Cases
FDM versus Selective Laser Sintering
How to make sure your prototype is truly functional?
We are striving to offer you the best prototyping solution, always. We also know that most people don’t like radical changes and that they prefer to stick to the prototyping technology they are used to, especially when they are satisfied with its performances. Nevertheless, we want to offer you the best - just good is not good enough – and that is the reason why we strive to avoid incorrect technology choices. Sometimes it is better to drop the technology that you usually order and go for another solution because it suits your prototype’s application better.
Our team is there to help you in choosing the right approach. Our skills and experience lead you towards the perfect solution.
With FDM, for instance, there are still plenty of misconceptions, mainly because this technology is relatively new and only in the past years has there been a major technological improvement which has left people unfamiliar with its capabilities. We notice that our customers often order their prototypes in selective laser sintering while in fact they should be ordering fused deposition modeling parts.
Let’s eliminate all prejudices once and for all by going through both Selective Laser Sintering’s and FDM’s characteristics and pointing out to you the strengths of these technologies.
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Prototypes with living hinges
When you want a part with living hinges we advise you to have the component constructed on one of our Selective Laser Sintering-machines. It has been proven that the FDM technology is not ideal to build living hinges.
Large, flat parts
One of the main reasons why it is better to build large, flat parts in FDM is the distortion (“warpage”) that takes place when building these parts on the laser sintering-machines. FDM does not show similar dimension deviations. Another reason is the build-time. Because these kind of models have to be constructed upright in the LS machine, it can take up to 6 days before the part is ready. In FDM, the same component will be ready from as little as 2 days.
Components that need gluing
BMW mini dashboard cut into 4 different components in order to be built on the FDM machine
Very often we manufacture large parts e.g. car dashboard or bumpers, which are larger than the largest build-platform in laser sintering (700x380x580mm) or in FDM (600x500x600mm). Consequently, these part files are divided in separate components, which are then built on several machines and glued afterwards.
Because of the distortions with large laser sintered parts (see above), gluing of the different components introduces residual stresses, which reduces the mechanical performance of the part. FDM components on the contrary can be glued easily because they don’t show distortions.
Large numbers
We consider the laser sintering-technology more suitable for larger amounts of parts, particularly series of 50 to 100 pieces. The reason here is that the cost per part goes down when the amount of ordered parts increases. This is not the case for FDM. Laser sintering can be considered to be a superior technology for rapid manufacturing.
Polyamide (PA) versus polycarbonate (PC) and ABS
The most obvious reason to go either for Laser Sintering or FDM is the material of your final product. Your end product is an ABS or PC object? The most obvious choice would be FDM. Your final product will be in PA? Then go for Laser Sntering.
Parts with small details
It is easier to show small details with the Laser sintering technology than with FDM.
Just have a closer look at the belly button and the fingernails of the laser sintered cartoon figures on the photo here and you will understand what we mean.
Lead-time
The FDM lead-times are comparable to Laser sintering. We aim for lead times of 4-5 days. Although the build process takes a bit more time for FDM than for Selective Laser Sintering, the eventual lead-times are the same due to FDM’s large capacity (the FDM Center now houses 10 machines).
In many case studies FDM is seen as a substitute for laser sintering. We do not support this opinion. Every rapid prototyping technology has its own typical applications.
That is the reason why Materialise has decided to offer our customers the widest range of techniques and the largest capacity in order to be able to support our customers in their product development process, no matter which product is concerned.
Our project managers are trained to advise you on which technique is best for your requirements. Do not hesitate in asking our team! They are there to offer you the most appropriate solutions.
You can also quote and order Laser sintered and FDM parts online at www.materialise.com/onsite, 24/7, at 10%off.