Comparison of the Surface Quality of the Products Manufactured by the Plastic Injection Molding and SLA and FDM Method

Abstract

Plastic injection molding is a widely used manufacturing method in the automotive and machinery sectors. The design and manufacture of the appropriate mold needed to manufacture a plastic product with this method are a difficult, time-consuming, and costly process. Due to the developing technology and increasing quality requirements, this method remains insufficient, especially for sensitive and intricate parts that will be manufactured in low numbers. In additive manufacturing, the 3D printing technique is developing rapidly, and high-quality products can now be obtained with this method. In this study, sample pieces manufactured by fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing techniques were compared with pieces manufactured by the plastic injection molding method. Prototype products were examined in terms of manufacturing techniques, appearance, and surface qualities. As a result of the study, it was determined that the parts manufactured by the SLA 3D printing technique were better in terms of the ease of manufacturing, appearance, and surface roughness and that this was followed by plastic injection molding and the 3D printing FDM method, respectively.