Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a powerful 3D printing technology that belongs to the powder bed fusion process series, which can produce high-precision and durable parts, which can be directly used for end-use, small batch production or prototype prototypes. In the printing process of the SLS equipment, a high-power laser is used to fuse small particles of plastic powder into the required three-dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuse powder materials by scanning the three-dimensional data section on the surface of the powder bed. After scanning each section, the powder bed is reduced by a layer of thickness, a new layer of material is added to it, and the selective laser sintering process is repeated until the part is completed.
SLS 3D printing can be used not only for the prototype design of functional polymer components, but also for small production runs because it has high design freedom, high precision, and produces parts with good and consistent mechanical properties.
SLS printing process
SLS process printing process
1. First heat the powder bin and construction area to close to the melting temperature of the material, and then spread a layer of powder material.
Second, use a laser to scan the cross section of the layer to raise the temperature of the powder to the melting point, and selectively sinter the area to be printed to form a bond.
3. After the sintering is completed, the construction platform moves down, and the scraper is covered with a layer of powder material, and the content of step 2 is repeated until the entire model is formed.
4. After printing is completed, the forming chamber cools down (generally the temperature is lower than 40 degrees), you can start to take out the parts and do subsequent processing.