Influence of Machining Allowance, Build Orientation, and Cutting Parameters on Hole Quality in Additively Manufactured ABS Components

Material Extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM) of ABS polymer components often requires post-process machining to achieve the necessary dimensional precision and surface quality. However, the influence of printing parameters and tool–material interaction in hybrid manufacturing remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates the impact of initial hole size (Dstart), build orientation, and cutting parameters (cutting speed and feed rate) on the dimensional accuracy and surface roughness of machined holes in ABS-M30 specimens. Samples were fabricated in vertical and horizontal orientations and subjected to drilling in solid material and enlargement of printed pilot holes using a twist drill on a 5-axis machining center. Dimensional deviation and surface roughness (Ra, Rz) were evaluated using coordinate metrology and profilometry. The results showed that the smallest machining allowance (0.062 mm per side) was insufficient to completely remove the printing-induced surface texture, resulting in significantly higher and more variable Ra and Rz values. This distinct low-machining-allowance regime was confirmed by statistical analysis and representative optical observations. Conversely, a machining allowance of 0.565 mm per side (corresponding to Dstart = 9 mm) resulted in substantially lower surface roughness (Ra ≈ 1.6 µm). Vertical build orientation generally provided better surface quality than the horizontal orientation, which was consistent with fewer visible surface features in the selected optical fields of view. All machining conditions resulted in negative dimensional deviations, indicating elastic recovery of the ABS material after machining. An exploratory multi-response ranking showed that the lowest composite quality scores for overall final hole quality were associated with Dstart = 10 mm (machining allowance of 0.062 mm per side). When the analysis was limited to the machining-dominated regime, the lowest score was obtained for the vertical build orientation, Dstart = 9 mm, a cutting speed of 40 m/min, and a feed rate of 0.2 mm/rev. These findings provide preliminary guidelines for selecting hybrid manufacturing conditions for MEX-manufactured ABS-M30 components.