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Laser-Based Polishing of Additively Manufactured PA12 and PAEK Polymer Components Using a Robotic System.

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Title: Laser-Based Polishing of Additively Manufactured PA12 and PAEK Polymer Components Using a Robotic System.
Authors: Uluz, Emrah1,2 (AUTHOR) emrah.uluz@ilt.fraunhofer.de, Metz, Leander1,2,3 (AUTHOR), Hedwig, Lukas3 (AUTHOR), Bremen, Sebastian1,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Polymers (20734360). May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 9, p1106. 18p.
Subjects: Selective laser sintering, Surface roughness, Surface finishing, Three-dimensional printing, Autonomous robots, Fused deposition modeling, Nylon, Polyether ether ketone
Abstract: A non-contact laser polishing method for additively manufactured polymer components with complex three-dimensional geometries is presented, employing a 6-axis robotic system. Robot-guided sample orientation, a quasi-top-hat scanning strategy, and closed-loop temperature control are combined to address curved geometries. On Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)-manufactured Polyamide 12 (PA12) tensile samples with three build orientations and two thicknesses, laser polishing yields up to a 15% increase in tensile strength (Rm) and a 50% increase in elongation at break (A). For 45°-built 5 mm samples, Rm increases from 31.53 MPa to 36.33 MPa and A from 6.52% to 9.8%, approaching the tensile strength reported for optimally oriented SLS-printed PA12 Smooth samples of the same grade. For convex–concave PA12 demonstrators, areal roughness (Sa) on convex surfaces is reduced from 33.6 µm to 2.7 µm (approximately 92%) and the high-pass-filtered micro-roughness (SaHP) on concave surfaces by 98.2% to 0.15 µm. For Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)-printed Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) samples, Sa is reduced from 28.35 µm to 4.1 µm and SaHP from 15.98 µm to 0.23 µm (98.6%), despite the high melting temperature and anisotropic raster topography. These results demonstrate that robotic laser polishing constitutes a viable post-processing approach for functionally demanding polymer applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Laser-Based Polishing of Additively Manufactured PA12 and PAEK Polymer Components Using a Robotic System.
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  Data: A non-contact laser polishing method for additively manufactured polymer components with complex three-dimensional geometries is presented, employing a 6-axis robotic system. Robot-guided sample orientation, a quasi-top-hat scanning strategy, and closed-loop temperature control are combined to address curved geometries. On Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)-manufactured Polyamide 12 (PA12) tensile samples with three build orientations and two thicknesses, laser polishing yields up to a 15% increase in tensile strength (Rm) and a 50% increase in elongation at break (A). For 45°-built 5 mm samples, Rm increases from 31.53 MPa to 36.33 MPa and A from 6.52% to 9.8%, approaching the tensile strength reported for optimally oriented SLS-printed PA12 Smooth samples of the same grade. For convex–concave PA12 demonstrators, areal roughness (Sa) on convex surfaces is reduced from 33.6 µm to 2.7 µm (approximately 92%) and the high-pass-filtered micro-roughness (SaHP) on concave surfaces by 98.2% to 0.15 µm. For Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)-printed Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) samples, Sa is reduced from 28.35 µm to 4.1 µm and SaHP from 15.98 µm to 0.23 µm (98.6%), despite the high melting temperature and anisotropic raster topography. These results demonstrate that robotic laser polishing constitutes a viable post-processing approach for functionally demanding polymer applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/polym18091106
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 1106
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      – SubjectFull: Selective laser sintering
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Surface roughness
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      – SubjectFull: Surface finishing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Three-dimensional printing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autonomous robots
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fused deposition modeling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nylon
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Polyether ether ketone
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Laser-Based Polishing of Additively Manufactured PA12 and PAEK Polymer Components Using a Robotic System.
        Type: main
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          Name:
            NameFull: Uluz, Emrah
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            NameFull: Metz, Leander
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            NameFull: Hedwig, Lukas
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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