set of process settings for a material and part. Your AMT application engineer sets recipes for your parts. - **Chamber.** The space the parts sit in during a cycle. Its size decides how many parts fit in one run. - **Rack / hanging.** How parts are held in the chamber so the vapor reaches every surface you care about. - **Closed loop.** AMT describes the SF50 and SF100 as fully closed-loop systems, with a consumable recovery process. ## Measuring results - **Surface roughness (Ra).** A common measure of surface texture: the average deviation of the surface from its mean line, usually in micrometers (µm). Lower is smoother. - **Dimensional change.** How much a part’s size changes through smoothing. Check it on the features that matter for your fit. - **Benchmark.** AMT’s program for testing your parts before you buy. ## Printing technologies - **PBF (powder bed fusion).** Printing by fusing layers of polymer powder. SLS, MJF, SAF and HSS are all PBF. - **SLS.** Selective laser sintering: a laser fuses the powder. - **MJF.** HP Multi Jet Fusion: a fusing agent and infrared energy fuse the powder. - **SAF.** Selective Absorption Fusion, a Stratasys powder bed process. - **HSS.** High Speed Sintering, a powder bed process used by voxeljet. - **FDM / FFF.** Material extrusion: a heated nozzle lays down filament. - **Loose powder.** Unfused powder left on powder bed parts. Remove it before smoothing. ## Materials - **PA12, PA11.** Polyamide (nylon) 12 and 11, the most common powder bed materials. - **TPU, TPE.** Thermoplastic polyurethane and thermoplastic elastomer: flexible materials. - **PP.** Polypropylene, smoothed with its own consumable. ## AMT products - **PostPro SFX, SF2X.** The desktop systems. The SF2X has double the chamber capacity of the SFX. - **PostPro SF50, SF100.** The production systems: the same machine with two chamber sizes. - **DMS (Digital Manufacturing System).** Automated loading and unloading for PostPro SF100 systems. - **PostPro Pure (FA5802), FA326, FA9202.** AMT’s vapor smoothing consumables. FA9202 is for polypropylene. See [PostPro Pure, FA326 or FA9202: which consumable for which material?](https://amtechnologies.com/community/guides/which-consumable/). - **HMI.** Human-machine interface: the machine’s touchscreen. - **RFID.** Radio-frequency identification. On the SF50 and SF100 it controls user access and recognizes the consumable. - **MES / ERP.** Manufacturing execution and enterprise resource planning systems. The SF50 and SF100 connect to them. Next step ## See the price. Run the numbers. Hold the part. List prices are public and the cost-per-part math is yours to check, with no email needed for either. The free benchmark puts your own parts, vapor smoothed, in your hands. 1. 01 Quote ### Build your quote Pick a system and its options and get an itemized total on screen, from AMT’s published list prices. [Build your quote](https://amtechnologies.com/quote/) 2. 02 ROI ### Calculate your ROI Compare your cost per part with manual finishing, using your own labor rate and volumes. Every assumption is editable. [Calculate ROI](https://amtechnologies.com/roi/) 3. 03 Benchmark ### Test your parts, free Ship us your parts with a prepaid label. We vapor smooth them and send them back with before-and-after photos and a benchmark report. [Test your parts, free](https://benchmarking.amtechnologies.com/submit?utm_source=amtechnologies.com&utm_medium=community-page&utm_campaign=site-2026&utm_content=glossary-decision) No cost to evaluate · Parts returned · Typical turnaround 2–3 weeks[6] Prices: AMT list prices, excluding tax and shipping; confirmed in your formal quote. [Not sure which system? Help me choose](https://amtechnologies.com/configurator/) ## Sources 1. [Vapor smoothing: SF and X-series family page and SFX, SF2X, SF50, SF100 product pages](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026 · also [AMT](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/postpro-sfx-desktop-vapor-smoothing-system/) · also [AMT](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/postpro-sf2x/) · also [AMT](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/postpro-sf50/) · also [AMT](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/postpro-sf100/) 2. [PostPro Digital Manufacturing System (DMS)](https://amtechnologies.com/products/digital-manufacturing-systems/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026 3. [Vapor smoothing consumables: PostPro Pure (FA5802), FA326 and FA9202](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/consumables/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026 4. [AMT PostPro brochure: automated post-processing systems for additive manufacturing, V4.0 (June 2026)](https://info.amtechnologies.com/download-document?document_name=brochure) · AMT · Jun 2026 5. [Customer spotlights on AMT industry pages (1zu1 Prototypen, automotive; ZiggZagg, consumer)](https://amtechnologies.com/industries/automotive/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026 · also [AMT](https://amtechnologies.com/industries/consumer/) 6. [PostPro benchmarking: send us your 3D printed parts](https://benchmarking.amtechnologies.com/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026