Vibratory Tumbling

Smooth, Matte Surfaces

Vibratory tumbling is a finishing process that can be used to improve the surface quality and overall appearance of external surfaces on 3D printed parts. This process involves placing the parts in a container with abrasive media and vibrating the container to allow the media to polish and smooth the part surfaces.

One of the main benefits of vibratory tumbling is that it can remove any roughness or layer lines that may be present on the surface of 3D printed parts. This can be especially useful for parts that will be visible or touched, as a smooth surface can improve the overall aesthetic and feel of the part.

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Comparison to Vapor Smoothing

Advantages compared to Vapor Smoothing:

• External surfaces will be smoothed more than vapor smoothing
• Less labor is required to complete, since the parts do not need to be manually hung as with vapor smoothing, making it a great choice for larger production runs
• Any small burrs or imperfections will be removed from the printing process
• Perfect preparation for extra-smooth painting or Cerakote

Disadvantages compared to Vapor Smoothing

• Does not work well on fragile parts
• Does not smooth internal geometry, such as inside tubes, or intricate features that the media cannot access
• Very slow - usually between 5 and 24 hours per cycle
• Not a good fit for all parts
• Can give parts a "cloudy" color

Combined with Vapor Smoothing

The most beautiful parts that leave our lab use a combination of vibratory tumbling and vapor smoothing.

Vibratory tumbling as an initial processing step removes surface roughness and imperfections, while vapor smoothing as a secondary step fills in all of the microscopic voids in the surface and makes the surfaces shine. Vapor smoothing also deepens the black color from dyeing, while improving mechanical properties such as toughness and elongation.

This combination of finishes is perfect for industries where impressive aesthetics is important, and where a smooth surface is needed for disinfection purposes, such as medical device manufacturing.