Engineers & CAD Designers choose selective laser sintering (SLS 3D Printing) for its design freedom, high productivity and throughput, low cost per part, and proven track record. Most additive manufacturing processes, such as stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM), require specialized support structures to fabricate designs with overhanging features.
Caddman’s Selective laser sintering (SLS 3D Printing) does not require support structures because unsintered powder surrounds the parts during printing. SLS printing can produce previously impossible complex geometries, such as interlocking or moving parts, parts with interior components or channels, and other highly complex designs. CAD DEsigners generally design parts with the capabilities of the final manufacturing process in mind, also known as design for manufacturing (DFM). When additive manufacturing is used for prototyping alone, it is limited to parts and designs that conventional manufacturing tools can ultimately reproduce during production.

As Caddman SLS 3D Printing becomes a viable rapid manufacturing method for an increasing number of end-use applications, it has the potential to unleash new possibilities for design and engineering. SLS can print complex designs in a single print that would normally require multiple parts. This helps alleviate weak joints and cuts down on assembly time.
SLS 3D Printing can take generative design to its full potential by enabling lightweight designs that employ complex lattice structures impossible to manufacture with traditional methods.