SLS Laser Sintering Design

How do I design for my SLS Laser Sintered production part or 3d prototype?

  • What materials do you have?
  • What kind of tolerances can I expect?
  • How much space do I need between parts?
  • What are your size limitations?
  • Can I send you my model to have a look at it?

SLS Laser Sintering Material Choices

  • std PA 12 good all around properties with minimal tendency to distort
  • PALS light-weight structural nylon but stiffer than PA12
  • Flexible rubber-like with around 40-60 shore A hardness
  • Polystyrene patterns for casting metal parts

More Detail on our EOS Laser Sinter Materials

SLS Laser Sintering Tolerances

Regarding tolerances, in general we recommend to design for +/- 0.010” or +/- 0.5% (whichever is greater). We can do better than that on critical features after becoming more familiar with a design. This also depends on material and process influences. Polystyrene is typically more accurate than PALS for example.

SLS Laser Sintering Space Between Parts

The required distance between parts in a moving assembly depends on a several design factors including feature size and mass, you need a minimum of 0.020” and sometimes more than 0.040” between surfaces to not melt the pieces together.

SLS Laser Sintering Size Limitations

There is a minimum feature size of about 0.030” (sometimes as small as 0.025” in polystyrene and PALS) as long as the feature is more than 0.080” long. For example, pins smaller than 2mm easily break off when taller than a few thousandths, but lettering is fine because it is close to the surface, and longer thin walls are fine too. It’s a bad idea to design points and knife edges. Best practice is to give everything a 0.015” radius if possible. The largest single piece part we can build is about 27” wide by 15” deep by 23” tall in our EOS P730, though typical part sizes are 4-6” cube.

SLS Laser Sintering 3D Model Design Consultation

We are glad to consider your data,complete our quotes form and upload all relevant information. There is so much design freedom with this process. I challenge you to find uses for these materials, old and new. Submit more than one design at the same time and we can probably build them together at a reduced cost. This allows everyone involved to learn quickly what is an optimal design or optimal features using concurrent engineering practices.