Direct Metal Laser Sintering Vs Selective Laser Sintering

Selective laser melting slm also known as direct metal laser melting dmlm or laser powder bed fusion lpbf is a rapid prototyping 3d printing or additive manufacturing technique designed to use a high power density laser to melt and fuse metallic powders together.

Direct metal laser sintering vs selective laser sintering. Learn all about direct metal laser sintering one of few 3d printing technologies capable of making parts directly from metal. To many slm is considered to be a subcategory of selective laser sintering. Currently selective laser melting can only be used with certain. That makes melting the way to go for a monomaterial as there s just one melting point not the variety you d find in an alloy.

Direct metal laser sintering selective laser melting 3d printing or additive manufacturing to use an alternative term is a type of technology which has been around for a surprising amount of time the 1970 s infact. 25 years ago it was indeed sintering as the founder of eos invented it. Selective laser sintering and direct metal laser sintering are essentially the same thing with sls used to refer to the process as applied to a variety of materials plastics glass ceramics whereas dmls refers to the process as applied to metal alloys. 3d printing isn t just confined to plastic.

Another method of 3d metal printing is selective laser melting slm in which a high powered laser fully melts each layer of metal powder rather than just sintering it. The two are instantiations of the same concept. The ultimate 3d printing match up. Selective laser sintering sls is an additive manufacturing am technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material typically nylon or polyamide 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 selective laser melting.

But people continue to call this process dmls direct metal laser sintering. Selective laser melting produces printed objects that are extremely dense and strong. Fused deposition modeling laser sintering ls and fused deposition modeling fdm are like the peyton manning and cam newton of 3d printing two of the best quarterbacks in the league one about ten years older than the other ls was commercialized in around 1980 and fdm around 1990 and currently both at the top of their game.