The characteristics of powders used in additive manufacturing can have significant effects on process efficiencies and the quality of the final products. Powder sizes and morphologies need to be optimised for a particular process, and this requires the facilities to perform these measurements as well as provide a quality check on powder batches that are purchased. The establishment of a national powder characterisation facility has been identified by the Titanium Centre of Competence (a DST-funded initiative) as a critical form of support for the development of a South African titanium metal industry. This paper discusses what effect the different powder characteristics can have on the selective laser sintering processes, as well as the state of development of this national facility. OPSOMMINGDie eienskappe van die poeiers wat gebruik word vir toevoegingsvervaardiging kan 'n noemenswaardige invloed op die prosesdoeltreffendheid en die gehalte van die finale produkte hê. Poeiergroottes en morfologieë moet geoptimeer word vir 'n spesifieke proses en dit vereis dat fasiliteite hierdie metings moet doen. Die gehalte van die poeier lotte moet ook verseker word. Die daarstelling van 'n nasionale poeier karakteriseringsfasiliteit is deur die Titaan Bevoegdheidsentrum identifiseer as 'n kritiese ondersteuningsmiddel vir die ontwikkeling van 'n Suid-Afrikaanse titaanmetaalindustrie. Hierdie artikel bespreek die effek van verskillende poeiereienskappe op die selektiewe lasersinterprosesse asook die ontwikkeling status van hierdie nasionale fasiliteit. #This article is an extension of a paper presented at