Selective laser

sintering is an
Selective Laser Brian Reniker

additive rapid
prototyping technique
that uses a high
Sintering
power laser to fuse
small particles of
thermoplastic, metal,
polyamide (nylon),
ceramic, or glass
filled nylon. SLS
offers the key
advantage of making
functional parts in
essentially final
materials, depending
on use of the part.
 SLS prototypes like many
rapid prototyping processes are
constructed from a .STL file. A
.STL file is is simply a mesh of
triangles wrapped around a CAD
model (this was defined by 3D
CAD systems in 1980s).
.STL’s name is derived from
a rapid prototyping process,
StereoLithography, also known as
abbreviation of Standard
Triangulation Language.
This very simple format has The Solid Models as a:
become an industry standard for (a) Solid Model,
(b) an STL file, and (c)
the Rapid Prototyping sector. in Sliced Layers.
 A thermoplastic
is a plastic that
melts to a liquid
The process of Selective when heated and
freezes to a
Laser Sintering (SLS) is somewhat brittle, very glassy
state when
similar to sterolithography, in cooled
sufficiently.
that a prototype is produced
rapidly through layering of
material. From thermoplastic
powders mostly, although SLS is
useful in that many different
materials can be used.
 Such as, polyamide (Nylon), material
allows the production of fully functional
prototypes with high strength. Glass Filled
Nylon is suitable for high thermal
resistance and high impact strength
prototypes. SLS Somos 201 is used for
functional rubber like parts. Depending on
the use of the part being constructed
these parts may be functional, a capability
which is exceptionally useful.
•Price - Multiple pieces
of the same part are
much cheaper than
ordering a single piece.
Even various SLS
models ordered at the
same time as a single
batch are much cheaper
to make than ordering
separately.
•Speed - It could be few
hours or a day it really
depends upon the build
size, shape, and
accuracy needed.
•Size of SLS single-
made parts are
generally 13.3” x 13.3” x
2’. Although larger parts
can be constructed by
making many smaller
parts to assemble, and
form a larger part. The
thickness of an
individual SLS layer is
0.15 to 0.2 mm layer
thickness, depending
upon the material used.
 The process of Selective Laser Sintering is actually
quite simple. The entire internal system is heated to below
the melting point of whatever substance is being used. So
that when heat is applied by the high energy CO 2 laser
melts and fuses (sinters) the substance.
To do this two
piston-like
platforms, a
roller, an optical
sensor, and
whatever
material is being
used to form a
part are used in
co-ordination
with the laser.
 The first piston contains most of the substance.
When this piston is raised it makes the substance
available to the roller. The roller moves the material
over the second piston to cover the part being
constructed. The material which has been moved to
the second piston will then be sintered by the laser,
to form an additional layer on the part.
 Bibliography

• http://www.conceptual-reality.com/sls.htm
• http://home.att.net/~castleisland/sls_int.htm
• http://www.arptech.com.au/slshelp.htm
• http://www.me.utexas.edu/~rbarr/rapid/Types_
Of_RPS.html
• http://www.3drg.com/our_process.php