---
title: "Vapor Smoothing for Consumer Products | AMT PostPro"
description: "Instruments and heavy-use game parts: how vapor smoothing gives 3D printed consumer products a sealed surface with the look and feel of a finished product."
canonical: https://amtechnologies.com/industries/consumer/
updated: 2026-10-09
type: application
---
![Black 3D-printed lattice bicycle saddle on a dark background](https://amtechnologies.com/img/industries/hero-consumer-d-640.webp)

Applications · Consumer goods

# Printed products that look and feel finished.

Vapor smoothing gives 3D printed consumer products a smooth, sealed surface, and lets makers tune how it looks and feels: gloss, friction and sealing.[1] Brands use it on musical instruments and heavy-use game parts; Posedla finishes its TPU saddles on AMT PostPro.

[Test your parts, free](https://amtechnologies.com/test-your-parts/) See the case studies

Key applications

## Where consumer parts are vapor smoothed.

- ### [Bicycle saddles](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/optimizing-the-performance-of-customized-bicycle-saddles-with-basf-forward-am-hp-and-amt-postpro/)

  Custom TPU saddles that face sun, water and grit.
- ### [Musical instruments](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/3d-printed-musical-instruments-flipheads-mouthpiece-innovation/)

  A flute mouthpiece; vapor smoothing gives it hygiene, sound and finish.
- ### [Game parts](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/vapor-smoothing-for-digital-shuffleboard-puck-tops/)

  Puck tops for a heavy-use digital shuffleboard game.
- ### Helmets

  Lattice helmet shells: the matte, grainy print comes out smooth, sealed and dark.
- ### Camera housings

  A printed freediving camera frame, sealed so it sheds water instead of soaking it up.
- ### Footwear

  TPU lattices for shoes and sports gear: on BASF Ultrasint TPU01, a TPU made for footwear, vapor smoothing cut roughness from 13.42 → 1.18 µm[2].

Printers and materials

## The printers and materials behind these parts.

### Print processes

[MJF](https://amtechnologies.com/learn/mjf-vapor-smoothing/), [SLS](https://amtechnologies.com/learn/sls-vapor-smoothing/), [SAF and HSS](https://amtechnologies.com/learn/saf-hss-vapor-smoothing/) and [FDM](https://amtechnologies.com/learn/fdm-vapor-smoothing/)

Posedla prints its saddles on HP Multi Jet Fusion; Fliphead’s mouthpiece is printed by SLS.[3] PostPro smooths parts from MJF, SLS, SAF, HSS and FDM[4,5].

### Materials

- [TPU Thermoplastic polyurethane](https://amtechnologies.com/materials/tpu/)
- [PA12 Polyamide 12](https://amtechnologies.com/materials/pa12/)
- [PA11 Polyamide 11](https://amtechnologies.com/materials/pa11/)

[Which system? Compare all four](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/)

Case studies

## Two stories from consumer goods.

Each case study is the customer’s published account: the summary here, the full story and the PDF one click away.

1. Case study 01 / 02

   Flute with the printed mouthpiece in its case Photo © FLIPHEAD UG

   ### [A mouthpiece that changes how a flute plays](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/3d-printed-musical-instruments-flipheads-mouthpiece-innovation/)

   Fliphead and 1zu1 print a mouthpiece that lets flutists play with a saxophone posture. Vapor smoothing gives it the hygiene, sound and finish the product needs.

   - **Customer**: Fliphead, with 1zu1 (Prototal Group)
   - **Process**: 3D printed → PostPro vapor smoothing
   - **Result**: Refined surfaces that look and feel good, better sound, and consistent quality as production scaled
   - **Published**: Sep 2025

   [Read the case study: A mouthpiece that changes how a flute plays](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/3d-printed-musical-instruments-flipheads-mouthpiece-innovation/) [PDF: A mouthpiece that changes how a flute plays (opens in a new tab)](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/3d-printed-musical-instruments-flipheads-mouthpiece-innovation/)
2. Case study 02 / 02

   Digital shuffleboard tables in a venue

   ### [Puck tops for heavy-use games](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/vapor-smoothing-for-digital-shuffleboard-puck-tops/)

   Conductr wanted a better finish, and a fast turnaround, for the heavy-use puck tops of its digital shuffleboard game.

   - **Customer**: MMU and Conductr
   - **Process**: 3D printed → vapor smoothing
   - **Result**: A fast turnaround and a finish made for heavy use
   - **Published**: Oct 2023, published before October 2024

   [Read the case study: Puck tops for heavy-use games](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/vapor-smoothing-for-digital-shuffleboard-puck-tops/) [PDF: Puck tops for heavy-use games (opens in a new tab)](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/vapor-smoothing-for-digital-shuffleboard-puck-tops/)

[All three consumer case studies in the case-study library](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/case-studies/?industry=consumer)

Consumer on video

## See it at work

[Watch on YouTube:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkk2ou3MwTA)

### _3D Printed Custom Bike Saddles | Post-Processing | Posedla & AMT PostPro_

[Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkk2ou3MwTA)

Next step

## See the price. Run the numbers. Hold the part.

Starting 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 send AMT an itemized quotation request. Each system shows its starting price.

   [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://amtechnologies.com/test-your-parts/)

   No cost to evaluate · Parts returned · Typical turnaround 2–3 weeks[6]

Prices: starting prices, excluding tax and shipping; everything else is priced in your quotation.

[Not sure which system? Help me choose](https://amtechnologies.com/configurator/)

Questions

## Questions, answered.

### Can I control how glossy or grippy a vapor-smoothed part is?

Yes. ZiggZagg tailors gloss, friction and sealing behavior by selectively controlling the smoothing process.[1]

### Does vapor smoothing work on flexible TPU parts?

Yes. On BASF Ultrasint TPU01 printed on HP MJF, surface roughness fell from 13.42 to 1.18 µm after PostPro vapor smoothing.[2]

### Does vapor smoothing make parts weaker?

Not in AMT’s published tests. On voxeljet HSS PA12, elongation at break rose by 38.1% (XY) after vapor smoothing, with dimensional change of 0.4% or less.[7]

### Which consumer products are vapor smoothed?

Published examples include a flute-to-saxophone mouthpiece (Fliphead) and heavy-use puck tops for a digital shuffleboard game (MMU and Conductr).

### Can I test my own parts before I buy?

Yes. Send a few of your printed parts to AMT’s benchmarking program and they come back vapor smoothed: no cost to evaluate, parts returned, typical turnaround 2–3 weeks.[6]

## Sources

1. [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/)
2. [Ultrasint TPU01 enhancement with PostPro vapor smoothing (whitepaper)](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/whitepapers/surface-enhancement-of-ultrasint-tpu01-parts-by-postpro-vapor-smoothing/) · AMT · Nov 7, 2022
3. [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
4. [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/)
5. [Vapor smoothing consumables: PostPro Pure (FA5802), FA326 and FA9202](https://amtechnologies.com/products/vapor-smoothing/consumables/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026
6. [PostPro benchmarking: send us your 3D printed parts](https://benchmarking.amtechnologies.com/) · AMT · read Oct 6, 2026
7. [Vapor smoothing voxeljet's HSS PA12 with AMT PostPro (whitepaper)](https://amtechnologies.com/resources/whitepapers/vapor-smoothing-voxeljets-hss-pa12-with-amt-postpro/) · AMT · Feb 6, 2024