SLM is the abbreviation of "Selective Laser Melting", which means selective laser melting technology. SLM is a 3D printing technology that uses metal powder to directly print metal parts. During printing, the scraper spreads a layer of metal powder on the base of the forming cylinder, and the laser beam selectively melts the powder according to the cross-sectional contours of each layer of the part to process the current layer. After one layer is sintered, the lifting system descends to the height of a cross-sectional layer, and the powder roller spreads another layer of metal powder on the formed cross-sectional layer, and sintering the next layer, and so on, until the entire part is sintered. The entire forming process is carried out in a processing chamber that is evacuated or filled with protective gas to prevent the metal from reacting with other gases at high temperatures.
The molded parts have better surface quality without polishing.
The molded parts have high precision and are used to make precision samples.
Directly manufacturing metal functional parts without the need for intermediate steps greatly simplifies the production process.
It has metallurgical structure, high density (>99%), excellent mechanical properties, and can save post-processing.
Depending on the size and complexity of the part, parts can be produced in minutes to hours.
Functional parts with complex geometries (e.g. snap fit, living hinges) can be directly manufactured.
The material has a wide range of applications, and its metal powder can be various single materials or multi-component materials.
It is particularly suitable for the customized manufacturing of single or small batch functional parts.