Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) process that does not
involve tooling. The benefits of the process increase as the complexity of the design increases.
This runs counter to traditional manufacturing processes where additional design complexity usually
involves greatly increased time and expense.
SLS production is economically viable for low complexity designs only when the production
volume is so low that tooling and other NRE expenses cannot be amortized over a large volume
of parts. At the other end of the extreme, SLS production can be economically viable for even
large production volumes if the design is of sufficient complexity that it would be difficult or impossible
to fabricate the part with any other method. SLS also becomes more viable if the product
design is subject to change going into manufacturing and avoids the additional costs and delays
of tooling changes.
As with any fabrication process, the maximum benefit is achieved if the design itself takes the
manufacturing process into account. For example, the duct assembly shown below included five
custom components, fifteen fasteners, adhesives and multiple assembly steps prior to being
redesigned for SLS production. The assembly has been replaced with a single SLS production
part, resulting in fewer components, reduced weight, increased strength and no need for assembly.
Clearly, designing parts for SLS production has significant advantages in that many limitations of
traditional manufacturing do not exist. |