Selective Laser

Sintering Process (SLS)

 Introduction
• SLS is a rapid prototyping (RP) process that
builds models from a wide variety of materials
using an additive fabrication method.
• The build media for Selective Laser Sintering
comes in powder form which is fused together
by a powerful carbon dioxide laser to form the
final product.
 Principle
• In Selective laser sintering process parts are
built by sintering, when a CO2 laser beam hits
thin layer of powder material the interaction
of the laser beam with powder raises the
temperature to the point of melting resulting
in particle bonding, fusing the particles to
themselves and previous layer to form a solid.
Process
 Materials for SLS
• Polyamide
• Thermoplastic elastomer
• Poly carbonate
• Nylon
• Metals
• Ceramics
 Advantages
• Good part stability.
• Wide range of processing materials.
• No part support required.
• Little post processing required.
• No post curing required.
• Less wastage of material.
• Less processing time.
 Disadvantages
• Initial investment cost.
• High operational and maintenance cost.
• High power consumption.
• Cannot produce large prototypes.
• Poor surface finish.
 Applications
• Physical concept models for design reviews.
• Functional and working prototypes for testing.
• Pattern making.
• Metal tools for short production runs.