Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
SLS fuses nylon powder layer by layer with a laser. The surrounding unfused powder supports the part as it builds, so SLS prints complex geometry, snap-fits, and living hinges with no support structures, and no support scars to clean up.
From CAD to production-ready parts.
- STEP / 01A recoater spreads a thin layer of nylon powder across the build chamber, which is held just below the powder's sintering temperature.
- STEP / 02A laser traces the cross-section of your part, sintering the powder into solid material exactly where it strikes.
- STEP / 03The bed steps down, fresh powder is spread, and the cycle repeats. Unfused powder supports every overhang, so your design needs no support structures at all.
- STEP / 04After the build cools, parts are broken out of the powder cake, media-blasted clean, and optionally dyed or sealed before inspection.
- Production enclosures
- Robotic end-of-arm tooling
- Complex internal geometry
- Snap-fit assemblies
- Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30WCompact SLS · Nylon PA12, Nylon PA12-GF, TPU 90A
Aerospace-grade materials we run.
General-purpose, biocompatible nylon: the workhorse SLS material for functional prototypes and end-use production.
Glass-filled, biocompatible nylon with enhanced stiffness and heat resistance for demanding industrial environments.
Tough elastomer with high elongation at break and superior tear strength: flexible, resilient, and skin-safe.
About SLS
Support-free nylon printing for production enclosures and complex geometry.
SLS is the right call when your design has internal channels, snap-fits, living hinges, or geometry too complex to support: the powder bed itself does the supporting, so nothing has to be removed and no witness marks are left behind.
Our Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W runs Nylon PA12, Nylon PA12-GF, and TPU 90A for tough, functional nylon and flexible parts, with mechanical properties equivalent to HP MJF-printed nylon. If your parts are already qualified on MJF, the same geometry prints on our SLS cell without redesign.
This process runs at production scale for aerospace, defense, space, and industrial customers. If you have a part to quote, our engineering team will review geometry, material, and finishing requirements together, and can support you with design for additive manufacturing (DFAM).
Ready to take flight?
Let’s build hardware.
Send us your drawings, or just sketch on a napkin, and your program timeline. Our engineers will provide a rapid quote and deliver flight-ready parts built to your requirements and delivered on schedule.