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Recent Development in Post-Processing for Additive Manufacturing (Second Edition)
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Recent Development in Post-Processing for Additive Manufacturing (Second Edition)

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 2218

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yuchao Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, China
Interests: additive manufacturing; advanced manufacturing; hybrid additive/subtractive manufacturing; ultra-precision machining
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hao Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
Interests: hybrid and additive manufacturing; post-processing; ultraprecision machining
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The unique method of layer-by-layer manufacturing enables additive manufacturing (AM) technology to outperform traditional subtractive manufacturing processes for customized products, geometrically complex parts, and near-net-shape rapid manufacturing. Therefore, this technology has been attracting great attention. To date, AM technology has been extended to automotive, aerospace, moulding, medical, and biomedical industries, among others. However, the application of AM is also facing severe challenges, such as support, the staircase effect, surface adhesion, geometric size deviation, microstructure inhomogeneity, performance anisotropy, and dissimilar material interface transition. In addition, the internal and external features of complex parts make traditional surface treatment processes unsuitable. The surface and subsurface of additively manufactured parts exhibit unique performance characteristics, which requires new surface treatment processes to achieve support structure removal, surface performance improvement, tissue performance regulation, dimensional accuracy improvement, and surface finish improvement. Based on the AM process’s characteristics, developing new post-processing methods and protocols for AM technology is also a crucial link for bridging the upstream and downstream chains of the entire AM industry.

This Special Issue aims to provide a forum for the researchers and practitioners from academia and industries to publish the experimental and theoretical results on post-processing for additive manufacturing and to contribute to quality improvement and rapid application of additively manufactured parts.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • New equipment/devices and processes for improving surface quality;
  • Coatings on additively manufactured parts for wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and other functionalities;
  • Heat treatment;
  • Polishing: physical-field-assisted polishing, mechanical/chemical/electrochemical hybrid processes, etc.;
  • Precision and ultra-precision machining;
  • Hybrid manufacturing: combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing;
  • Materials and interfacial characterization of additively manufactured multi-materials;
  • Functional surface and structure through additive manufacturing and post-processing;
  • Coatings and surface modification through additive manufacturing and post-processing;
  • Health, safety, and sustainability issues in post-processing for additive manufacturing.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yuchao Bai
Dr. Hao Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • post-processing
  • surface modification
  • interface property
  • material characterization
  • hybrid manufacturing
  • multi-material
  • dimension accuracy
  • machining

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 2794 KB  
Article
Heat Treatment Effects on Tribological and Electrochemical Behavior of Laser Cladding Ni25 Coating
by Xianglin Wu, Bohao Chen and Jingquan Wu
Coatings 2026, 16(4), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings16040467 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 418
Abstract
Under the conditions of laser power of 1500 W, scanning speed of 5 mm/s, spot diameter of 3.5 mm, and powder feeding rate of 10 r/min, this study systematically investigated the influence of different tempering temperatures (200 °C and 600 °C) on the [...] Read more.
Under the conditions of laser power of 1500 W, scanning speed of 5 mm/s, spot diameter of 3.5 mm, and powder feeding rate of 10 r/min, this study systematically investigated the influence of different tempering temperatures (200 °C and 600 °C) on the microstructure, friction and wear properties, and corrosion resistance of laser cladding Ni25 coatings, as well as the underlying mechanisms. The phase composition, microstructure, chemical composition, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of the coatings were characterized and analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), pin-on-disk friction and wear tests, and electrochemical workstations. The results showed that the as-clad coating was composed of γ-Ni supersaturated solid solution and various metastable borides/carbides (such as Cr3B4), presenting fine-grained and non-equilibrium features. Tempering at 200 °C mainly achieved stress relaxation, enhancing and shifting the diffraction peaks to the left without changing the phase composition, while tempering at 600 °C drove significant diffusion-type phase transformation, leading to the decomposition of metastable Cr3B4 and the precipitation of stable phases such as Ni2Si, accompanied by grain growth and microstructure coarsening. Friction tests indicated that the coating tempered at 600 °C exhibited the lowest average friction coefficient (0.679) and wear volume (0.0582 mm3) due to stable microstructure and hard phase strengthening, demonstrating the best wear resistance. However, electrochemical tests revealed a “trade-off” effect: the fine-grained microstructure of the as-clad coating, with its uniform composition, had the lowest corrosion current density (8.10 × 10−5 A/cm2) in 3.5% NaCl solution, showing the best resistance to uniform corrosion, while tempering, especially at 600 °C, caused grain growth, coarsening of the second phase, and micro-galvanic effects, slightly reducing the anodic dissolution resistance and increasing the corrosion current. This study clarified that heat treatment can significantly enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of Ni25 coatings by regulating their transformation from metastable to stable states, but at the potential cost of some corrosion resistance, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing post-treatment processes for different service conditions (wear resistance or corrosion resistance). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Post-Processing for Additive Manufacturing (Second Edition))
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31 pages, 12332 KB  
Article
Heat Transfer Properties of CuCrZr/AlSi7Mg Heat Sinks with Gradient Material and Gradient Structure Manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion
by Zeer Li, Guotao Zhong, Mingkang Zhang, Fengqing Lu, Yajuan Wang and Sihua Yin
Coatings 2026, 16(3), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings16030318 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 528
Abstract
The continuous increase in power density of electronic devices imposes stringent requirements on the design of lightweight, high-efficiency heat sinks. To overcome the limitations of conventional single-gradient or monomaterial heat sinks—namely, their suboptimal heat-transfer efficiency and poor structural adaptability—this study proposes a dual-gradient, [...] Read more.
The continuous increase in power density of electronic devices imposes stringent requirements on the design of lightweight, high-efficiency heat sinks. To overcome the limitations of conventional single-gradient or monomaterial heat sinks—namely, their suboptimal heat-transfer efficiency and poor structural adaptability—this study proposes a dual-gradient, triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS)-based multimaterial heat sink architecture fabricated from CuCrZr and AlSi7Mg. Thermal performance was quantified experimentally using infrared thermography, while the underlying flow-field mechanisms were investigated numerically via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations employing the standard k–ε turbulence model. With the TPMS material volume ratio fixed at 3:3 (CuCrZr:AlSi7Mg), the Z-axis gradient configuration P-Z4-5 delivered the best overall thermal performance, achieving a heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) of 1557.63 W·m−2·K−1 and a thermal resistance as low as 1.83 K·W−1 at an inlet velocity of 5 m·s−1. In contrast, the Y-axis gradient configuration P-Y3-6 yielded the most uniform temperature distribution, exhibiting a maximum surface temperature difference of only 21.5 °C under the same inlet condition. Velocity and turbulence distribution analyses reveal that the dual-gradient design enhances both the narrow-tube effect and flow-induced disturbances; furthermore, increasing the inlet velocity from 5 m·s−1 to 21.65 m·s−1 significantly intensifies vorticity-driven fluid mixing. Among all configurations evaluated, P-Z4-5 exhibited the highest j/f factor (i.e., the ratio of Colburn j-factor to Fanning friction factor), followed by P-Z3.5-5.5 and P-Z3-6. These findings establish a promising new pathway for the development of high-performance, lightweight heat sinks tailored for next-generation high-power electronics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Post-Processing for Additive Manufacturing (Second Edition))
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22 pages, 3997 KB  
Article
Study on Acoustic and Mechanical Properties of AlSi7Mg/TPU Porous Interpenetrating Phase Composites
by Yajuan Wang, Mingkang Zhang, Sihua Yin, Yifu Liang, Fengqing Lu and Jisheng Fu
Coatings 2025, 15(12), 1388; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15121388 - 27 Nov 2025
Viewed by 794
Abstract
The rapid development of high-end equipment has created stringent requirements for multifunctional integration in materials. However, traditional porous materials have faced a fundamental trade-off between lightweight characteristics and mechanical and acoustic performance. To address this challenge, a design and fabrication method for interpenetrating [...] Read more.
The rapid development of high-end equipment has created stringent requirements for multifunctional integration in materials. However, traditional porous materials have faced a fundamental trade-off between lightweight characteristics and mechanical and acoustic performance. To address this challenge, a design and fabrication method for interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) based on triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures was proposed. The effects of porosity, unit cell size, and structural type on the performance of porous structures were systematically investigated. TPMS frameworks were fabricated from AlSi7Mg alloy using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). These frameworks were then combined with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) via a foaming infiltration process to create the AlSi7Mg/TPU IPCs. Acoustic and compression tests were performed using an impedance tube and a universal testing machine. The results indicated that, compared to unfilled TPMS structures, the IPCs exhibited a shift in the first peak acoustic absorption coefficient to lower frequencies, an increase (1.59 = fold) in the average acoustic absorption coefficient within the 500–6300 Hz range, and a significant enhancement (35.58 fold) in the average normal incidence transmission loss (TL). Under quasi-static compression, the plateau stage was sustained over 60% strain, and the energy absorption capacity increased by a factor of 3.56. This research provides a technical reference for developing multifunctional materials for aerospace and other acoustic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Post-Processing for Additive Manufacturing (Second Edition))
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