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It’s important to identify the surfaces on which you want to apply a particular finish. By default, any surface can receive a finishing treatment. Keep in mind that the surfaces of your prototype, whether exterior or interior must be visible in order to apply finishes.

Tip: Painting only certain surfaces may cost more than painting the entire prototype, in case it’s necessary to mask a certain part of the prototype to paint a small area or specific details.

Axis Prototypes offers a wide selection of colors (gloss & matte) for your finishing process in order to make your prototype fit your needs as much as possible. We offer different color qualities, ranging from classic paints to automotive grade paints. In addition to our colour selection, we give you the possibility of choosing more specific and particular colors to realize your vision.

Tip: The cost of the finishing process varies according to the painting’s quality and the color’s selection: standard or specific. Consider these points before making your choices.

Depending on the geometry of your prototype, different levels of transparency are available. All surfaces can receive a transparent finish, however only SLA printed prototypes, using DSM Somos 11122 WaterShed, can be transparent.

Levels of transparency available:

• Semi-Clear: no sandblasting, adding a transparent primer.
• Ultra-Clear: fine sandblasting, adding a transparent primer.
• Smoked-Clear: possibility of giving a tone to the transparency (see scale on the right).

Special assembly finish in which the remaining interferences are sandblasted. Note that it is essential to transmit the document(s) indicating the position of each part in the assembly and the external parts if necessary. This will save a lot of time during the finishing process and allow you to get your part as quickly as possible.

Tip: The greater the tolerance between parts, the less time it takes to complete the finishing job. For a '' press-fit '' assembly, do not include any assembly sets.

We offer the potential to include installation of inserts or tapping of specified holes on parts produced by Axis Prototypes. The inserts are available when printing prototypes using SLA, SLS or FDM, while threading is mainly done via DMLS. It’s important to identify the holes and insert numbers or to provide us with the MMcMaster-Carr code. (link below)

Tip: Make sure your holes are the right size, surrounded by the right wall thicknesses according to the chosen insert, by consulting the link below (PDF).

Specifications (PDF)

MCMASTER-CARR Code

The water-repellent treatments are intended to compensate for the porosity of a prototype. There are several options:

• Epoxy treatment: Epoxy brush application on parts produced via SLS
• Sealant Treatment: Infiltration with sealant material on SLS produced parts
• Clear-Coat treatment: 3-stroke Clear-Coat Spray on parts produced via SLA or SLS