SLS 3D Printing Process - Aurum3D

1
SLS 3D Printing Process
You can produce solid three-dimensional objects
from digital three-dimensional models using
various 3D printing technologies. Each 3D
printing technology produces the
three-dimensional object physically by processing
and curing the filament in a specific way.
Selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing
technology forms the solid structure by sintering
powdered materials using a high-power laser.
The use of laser as the power source makes SLS
different from other widely used 3D printing
technologies like Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
and Stereolithography (SLA). You can opt for SLS
as a fast and inexpensive 3D printing technology.
You can produce parts and prototypes with
high-level strength, stiffness, resolution, and
dimensional accuracy through the SLS 3D printing
process.
2
Also, you have the option to create structures
using a variety of powdered materials, including
nylon and thermoplastic polymers. But you must
understand the key steps in the SLS 3D printing
process to produce the item that meets your
requirements precisely. Also, you should adopt a
slew of best practices to streamline and boost
the SLS 3D printing process.
3
3 Important Steps in SLS 3D Printing Process
As the name suggests, SLS 3D printing technology
forms solid parts, prototypes, models, and
structures by sintering powdered material
selectively using a laser as the power source.
The high-power laser produces the solid
three-dimensional object from the CAD file by
fusing the powdered plastic filament. But the
solid structure is formed through a series of
steps in the SLS 3D printing process printing,
cooling, and post-processing.

1. Printing

Before the printing process starts, the SLS 3D
printer disperses thin layers of the powdered
material into the build chamber. It further
preheats the powdered material in the build
chamber up to the pre-melting temperature level.
The laser scans the preheated material and heats
it to the melting point according to the CAD file.
The fused particles create the solid structure
mechanically, while the unfused material provides
support to the 3D-printed structure. Hence, SLS
3D printing technology does not require you to
use a support structure. The 3D printer repeats
the process and forms the solid part by fusing
the powdered material layer by layer.
4

1. Cooling

The item formed through the fusion of particles
must cool down properly to retain mechanical
properties and avoid warping. That is why you
must cool down the build chamber adequately after
the SLS 3D printing process. You should not
remove the finished part from the build camber
immediately after the printing process.
Post-Processing
After removing the finished part from the build
chamber, you need to enhance its look, feel, and
feature by removing and cleaning excess material.
Some parts produced using SLS 3D printing
technologies need post-processing using media
tumbling or media blasting techniques. You can
recycle the unfused and excess materials to
curtail overall material consumption and wastage.
5
3D Nesting Best Ideas to Boost SLS 3D Printing
Process
According to Fraunhofer SCAI, 3D Nesting is
about arranging objects as well as possible in
cuboid containers. The objects themselves do not
have to be cuboids but can be objects of any
complexity. An important field of application is
3D printing, in particular, printing processes
without support structures such as SLS here the
objects to be printed can usually be placed in
the entire print chamber.
You can easily boost the SLS 3D printing process
by leveraging 3D nesting techniques. The 3D
nesting technique helps you increase the quality
and volume of 3D-printed items, along with
curtailing overall printing time and cost. You
can adopt a slew of 3D nesting best practices to
place multiple parts in the build chamber
accurately during the SLS 3D printing process.
6
Placement of Items
The shape and quality of the 3D-printed object
are impacted adversely when you move them towards
the corner. The placement increases the chances
of the build chamber remaining under-heated. You
must print the part in the center to keep its
quality intact by maintaining heating stability.
Often beginners increase material consumption and
printing time by ignoring the position of items
in the heat chamber. But experienced printers
always position the items flat on the print bed.
The positioning ensures proper heating along with
accelerating the SLS 3D printing process.
You can print items of varying sizes during a
single SLS 3D printing process. But you can boost
the quality of individual items only by arranging
them properly. It is advisable to place bigger
items in the center of the build chamber while
moving the smaller items to the chambers edge.
The arrangement will help you to control heating
throughout the printing process.
Upward Facing Position While printing items with
open sides, you must make the open sides face up.
As the open sides face upward, it becomes easier
to control heating. Also, the open side
accelerates the printing process by providing the
parts with a temperature outlet. However, you
need to ensure that the open side of one item
does not close or cover others
7
Cage Structure Support
You should consider using a cage structure while
printing multiple and small parts with varying
elements. You can create the cage structure using
a 3D printer. The cage structure will make it
easier for you to separate and clean the items
more accurately at the post-processing stage.
Also, you can mitigate errors while assigning
specific parts to individual projects before
delivery.
In addition to curtailing overall 3D printing
time and costs, SLS technology enables you to
produce robust parts, models, products, and
models with high dimensional accuracy. But you
must remember that SLS, like other widely used 3D
printing technologies, has several shortcomings.
Hence, you must focus on streamlining and
boosting the SLS 3D printing process by
implementing a slew of nesting best practices.
8
About Aurum3D
We are amongst the major 3D printing service
providers in Bangalore, India. We have been
providing FDM, SLA and custom SLS 3D printing
services to many major industries. Please feel
free to get in touch with us for your custom
needs, our 3D printing solutions experts will get
back to you within one business day.
9
(No Transcript)
10
About aurum3d.com Aurum3D is a 3D printing
company founded in September 2018 for bringing a
difference in education, technology, and start-up
space, by promoting and leveraging 3D printing
technology in India. Aurum3D strongly believes
that 3D printing technology will disrupt the
entire manufacturing industry and consumer
experience perspective. We provide custom 3D
printing, 3D designing and scanning solutions to
our prestigious clients across the country. We
also have our own 3D printers manufacturing setup
producing different variants to cater to the
needs of industry and individuals.
Contact sales_at_aurum3d.com
For More Information Call Us 8310758536 Web
- https//www.aurum3d.com/ Address 210, EWS
Colony, Stage 2, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India