Selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing is trusted by engineers and manufacturers across different industries for its ability to produce strong, functional parts.
In this extensive guide, we’ll cover the selective laser sintering process, the different systems and materials available on the market, the workflow for using SLS printers, the various applications, and when to consider using SLS 3D printing over other additive and traditional manufacturing methods.
Selective laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) technology that uses a high-power laser to sinter small particles of polymer powder into a solid structure based on a 3D model.
SLS 3D printing has been a popular choice for engineers and manufacturers for decades. Low cost per part, high productivity, and established materials make the technology ideal for a range of applications from rapid prototyping to small-batch, bridge, or custom manufacturing.
Recent advances in machinery, materials, and software have made SLS printing accessible to a wider range of businesses, enabling more and more companies to use these tools that were previously limited to a few high-tech industries.
Printing: The powder is dispersed in a thin layer on top of a platform inside of the build chamber. The printer preheats the powder to a temperature somewhat below the melting point of the raw material, which makes it easier for the laser to raise the temperature of specific regions of the powder bed as it traces the model to solidify a part. The laser scans a cross-section of the 3D model, heating the powder to just below or right at the melting point of the material. This fuses the particles together mechanically to create one solid part. The unfused powder supports the part during printing and eliminates the need for dedicated support structures. The platform then lowers by one layer into the build chamber, typically between 50 to 200 microns, and the process repeats for each layer until parts are complete.
Cooling: After printing, the build chamber needs to slightly cool down inside the print enclosure and then outside the printer to ensure optimal mechanical properties and avoid warping in parts.
Post-processing: The finished parts need to be removed from the build chamber, separated, and cleaned of excess powder. The powder can be recycled and the printed parts can be further post-processed by media blasting or media tumbling.
For the detailed workflow, see the “SLS 3D Printing Workflow” section below.
SLS parts have a slightly grainy surface finish, but almost no visible layer lines. Media blasting or media tumbling SLS parts is recommended for a smoother surface finish. This example part was printed on a Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W benchtop industrial SLS 3D printer.
As the unfused powder supports the part during printing, there’s no need for dedicated support structures. This makes SLS ideal for complex geometries, including interior features, undercuts, thin walls, and negative features.
Parts produced with SLS 3D printing have excellent mechanical characteristics, with strength resembling injection molded parts.
Selective laser sintering was one of the first additive manufacturing techniques, developed in the mid-1980s by Dr. Carl Deckard and Dr. Joe Beaman at the University of Texas at Austin. Their method has since been adapted to work with a range of materials, including plastics, metals, glass, ceramics, and various composite material powders. Today, these technologies are collectively categorized as powder bed fusion — additive manufacturing processes in which thermal energy selectively fuses regions of a powder bed.
The two most common powder bed fusion 3D printing systems today are plastic-based, commonly referred to as SLS, and metal-based, known as direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) or selective laser melting (SLM). Until recently, both plastic and metal powder bed fusion systems have been prohibitively expensive and complex, limiting their use to small quantities of high-value or custom parts, such as aerospace components or medical devices.
Innovation in the field has surged recently, and plastic-based SLS is now poised to follow other 3D printing technologies like stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) to gain widespread adoption with accessible, compact systems.
All selective laser sintering 3D printers are built around the process described in the previous section. The main differentiators are the type of laser, the size of the build volume, and the complexity of the system. Different machines use different solutions for temperature control, powder dispensing, and layer deposition.
Selective laser sintering requires a high level of precision and tight control throughout the printing process. The temperature of the powder along with the (incomplete) parts must be controlled within 2 °C during the three stages of preheating, sintering, and storing before removal to minimize warping, stresses, and heat-induced distortion.
Selective laser sintering has been one of the most popular 3D printing technologies for professionals for decades, but its complexity, requirements, and high price have limited its use to service bureaus and large enterprises.
These machines require special HVAC and industrial power, and even the smallest industrial machines take up at least 10 m² of installation space. Setting them up takes multiple days with on-site installation and training. The complex workflow and the steep learning curve also mean that these systems require a skilled technician in-house to operate and maintain.
With a starting price of around $200,000 that goes well beyond that for complete solutions, traditional industrial SLS has been inaccessible for many businesses.
Just like with other 3D printing technologies like FDM or SLA, lower-cost, compact SLS systems have recently started to emerge on the market, but initially, these solutions came with considerable trade-offs, including lower part quality and complex, manual workflows resulting from the lack of post-processing solutions, which limited their use in industrial and production settings.
The Formlabs Fuse 1 bridged that gap and created its own category as the first benchtop industrial SLS 3D printer that offered high quality, compact footprint, and a complete, simplified workflow at a fraction of the cost of traditional industrial SLS systems. Now, the next generation Fuse 1+ 30W extends that category with a more powerful laser, improved powder handling features, and new material capabilities for industrial quality parts and high throughput.
Fuse Series SLS 3D printers use a single laser and a smaller build chamber that requires less heating. The lower energy consumption means that they can run on standard AC power without requiring specialized infrastructure. An optional nitrogen feature for the Fuse 1+ 30W printer creates an inert gas environment, preserving the quality of the unsintered powder for a lower refresh rate (more recycled powder than new powder in consecutive builds), minimizing waste, and enabling a better surface finish on sintered parts.
In terms of accuracy and repeatability, the Fuse 1+ 30W is able to match any legacy industrial system. After extensive testing, the Fuse Series printers were found to achieve a standard XY tolerance of +/- 0.5% or 0.3 mm, whichever is larger. For the Z axis, the overall accuracy is +/- 1% or 0.6 mm, whichever is smaller. The repeatability and precision of individual parts are exceptionally high, maintaining +/- 0.5 % in any given location. The data has been made publicly available in our white paper.
Fuse Series printers also feature a patent-pending solution called Surface Armor—a semi-sintered shell that keeps the area around the parts evenly heated as they print, ensuring great surface finish, consistent mechanical properties, high reliability, and better refresh rates.
To offer a compact, contained ecosystem and end-to-end powder handling, Fuse Series printers also come with Fuse Sift, which combines part extraction, powder recovery, storage, and mixing in a single free-standing device, and Fuse Blast, a fully automated cleaning and polishing solution.
Overall, benchtop industrial SLS 3D printing with Fuse Series printers offers a slightly smaller build volume compared to the entry-level traditional SLS systems, in return for a substantially smaller footprint, simplified workflow, and lower cost.