Commercially-available materials used in SLS come in powder form and include, but are not limited to, polymers such as polyamides (PA), polystyrenes (PS), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and polyaryletherketones (PAEK).
It is an electronic polishing method and produces very low roughness. Hence, it is a very fine finish used in a variety of industries. It exhibits a 180-grit grain, which renders a dull finish.
4 Finish. No. 4 Finish is the most popular for appliances, the food and beverage industry, elevators, escalators, hospitals, and any work area where there is food contact. It is characterized by short, parallel polishing lines and is the easiest of the stainless finishes to maintain.
Rapid prototyping is a fast design process that involves an idea, prototyping, and testing of a physical part, model, or building using a 3D computer-aided design (CAD). The building of the part, model, or assembly is typically accomplished through additive manufacturing which is also known as 3D printing.
The second approach to rapid tooling is indirect tooling where the tool is formed using an intermediate step known as the “master” model. The master is a 3D shape which can be copied multiple times. The process may be retrogressive but it was proven effective.
Low-fidelity prototypes allow teams to test information architecture and user flows, while high-fidelity prototypes introduce UI elements and how the user might interact with the final design.
Direct Metal Laser SinteringOne of the things that makes sintering unique is that it allows you to print in conformal cooling lines to help cool the plastic part more rapidly.
Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process that, in its most common form, works by focusing an ultraviolet (UV) laser on to a vat of photopolymer resin.
Sintratec PA12 parts have a tensile strength of 47.8 MPa and an elastic modulus of 1.75 GPa. This places printed nylon around half as strong as fiberglass and half as rigid as PVC. Strength, of course, is dependent on layer orientation in the printer, with the Z-direction being the weakest.
Stereolithography-built parts are also used for manufacturing and tooling applications. Since the strength of the cured resin is limited, they are usually used either for small batches of production or as sacrificial molds or cores.
