Engineering high-performance composite parts with selective laser sintering

 Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is one of the most used Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes. Well known for its adaptability in producing working components and prototypes, it provides substantial advantages over traditional manufacturing procedures such as injection moulding and machining. SLS selectively fuses powdered materials, usually metals, composites and polymers, layer by layer with a powerful laser to create three-dimensional objects.

The process has transformed AM, especially in the composites industry. The SLS printers use high-powered lasers to fuse particles of plastic, metal and composite materials into solid objects, providing unique possibilities for generating complicated shapes, increasing material qualities and reducing manufacturing times. Since it can create parts with intricate geometries and high-performance material qualities, SLS has drawn a lot of interest from sectors like consumer goods, automotive, aerospace and medical. Engineered materials known as composites are created by fusing 2 or more distinct materials to produce a finished product with improved qualities like increased strength, decreased weight and better resistance to corrosion and wear. Composite materials in the SLS 3D printing technique create new opportunities to manufacture sophisticated parts with exceptional mechanical qualities.

The basic idea behind SLS is to use a laser to fuse powdered material into a solid component. Usually, the material is a metal, composite powder or thermoplastic. The powder bed’s surface is scanned by a laser, which uses the geometry from a computerised 3D model to melt or sinter the particles together.  

Figure 4: Depowdered 3D printed parts prepared at Butekom