SLS Finishing Options
There are a number of part finishing techniques and methods to meet your needs. To reduce part cost, the idea is always to minimize part finishing, unless that finishing adds value to the part.
SLS Standard or Smooth Finish
Our standard finish is bead blasting, to remove any un-sintered powder sticking to the surface. This finish is inherently rough, similar to medium grit sandpaper (Ra 6-10).
Parts can be vibratory tumbled to smooth the surface. This finish will round some details.
Standard Bead Blasted Finish (left) & Smooth Vibratory Tumbles Finish (right).
SLS Coatings
SLS materials are generally white but can be dyed or painted. The typical dye color is black, and many parts are painted a standard military grey. There are a number of dye and paint colors available.
SLS Product Dyed Black. SLS Product can come with Wiped Gold Coating.
FDA-Compliant Paint
FDA-Compliant paints (certified for direct food contact);
allow us to give your FDA-compliant parts a wide range
of color options – including black!
This is painted with FDA-compliant black paint.
Electroplating
A process for adding metal to the surface of an SLS part is electroplating. Copper, nickel, or a combination can be deposited on the surface of parts to increase strength or electrical conductivity in shielding applications. The plastic can be retained as structural support or removed to create thin-walled parts 0.001” to 0.005” (25 to 125 microns) thick. Metal plating thicknesses of over 0.100” are possible on parts with certain geometries.
SLS Sealant
We often build fuel and lubricant storage tanks for our motorsports and aviation customers. For extreme conditions we can apply a special coating to the external surfaces of the tank to meet customer requirements.
The sealant on this lubricant tank is required by this customer due to a few necessary, thin-wall sections of the tank.
SLS Fastener Inserts
SLS nylon can be tapped directly for integration of fasteners. When additional strength or more cycles are required, metal inserts can be used. Metal inserts are generally made from brass or stainless steel, and are available in many shapes and sizes.
For increased strength, metal inserts are tapped directly into the part.