Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material (typically metal), 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 sintering (SLS); the two are instantiations of the same concept but differ in technical details.

The technology fuses metal powder into a solid part by melting it locally using the focused laser beam. Parts are built up additively layer by layer, typically using layers 20 micrometers thick. This allows for highly complex geometries, producing parts with high accuracy and detail resolution, good surface quality and excellent mechanical properties.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

3D printers that run on FDM Technology build parts layer-by-layer from the bottom up by heating and extruding thermoplastic filament. The process is simple: Build-preparation software slices and positions a 3D CAD file and calculates a path to extrude thermoplastic and any necessary support material. The FDM 3D printer heats the thermoplastic to a semi-liquid state and deposits it in ultra-fine beads along the extrusion path. Where support or buffering is needed, the 3D printer deposits a removable material that acts as scaffolding. During post-processing, the user breaks away support material away or dissolves it in detergent and water, and the part is ready to use.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS®)

SLS involves the use of a high power laser (for example, a carbon dioxide laser) to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass powders into a mass that has a desired three-dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from a 3-D digital description of the part (for example from a CAD file or scan data) on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the part is completed.

PolyJet

PolyJet 3D printing technology is a powerful additive manufacturing method patented by Stratasys. 3D printers powered by PolyJet technology feature 16-micron layers with accuracy as high as 0.1 mm for smooth surfaces, thin walls and complex geometries. It is the only technology that supports a range of materials with properties from rubber to rigid and transparent to opaque. And with Objet Connex technology, multiple materials can even be printed simultaneously in the same part.

Stereolithography (SLA)

Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process which employs a vat of liquid ultraviolet curable photopolymer "resin" and an ultraviolet laser to build parts' layers one at a time. For each layer, the laser beam traces a cross-section of the part pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. Exposure to the ultraviolet laser light cures and solidifies the pattern traced on the resin and joins it to the layer below. After the pattern has been traced, the SLA's elevator platform descends by a distance equal to the thickness of a single layer, typically 0.05 mm to 0.15 mm (0.002" to 0.006"). A complete 3-D part is formed by this process. After being built, parts are immersed in a chemical bath in order to be cleaned of excess resin and are subsequently cured in an ultraviolet oven.

We supply engineering plastics such as ABS-M30, PC-10, PC-ABS, and Ultem 9085, and use prototyping plastics on smaller platforms such as PLA, PETG and TPU.