Selective laser sintering: Applications and technological capabilities

Abstract

Rapid prototyping (RP) models are no longer used only for design verification. Currently, parts built utilizing layer manufacturing technology can be employed as functional prototypes and as patterns or tools for different manufacturing processes such as vacuum casting, investment casting, injection moulding, die casting and sand casting. The selective laser sintering (SLS) process is becoming widely used in industry, its main advantage over other RP processes being that it can produce parts in a wide range of materials. This paper describes applications of some of the materials available with the SLS process and, by means of case studies, explains the technological capabilities of this process.

Investigating mechanical anisotropy and end-of-vector effect in laser-sintered nylon parts

“…Although the LS process has been developed as an RP technology, it can be applied to other areas such as rapid tooling (RT) and rapid manufacturing (RM) [12][13][14]. With more manufacturers using the LS process for RM, it is vital that designers understand the properties of the materials that are being used.…”

The role and impact of 3D printing technologies in casting

“…The sintered metal part can be further infiltrated with a material of lower melting point, such as Keltool™ from 3D Systems [67] , RapidTool™ from DTM [68] , EOSINT Metal from EOS [69] and Soligen [70] . The RapidTool is taken here as an example [71] . In RapidTool, the green part is made from a low-carbon steel powder coated with a polymer with a low melting point which allows it to be processed in the SLS machine without heating the feed and part bed.…”

“…Finally, the part is heated up to 1,120 °C where copper infiltration driven by capillary action occurs. Thus, the final part is fully dense with 60% steel and 40 % copper [71] . Ceramic green bodies can be also created by SLA method using an ultraviolet curable suspension of ceramic powders in place of the usual resin -a "ceramic resin" [72] .…”

Selective Laser Sintering and Its Biomedical Applications

“…Usually, CO 2 lasers with the wavelength of 10.6 μm are selected for sintering polymers or materials with low melting temperatures. These materials, which are commercially available, include wax, polycarbonate, nylons and their composites, and acrylics [45]. However, they lack biocompatibility or bioactivity and therefore their biomedical applications are limited.…”

“…Another regular application that utilizes the SLS technique is creating casting patterns. TrueForm (an acrylic-based powder) and CastForm TM are the commercial SLS materials for creating patterns for investment casting (an industrial process based on one of the metal-forming techniques) [45]. These SLS materials are easily burned off in the foundry process and are capable of making patterns with moderate strength, high accuracy and intricate details.…”