Exeter-based South West Metal Finishing provides surface coatings including electro and electroless plating, anodising, paint and powder coating and non-destructive testing. “We were approached by our clients in the aerospace and defence sectors soon after additive manufacturing started to be used,” said lead researcher James Bradbury.

“But one of the challenges regularly mentioned was the poor finish of AM components. They were often rough or porous, with semi melted powder particles. That can obviously effect the performance of the component which cannot happen when you’re making an aircraft. Safety is paramount.”

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