Bel Air is the leading service provider for 3D post processing.
Bel Air Finishing Supply, established in 1966, has over 50 years of experience in serving the worldwide jewelry manufacturing industry, now offers its wide variety of finishing techniques to the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industries. Listed below are the services that Bel Air offers to its customers. Whether you print your own parts, or have them printed for you, we can formulate processes to meet the finishing requirements for any product. In addition to surface finishing of both metal and plastic, we also provide coating, electroplating, dyeing, and surface analysis (metrology).
Surface Finishing
The following are examples of the many surface finishing recipes that we have developed for all types of Additive Manufactured materials and technology types including but not limited to the list below. Each letter indicates a different finishing process that used our equipment and abrasive/polishing media. The roughness average (Ra) is measured in micro-inches. These finishes are industry standard for each material, but we also develop special finishing recipes to meet your specifications. Let us process your samples and find a result that is right for you.
Metals: DMLS, SLM, EBM, BJ, EBAM NPJ
Plastics: SLA, DLP, FDM, MJ, MJF, SLS
Metal (DMLS Stainless Steel, Uncoated)
Process | Raw | WJ | I | II | IIIX | III |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ra (uin): | 140 | 59 | 24 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
Plastic (SLS PA-1100)
Process | Raw | WJ | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ra (uin): | 470 | 106 | 54 | 33 | 8 | 202 | 127 |
Raw
WJ
A
B
B with Dye
C with Dye
Plastic (HP PA-12)
Objective | Clean& Polish HP color print |
|---|---|
Part Description | Sample Test Parts |
Printer Technology | MJF |
Material | PA-12 |
Process | WJ & High Energy |
Raw
WJ tumble batch
WJ individual by hand
Bel Air is Arcam's choice for post processing of EBM parts.
Electron beam melting (EBM) is a method of 3D printing and additive manufacturing, in which an electron beam welds together metal powder or wire. This technique produces fully dense metal parts shaped to match the geometry of a 3D CAD model. Arcam EBM, a leading innovator in EBM technology and additive manufacturing, depends on Bel Air’s mass finishing equipment and processes for the post processing of EBM parts.
Metal GE (Arcam EBM)
Process | Raw | WJ | I | II | III |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ra (uin): | 1140 | 444 | 367 | 206 | 34 |
Coating
Bel Air is a service provider for coating of plastic parts, as well as electroplating. Coating may or may not be applied to parts that have previously been surface finished using one of the processes shown in the Surface Finishing section. The examples below indicate the general range of coating currently available (note that the first letter in the designation indicates the pre-finish before coating).
Electroplating
Bel Air’s state of the art electroplating facility provides depositions of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), silver (Ag), Gold (Au), and Palladium (Pd). Electroplating may or may not be applied to parts that have previously been surface finished using one of the processes shown in the Surface Finishing section. The examples below indicate the general range of plating currently available (note that the first letter in the designation indicates the pre-finish before coating).
Plastic Examples
Metal Examples
17-4 SS, Polish
24k Gold Plate
DMLS SS, Pre-Plate
DMLS SS, Plated
Dyeing
Dyeing of 3D nylon parts is entering mainstream production, and techniques are currently being developed. Bel Air is able to dye sample parts, with a focus on providing equipment and services for the AM nylon sector. Automated & semi-automated systems are available for dyeing HP PA-11 & PA-12, as well as other 3D plastics.
PA-1100 Nylon SLS
HP PA-11 & PA-12
Surface Metrology
Bel Air Finishing now offers surface metrology services, utilizing non-contact white light interferometry technology. Our metrology department will demonstrate how to qualify the surface finish you desire and your customers demand. Our metrology equipment can be used on the shop floor, eliminating the need to move your product into a separate inspection line. This technology offers many benefits over single-line surface metrology technology, such as stylus type profilometers.
With our metrology equipment, you can take various measurements, including but not limited to:
- Roughness over an area.
- Roughness on parts with complex geometry (convex, concave, etc.)
- Properties of the surface finish (direction & depth of finish, etc.)
- 3D View of a defect (helps identify the cause)
Send us a picture of your parts, and we will provide a range estimate for your review.
Basic Fee Schedule: All fees are subject to tax
- First Measurement (Includes recipe setup): $150.00
- All Subsequent Measurements: $ 50.00
- Special Fixtures (if required): TBD
Services Provider Examples
According to the examples listed below, we can formulate processes to meet the finishing requirements for any product. In addition to surface finishing, electroplating, Dyeing and surface analysis we also provide color coating, and powder removal. Furthermore, we test products with the latest technological methods in order to ensure our coatings meet or exceed performance expectations.
Color-Coating
Objective | Color coding |
|---|---|
Part Description | Dental tools |
Material | Stainless steel |
Process Type | Color Coating |
Color-PVD- Coating
Objective | Color coding |
|---|---|
Part Description | Dental tools |
Material | Stainless steel |
Process Type | Color PVD Coating |
Powder- Removal Color
Process | Description |
|---|---|
WJ | powder removal and clear coat |
Before
After
Easy and Effective Bullet Cleaning
Process | Description |
|---|---|
FMSL 22 | Bullet cleaning |
Before
After
Lubrisol TCU Flex MJF Material
Objective | Clean & Color Flex MJF material |
|---|---|
Part Description | Flex Madulus |
Material | Lubrisol TCU |
Process Type | Water Jet and Coat |
Post Processing custom eye glass frames
An SOW (Scope of Work) was entered into with Printing Service Provider to establish surface finish and provide printing Feedback Loop to maximize production.
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