Selective Laser Melting (SLM) 3D Printing Services

Average 20 business day turnaround on dense, tight-tolerance metal parts — ISO 9001 compliant, trusted by aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and more industries to ship functional parts faster.

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What Is SLM 3D Printing?

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an advanced metal 3D printing technology that uses a high-powered laser to fully fuse fine metal powders into dense, high-performance metal components. As a core metal 3D printing process, SLM applies a thin layer of metal powder across a build platform, where the laser selectively melts the material layer by layer using a digital CAD model. This precise SLM 3D printing sequence repeats until a solid, fully dense metal part is formed directly from your file.

SLM 3D Printing Materials Comparison

Compare materials, their strengths, weaknesses, and more

Material	Default Color	Weaknesses	Strengths	Applications
SLM Aluminum AlSi10Mg	Silver/Grey	Cannot be dyed, longer lead time, higher cost	Corrosion resistant, thermally conductive	Medical, technical, consumer products
SLM Stainless Steel 17-4pH	Silver/Grey	Longer lead times, surface hardness may vary	Chemical resistant, structurally supportive	Shafts, engine parts, mechanical parts
SLM Stainless Steel 316L	Silver/Grey	Longer lead times, surface hardness may vary	Can be welded if necessary	Medical prototypes, aerospace designs

Designing files for SLM printing

When designing files for SLM printing, it is important to keep some design guidelines in mind.

Keep your wall thicknesses over 1 mm
Hole diameters should be at least 1 mm
Make text clear and easy to print
Unsupported features should be at least 1 mm in width
Pins should be at least 1 mm in diameter
Rounded corners work best

Design Guidelines for Metal 3D Printing

SLM 3D Printing Capabilities and Specifications

Maximum part size	Standard lead time	Tolerance	Layer height	Minimum feature size
400mm x 320mm x 320mm	+/- 20 business days	+/- 200 µm	50 µm - 200 µm	1 mm

Post-processing for SLM

SLM parts are attached to a base plate via the use of structural supports. These supports will be removed during post-processing.

SLM parts may also require heat treatment to improve the mechanical properties of your parts. Other post-processing options include quality inspections and other solutions to improve your parts.

Any questions? Contact Us.