Whitepaper · Ricoh polypropylene

Ricoh polypropylene: smoothing SLS PP parts

Polypropylene is durable, light and chemically resistant, but in 3D printing its use has been limited by surface roughness and by its resistance to polar solvents. Ricoh and AMT used AMT’s smoothing technology on Ricoh’s SLS polypropylene.

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Cover of the whitepaper “Ricoh polypropylene: smoothing SLS PP parts”
With
Ricoh
Material
Ricoh polypropylene
Printing
SLS (RICOH AMS5500P)
Published
  • 95%lower surface roughness, about

Source:Ricoh whitepaper, amtechnologies.comPDF (opens in a new tab) published

Test method

Parts printed on the RICOH AMS5500P from a mix of virgin and refreshed PP were cleaned of loose powder, smoothed, and tested for dimensional variation, solvent uptake, mechanical properties and surface roughness.

Results

  • Surface roughness reduced by around 95%, within the range typical of injection-molded PP, with more hydrophobic surfaces
  • Higher elongation at break and break stress
  • No cytotoxic effects in tests to ISO standardsPDF

For polypropylene on PostPro systems today, see the FA9202 consumable on the consumables page.

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Test your parts

Send us a part. See it smoothed.

We vapor smooth your own parts and send them back with the results. No cost to evaluate · Parts returned · Typical turnaround 2–3 weeks1

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