The surface finish of a component can be a crucial parameter. It can be important to ensure quality, negate corrosive effects, or reduce friction for mating components. Because of this, manufacturers making parts in production need to understand how to evaluate the quality of a part’s surface texture.

Manufacturers searching for a cost-effective way to make small and complex metal parts for production by and large only have two options: metal injection molding (MIM) or investment casting. Metal 3D printing is the new entrant to the scene, and for the first time in a long while adds another option to the engineer’s toolkit.