Surface Roughness Enhancement of FFF-Printed Polypropylene and Polylactic Acid using Metallic and Ceramic Coatings

Rakesh Kumar*, Santosh Kumar**
* Department of Quality Assurance, Kaushik Orthopaedic Private Limited, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
** Chandigarh Group of Colleges Landran, Mohali, Punjab, India.
Periodicity:July - December'2025

Abstract

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) has gained widespread acceptance for producing polymer components due to its low cost, design flexibility, and ease of processing. However, surface roughness remains a major limitation, particularly for applications requiring enhanced functional and aesthetic performance. In the present study, surface modification of FFF-printed polymers was investigated using two different coating approaches. Polylactic acid (PLA) specimens were coated with stainless steel 316L using the electric arc spray technique, while polypropylene (PP) specimens were coated with a ceramic enamel layer applied through a spray coating process. Square specimens were fabricated using optimized printing parameters to obtain smooth baseline surfaces prior to coating. Surface roughness measurements were carried out using a stylus-based profilometer, and the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) was evaluated for both coated and uncoated samples. The results demonstrated a clear reduction in surface roughness after coating in both materials. The ceramic-coated PP samples showed a significant improvement in surface finish, achieving sub-micron roughness values, whereas the metallic coating on PLA also reduced surface irregularities compared to uncoated specimens. The findings confirm that suitable coating techniques can effectively enhance the surface quality of FFF- printed polymer components, thereby expanding their potential use in biomedical, industrial, and functional applications.

Keywords

Polypropylene, Polylactic Acid Filament, Fused Filament Fabrication, Ceramic Coating, Surface Roughness, Additive Manufacturing.

How to Cite this Article?

Kumar, R., and Kumar, S. (2025). Surface Roughness Enhancement of FFF-Printed Polypropylene and Polylactic Acid using Metallic and Ceramic Coatings. i-manager’s Journal on Physical Sciences, 4(2), 20-27.

References

[2]. Gibson, I., Rosen, D., Stucker, B., Khorasani, M., Rosen, D., Stucker, B., & Khorasani, M. (2021). Additive Manufacturing Technologies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
[3]. Hull, C. W. (1986). Apparatus for Production of Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography. United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[6]. Kumar, S., Handa, A., & Kumar, R. (2019). Overview of wire arc spray process: a review. A Journal of Composition Theory, 12(7), 900-907.
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