In this article, the principal set-up of systems performing chemical treatment on 3D prints is described. May this obvious and simple principle become common knowledge in order to leave room for its application and real inventions.

Machine set-up for chemical treatment of 3D printed plastic parts

3D printing is on its way to revolutionize the way plastic parts being produced
for a wide range of applications and for production quantities which easily
reach several thousand per year.
The parts directly taken from the 3D printing process are usually rough and
raw, and therefore without further treatment not suitable for demanding
applications.
The most effective way to improve such part quality has proven to be
chemical treatments, which modify the surfaces of the parts. E.g. using a
suitable solvent, the surface of parts gets liquefied and therefore rearranged.
Which leads to smooth surfaces of the solidified parts.
Such chemical treatments need to be carried out in housed chambers, in order
to avoid the human operator to get into contact with potentially unhealthy
chemicals.
To really make sure that no chemical can escape in an unfavoured direction a
constantly extracting exhaust air suction needs to be installed. Such exhaust
air suction is then to be combined with an exhaust air cleaning device, in order
to make sure no chemicals are released into the environment.
Water soluble chemicals can get cleaned out of the exhaust air, by washing
them out. Other chemicals can get filtered via e.g. activated-carbon filters, or by chilling
the exhaust air to let condensate any substance of content.
Example of system set-up: