Selective laser sintering(SLS) 3D Printing Service

Rapid Prototyping
3D Printing
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Overview: How SLS 3D printing works?

What is Selective Laser Sintering?

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an industrial 3D printing process ideal for manufacturing end-use parts. In SLS, a laser selectively sinters polymer powder particles, fusing them together and building a part layer-by-layer. SLS produces functional plastic parts with isotropic mechanical properties that can be used for detailed prototyping or end-use low-volume production.

The Basics Of SLS 3D Printing

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an industrial 3D printing process that produces accurate prototypes and functional production parts in as fast as 1 day. Multiple nylon-based materials are available, which create highly durable final parts.
A thin layer of plastic powder is selectively melted by a laser. The parts are built up layer by layer in the powder bed.
A laser sintering machine will coat a layer of plastic powder onto a build platform, which is melted by a laser (or multiple lasers). The build platform will then be lowered and the next layer of plastic powder will be laid out on top. By repeating the process of laying out powder and melting where needed, the parts are built up in the powder bed.

When the build finishes, the entire powder bed with the encapsulated parts is moved into a breakout station, where it is raised up, and parts are broken out of the bed. An initial brushing is manually administered to remove a majority of loose powder. Parts are then bead blasted to remove any of the remaining residual powder before ultimately reaching the finishing department.

Features of SLS

Advantages

Durability

Nylon is a durable material with great impact strength, medium flexibility, and high resistance to environmental factors.

Rapid Turnaround

Parts can typically be shipped in 3-4 days, allowing for faster design iterations and speed to market.

Parts Production

SLS is capable of producing end-use parts on-demand, increasing throughput.

Complex Geometry

Geometries can be built more easily due to the 3D printing process, adding complexity without additional cost.

Scalability

SLS can make a single part or component as easily as dozens of production pieces.

Precision

We use the latest generation of SLS technologies to meet tolerances of +/- 0.005” or +/- 0.002” per inch, whichever is greater.

Drawbacks

Material Limits

Now SLS has only Nylon 12(white, black) & Glass-filled Nylon (PA 12 GF) material, but we can expect metal and fullcolor plastic material coming soon!

Scale Effect

The unit cost and lead time will not be reduced as much as casted or molded parts.

Applications for Selective Laser Sintering

Concept Models

The speed and versatility of SLS lets product developers create physical snapshots of their designs through the iterative process.

Rapid Prototyping

SLS can be used to create fully-functional prototypes, complete with moving parts, as well as all-in-one assemblies.

Direct Digital Manufacturing

The high accuracy and consistency of SLS makes it an ideal way to build large quantities of discrete or customized parts.

Get an 3D Printing quote

Our SLS 3D Printing Service

Requirement	Specification
Maximum build size	400 x 390 x 390 mm
Minimum wall thickness	1 mm
Dimensional accuracy	L<100mm,±0.25mm. 100< L<200mm,±0.3mm

The table below depicts the general tolerances for industrial-grade SLS services. Stresses during the build, support strategy and other geometry considerations may cause deviation in tolerances and flatness. Improved tolerances may be possible with a manual quote review, after successful completion of a prototype build, and must be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Surface Finish and Post-Processing Options

item	note
STANDARD	Bead blast to remove all powder, which leaves a consistent overall texture.
CUSTOM	Secondary options include a primer or dye color that can be applied as well as taps and inserts.

Available Materials for SLS

Below is a list of our standard materials for SLS 3D printing. To instantly compare material prices, upload your parts to our online platform.

PA12

Dark black (dyeing), white

Nylon PA12 is the most common 3D printing material. It has good mechanical properties, electrical insulation, etc., and is widely used in pipes, housings, complex assemblies, connectors and other components.

Glass fiber nylon(PA12+35% GF)

Light gray, Dark black (dyeing)

Glass fiber nylon is PA12 nylon mixed with 35% glass fiber. This material has higher strength and higher heat resistance than nylon material.

TPU

white, black

TPU is called thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber. It is a type of polymer material between rubber and plastic.

Our CUSTOM surface finishes

Here is a list of standard surface finishes. For custom surface finishes such as electroplating or polishing, please contact 3dcnc@pcbway.com.

Spray painting

Get painted according to the color pattern provided by the customer (Including matte paint, high-gloss paint, electroplating-imitation paint, varnish, leather paint,etc).

Polished

The surface texture is polished in a variety of ways to meet the actual needs of customers. The transparent parts can be polished accordingly to improve transparency and light transmittance.

Electroplating

Provide electroplating services, improve the overall strength of the parts, provide metal-like surface texture, and make it have certain metal characteristics.

Inlay nut

At the specific bottom hole position that needs to be processed, the internal thread is processed.

Glazing assembly

The surface of the part is glazed to better imitate the appearance of handicrafts. Have mature assembly experience to ensure the overall display of the product.

Reinforced coating

The unique outer coating processing ability improves the strength of the product structure, reduces external wear, and can better avoid damage caused by normal storage and use.