{"id":129291,"date":"2021-07-19T05:58:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T05:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.3dbgprint.com\/what-is-selective-laser-melting-technology\/"},"modified":"2021-07-19T05:58:26","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T05:58:26","slug":"what-is-selective-laser-melting-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3dbgprint.com\/en\/what-is-selective-laser-melting-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Selective Laser Melting technology?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technology today is advancing extremely fast and almost nothing is impossible. This includes <\/span>3D printing and <\/b>prototyping<\/b><\/a>. So many things have been done in the additive manufacturing of metal parts that this is one standout example of what <\/span>revolution is occurring in the creation of new technologies.<\/b><\/p>\n

One leading technology is the so-called <\/span>Selective Laser Melting<\/b> (selected laser melting). But the question is what is it and how does it work? In this article we will talk about exactly that. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is this technology?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) represents <\/span>a type of metal additive manufacturing or 3D printing<\/b>. You will often see this technology under the name DMLS, which stands for “<\/span>direct metal laser sintering<\/span><\/i>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the two technologies are similar, there is one small difference between them. If the task of SLM is to melt metals, that of <\/span>DMLS melts or sinters metals<\/b>. For this purpose, a laser is used, which acts as a direct energy source. The metal is thus converted into metal powder. <\/span><\/p>\n

Selective Laser Melting is one of <\/span>most awesome 3D printing technologies, <\/b> offered today. It is used not only for rapid prototyping but also for mass production. The range of metal alloys available is quite wide. And the end result has properties equal to those <\/span>produced using traditional manufacturing processes.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here it is also important to share what is the difference between SLM and another similar process, namely <\/span>Selective Laser Sintering<\/b> (SLS). In short, we can say that the two processes are very similar with the main difference that they use different materials. <\/span><\/p>\n

Selective laser sintering is used in <\/span>processes where the materials are<\/b> plastics, glass and ceramics<\/b>. In addition, the sintering process does not completely melt the powder, but is <\/span>heated to the point where it can fuse at the molecular level<\/b>. This enables control over the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand,<\/span> at<\/b> Selective Laser Melting<\/b> the process is similar<\/b>, but applied to metal alloys. Also here the laser is used to achieve <\/span>complete melting<\/b>. This means that <\/span>the powder is melted into a homogeneous portion.<\/b> This results in a product that is composed of one type of material, since it has only one melting point.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does Selective Laser Melting work?<\/b><\/h2>\n

As we have already mentioned, SLM is very similar as a process to DMLS as both are related to fusion. In SLM <\/span>the laser melts the dust layer by layer<\/b>,<\/span> until the pattern is complete<\/b>. At the molecular level, the powder is melted to produce a homogeneous portion.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this process <\/span>mainly pure materials are used<\/b>such as titanium, stainless steel, cobalt and aluminium, and very rarely alloys may also be used.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quite often, because of the weight of the material used, <\/span>Selective Laser Melting technology requires the addition of support structures<\/b>, although there is a powder bed to assist operation during printing.<\/span><\/p>\n

As with other 3D printing technologies, SLM also <\/span>used<\/b> 3D CAD model<\/b>based on which the desired real object is created. This process is possible thanks to the high-energy laser beam, which is <\/span>care to melt the metal dust to be able to create the object.<\/b><\/p>\n

Annex<\/b><\/h2>\n

SLM technology is extremely suitable for <\/span>fabrication of complex geometries and structures, <\/b> which have thin walls and hidden cavities and channels, as well as those that are small in size. This technology finds <\/span>wide application in medicine<\/b>by helping to create a stem for a hip joint, for example, as well as for orthopedic <\/span>implants<\/b><\/a> and much more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore Selective Laser Melting <\/span>also finds application in the aerospace industry<\/b>. Thanks to it, components can be produced that would be difficult to produce in traditional manufacturing. The huge advantage is that <\/span>thanks to Selective Laser Melting small parts can be produced,<\/b> such as spare parts of old machines.<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, the technology is used for <\/span>production of direct parts for industries,<\/b> such as aerospace, dental, medical, manufacturing<\/span> and for many others. These parts can be with <\/span> small to medium size,<\/b> including very complex parts as required in the tooling industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the technology is expensive,<\/span> it saves a tremendous amount of time, as it can also be used for rapid prototyping. This, in turn, <\/span>saves valuable time for new product development<\/b>as well as production time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0412 <\/span>China<\/b>, for example, have used similar technology that has served to <\/span>building structural titanium parts for aircraft<\/b>. According to a study, it is proven that using this process can reduce the materials and waste that are present in the aerospace industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

And even more interesting is that in <\/span>2018<\/b> is approved in <\/span>the first ever implanted spine<\/b>that was made of titanium using Selective Laser Melting technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Industries where SLM finds application are:<\/b><\/p>\n