Direct Metal Printing Vs Laser Sintering

Learn all about direct metal laser sintering one of few 3d printing technologies capable of making parts directly from metal.

Direct metal printing vs laser sintering.

3d printing isn t just confined to plastic. However the success of your dmls 3d printing project depends to a large extent on the quality of 3d cad model design. Dmls uses a high power laser to melt and fuse fine metallic powders together based on a 3d cad design file. 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.

This technology is capable of producing highly detailed and complex parts with excellent precision. Direct metal laser sintering involves spreading a very thin layer of metal powder across the surface that is to be printed. The two are instantiations of the same concept. The direct metal laser sintering dmls process uses lasers to partially melt particles so they adhere to one another.

Direct metal laser sintering is the most widely used metal 3d printing technology. Metal sintering processes exist for 3d printing too. A laser is slowly and steadily moved across the surface to sinter this powder which means that the particles inside the metal are fused together even though the metal is not heated enough to allow it to melt completely. To many slm is considered to be a subcategory of selective laser sintering.

This guide covers the direct metal laser sintering process as well as. These machines print a metal and binder combination layer by layer in a similar way to traditional filament 3d printer or material jetting printer. A direct metal laser sintering dmls 3d printing machine is capable of producing highly complex features and all in one assemblies using metal materials that would be hard to achieve with more traditional subtractive manufacturing techniques such as cnc milling or turning. 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.

The metal mass is then placed into a furnace and sintered fusing the particles together without melting it.