RAPID PROTOTYPE MODELS PRODUCED FROM STEREOLITHOGRAPHY HAVE A RELATIVELY POOR SURFACE FINISH WHICH IN MANY CASES IS UNACCEPTABLE AND REQUIRES RECTIFYING. ALTHOUGH A PROTOTYPE CAN BE RAPIDLY MANUFACTURED, MANUAL FINISHING SMOOTHS THE PART WHICH CAN BE A LONG AND TEDIOUS PROCESS LEADING TO PARTS WHICH ARE INACCURATE AND POORLY DEFINED. A VARIETY OF SURFACE FINISHING TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR IMPARTING A SMOOTH SURFACE TO STEREOLITHOGRAPHY RESIN PARTS. INITIAL RESULTS HAVE SHOWN THAT THE BARREL TUMBLING PROCESS MAY BE SUITABLE FOR FINISHING COMPONENTS WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN SURFACE ROUGHNESS VALUES OF 70-80% ALTHOUGH THE TIME TO PROCESS IS LONG.