Development of a Post-Processing Automation System to Increase the Efficiency of the Additive Manufacturing Process

With the rapid advancement of additive manufacturing technology, there is an increasing demand for the introduction of 3D printers and post-processing equipment into production processes. Consequently, the need for automation in post-processing is rising. However, due to the diversity and heterogeneity of materials and shapes in additive manufacturing products, automation faces limitations. Furthermore, post-processing steps such as printing, washing, drying, and curing are typically performed manually, making it difficult to maintain uniform quality for output of various sizes and shapes. Post-processing is a crucial stage that determines the final quality of additive manufacturing products by improving surface finish, dimensional accuracy, and mechanical properties. Manual post-processing is time-consuming, costly, and prone to human error, which makes it challenging to ensure consistent quality. Therefore, automation of the post-processing workflow is necessary to maintain uniform quality of printed products. This paper introduces an automated post-processing system that optimizes and controls the parameters of individual post-processing equipment based on the volume, mass, and material information of the printed products.