Surface Evolution of an FDM-Printed PLA Component with Multiple Geometries During Centrifugal Disc Finishing

Chadwick, JW, Naylor, A ORCID: 0000-0001-8949-6580, Opoz, TT ORCID: 0000-0001-6579-2238, Ahuir-Torres, JI ORCID: 0000-0002-3160-0223 and Liu, X ORCID: 0000-0002-6987-2451 (2026) Surface Evolution of an FDM-Printed PLA Component with Multiple Geometries During Centrifugal Disc Finishing. Coatings, 16 (6). ISSN 2079-6412

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the fabrication of complex, customisable components from metals, composites and polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA); however, the process commonly produces poor surface finishes and inherent defects. Centrifugal disc finishing (CDF) is an established mass finishing technique in conventional manufacturing but remains insufficiently characterised for additively manufactured polymers. This exploratory study investigates the influence of CDF on fused deposition modelling (FDM)-fabricated PLA components with varying geometrical features, focusing on three-dimensional surface parameters including average areal surface roughness, skewness and kurtosis. Samples were processed up to 720 min with analysis at predetermined intervals to capture transient and steady-state-like behaviour. Surface characterisation was conducted using non-contact optical interferometry to obtain quantitative roughness data and three-dimensional topographical maps, supported by digital optical microscopy and gravimetric analysis to quantify material removal rates. Analysis of the experimental data indicated apparent relationships between processing time, geometry and surface response. Results indicate that material removal behaviour and roughness evolution may be geometry-dependent. Flat and convex surfaces appeared to follow expected transient-like and steady-state-like behaviour, whereas restricted geometries and intricate features exhibited distinct responses with characteristic transition times. Surface roughness reductions ranged from 36% to 89% depending on geometry. These findings provide preliminary quantitative insight into geometry-specific mass finishing behaviour, supporting improved process understanding and informing future optimisation of post-processing strategies for additively manufactured polymer components.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	additive manufacturing; mass finishing; centrifugal disc finishing; fused deposition modelling; average areal surface roughness; kurtosis; skewness; topography; defects; polylactic acid; 4014 Manufacturing Engineering; 40 Engineering; 0306 Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural); 0904 Chemical Engineering; 0912 Materials Engineering; 4016 Materials engineering
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TS Manufactures
Divisions:	Engineering and Built Environment
Publisher:	MDPI
Date of acceptance:	12 June 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	3 September 2026
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2026 13:30
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2026 13:30
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/coatings16060722
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29316

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