Inkjet printing of polylactic acid on substrates prepared by fused deposition modeling and its potential for selective surface finishing

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing technology commonly used for prototyping. One limiting aspect for the use in functional prototyping and small‐lot production is the achievable surface roughness. The aim of this work was to investigate a potential method of processing polylactic acid (PLA), as it is commonly used for FDM printing, via inkjet technology. PLA solvent inks with different concentrations were prepared by dissolving PLA in 1,4‐dioxane. The tested PLA substrates were prepared by FDM with different layer thicknesses and the change in surface roughness after multilayer inkjet printing was measured by a stylus profilometer. The surface roughness was reduced by up to 50% and further increasing the number of inkjet layers caused voids and PLA accumulations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43527.