Production nylon. Functional grade. No supports needed.

SLS prints in a bed of nylon powder — laser fuses powder where part is, unfused powder supports part from all sides. When print completes, unfused powder brushed away. No supports to remove = complex geometry, nested parts, internal features all possible. This is SLS's biggest advantage over SLA and FDM printing.

SLS parts have characteristic grainy surface Ra 6-10 µm from fused powder particles. Can be smoothed via: bead blasting (uniform matte), vapor smoothing (glossy finish), tumbling (slightly smoother). For cosmetic applications, MJF produces smoother native finish. For functional applications, SLS surface is adequate and untouched.

SLS builds vertically (layer by layer). Orientation affects: feature accuracy (vertical walls most accurate), feature detail (small horizontal features may not print well), surface finish (top/bottom surfaces smoother than vertical walls), material properties (slightly anisotropic — properties weaker perpendicular to build direction). Good DFM accounts for build orientation — we optimize during programming.

SLS accuracy: ±0.2 mm typical, ±0.1 mm on small features. Larger parts have thermal shrinkage during cooling — dimensional accuracy worse on large parts. For tolerance-critical features, post-print machining can bring specific dimensions to CNC tolerance while keeping overall SLS geometry.

SLS cost driver: volume of part (material consumption) and build time. Small parts: $10-30. Medium: $30-100. Large: $100-500. For functional prototypes, SLS cost-effective in quantities 1-500. Above 500 parts, injection molding becomes cheaper per part (tool amortization). For one-off, SLA or MJF may be cheaper depending on part size.

Our SLS (EOS) build envelope: 340 × 340 × 600 mm. Single large parts or many small parts nested for economic batch. Our MJF build (HP) 380 × 284 × 380 mm. Most production prototypes and specialty parts fit these envelopes. Larger parts split and bonded.