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Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an industrial 3D printing process that is ideal for manufacturing end-use parts. In SLS, a laser selectively sinters polymer powder particles, fusing them together and building a part layer-by-layer.
SLS machines can produce functional plastic parts with isotropic mechanical properties for detailed prototyping or low-volume production of end-use parts. SLS is a cost-efficient production method, which our customers regularly choose for the most complex parts and those requiring extensive customization.
We manufacture your custom parts according to strict manufacturing standards and ensure all parts and processes adhere to the clear guidelines. A thorough verification of these requirements is included in our inspection report that we ship with every order.Â
After printing, parts are bead blasted and then air blasted to get rid of the excess powder on the surface.Â
Additional post-processing can be done to improve part’s appearance, such as dyeing, vapor smoothing or tumbling.
Well-suited for large production runs, without effecting quality
Parts are isotropic and have similar mechanical properties to moulded parts
Our materials perform at operating temperatures up to 171°CÂ
Nylon PA12 GF has excellent chemical and weather resistance
Nylon PA12 is biocompatible certified & sterilisable
Below is a list of our standard materials for SLS 3D printing. To instantly compare material prices, upload your parts to our online platform
SLS 3D printing is well-suited for end-use applications, high performance prototyping, jigs, fixtures, tooling and low volume production runs
We operate a parallel costing structure for our SLS 3D printing service, where you simply upload your 3D files to our instant quote tool. We either charge a rate of £0.11 per CM3 bounding box or £0.61 per CM3 volume, whichever is cheapest. Plus we offer competitive price breaks for quantities from 2 to 1000+
Selective Laser Sintering doesn't require support structures because unsintered powder surrounds the parts during the printing process and is simply brushed / blasted away when post-processing the parts. SLS 3D printing can produce complex geometries (such as interlocking and moving parts, parts with interior compartments / channels) that are unsuitable for other additive manufacturing processes such as; FDM or SLA
Our PA12 Nylon material is biocompatible and can be food-safe under certain conditions. We're unable to certify it food-safe as SLS parts are porous and require specific post-processing (vapour smoothing)
Yes, this is entirely possible. We have some tips on common finishing solutions:
Sanding:
Try using wet & dry sandpaper of around 400 grit. The black paper can sometimes stain the parts so make sure to use lots of water and change over the paper regularly.
Painting:
Our SLS prints come in Grey as standard, which is great for painting but they come with a powdery texture which needs to be sorted before painting. Always start with primer and sand a little before painting with acrylic paint.
Dyeing
We are specialists in dyeing Grey SLS parts black, but there are many other colours out there that you can try out. We recommend using rit dye for synthetics and a pressure cooker, though a normal pot should work fine. There is an amazing academic paper on SLS Nylon dyeing from Goldsmiths University.
Glueing
Due to the powdery nature of Nylon prints, it requires a thicker glue to bond parts together. We recommend a 2 part epoxy resin like Araldite or a thick super glue like mitre glue. Standard superglue will not work well as it dries too quickly on the surface of the parts..
Explore cutting-edge 3D printing solutions with our expert service, offering the latest technologies, a diverse material selection, and complimentary UK-wide delivery. With 100+ 5-star reviews on Google, it’s no surprise why so many customers trust us with their 3D printing needs!
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