Selective laser sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material (typically metal), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure. It is similar to direct metal laser sintering (DMLS); the two are instantiations of the same concept but differ in technical details. Selective laser melting (SLM) uses a comparable concept, but in SLM the material is fully melted rather than sintered, allowing different properties (crystal structure, porosity, and so on). SLS (as well as the other mentioned AM techniques) is a relatively new technology that so far has mainly been used for rapid prototyping and for low-volume production of component parts. Production roles are expanding as the commercialization of AM technology improves.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) was developed and patented by Dr. Carl Deckard and academic adviser, Dr. Joe Beaman at the University of Texas at Austin in the mid-1980s, under sponsorship of DARPA. Deckard and Beaman were involved in the resulting start up company DTM, established to design and build the SLS machines. In 2001, 3D Systems the biggest competitor of DTM and SLS technology acquired DTM. The most recent patent regarding Deckard's SLS technology was issued 28 January 1997 and expired 28 Jan 2014.

A similar process was patented without being commercialized by R. F. Housholder in 1979.

As SLS requires the use of high-powered lasers it is often too expensive, (not to mention possibly dangerous), to use in the home. The expense and potential danger of SLS printing means that the at home market for SLS printing is not as large as the market for other additive manufacturing technologies, such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). There are, however, a few individuals and companies who are focusing on bringing this technology to the individual consumer. One such individual is Andreas Bastian, an engineering student from Swarthmore College, who recently developed a relatively low-cost SLS printer capable of creating objects from wax or carbon. Another option for at home SLS printing is the Focus SLS printer.

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