Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) for Additive Manufacturing
Selective laser sintering is an additive process that draws on a bed of thermoplastic powder to create a fully sintered, Nylon-based part. This technique is ideal for parts with highly complex geometries.
The SLS process involves a CO2 laser drawing onto a hot bed of thermoplastic powder. From there, it lightly sinters, or fuses, the powder into a solid. After a layer is sintered, a roller places another layer of thermoplastic powder on top of the bed to repeat the process. This results in parts and/or prototypes that are highly durable and accurate, but have a rougher surface and lack finer details than you’d see in stereolithography techniques.
Contact Proto Labs for more information on their selective laser sintering process and how it can be used to create highly durable parts with complex geometries. Visit the website for more information.