SLS 3D printing uses high-powered lasers to fuse powdered plastic material, usually nylon, together into 3D shapes. It can create parts that are finely detailed, strong, durable, heat resistant, and flexible (when needed) all at once. Recently a new material hit the market that enables you to print metal parts on SLS machines. The technology is called Cold Metal Fusion and is not yet widely available.

Printer manufacturers often boast that SLS prints rival injection molding products in terms of strength and precision. When compared to injection molding, 3D printing can create parts that have internal channels, lattice structures, and other features not possible with molding. Of course, another clear benefit over molding is that there is no expensive mold tooling or patterns.

SLS also offers a high degree of predictability in material and mechanical properties, so it’s popular in aerospace, medical, and regulated industries. Furthermore, SLS printing is mostly support-free, which expands your ability to design and produce very complex geometries and cut down on post-processing time removing those supports.

The technology is popular for functional prototypes, design evaluation models, small manufacturing runs, end-use consumer products, and jigs & fixtures, among other uses. Industries that have taken a particular shine to SLS include:

• Automotive (jigs & fixtures, prototype car parts)
• Aerospace (prototypes, tools, air ducts)
• Medical and healthcare (prosthetics)
• Consumer electronics (housings, prototypes)
• Military (replacement parts, grips)
• Heavy Industry (sand casting patterns, tooling)

SLS 3D printing is more widely used today, but it’s not a perfect technology. Despite its advances, SLS printers are still relatively expensive, and powder handling can be messy when done by hand (although many vendors offer enclosed solutions).

Add-on depowdering units – like the Formlabs Fuse Sift – cut down on the mess, but they will naturally bring up the total cost of your SLS investment. Higher-end and industrial-level machines can offer depowdering solutions as default, but again, they will also require the buyer to dig deeper.

All in all, SLS 3D printing is a powerful technology for the right applications. Whether it suits your purposes depends entirely on the design of your parts, the material requirements, and the application itself. Keep these factors in mind as you read on, and find out which printer is right for you.

Sintratec Kit is the world’s only build-it-yourself SLS 3D printer kit launched way back in 2015, and the most affordable option in the SLS category.

At a cost of around $6,400, this system presents itself as an ideal option for frugal small businesses that want to explore the possibilities of SLS 3D printing technology. Although the price is quite low compared to other SLS machines, keep in mind that this is a kit in every sense of the word and will take around four days to build and install.

The Sintratec Kit offers a 110 x 110 x 110 mm build volume and a minimum layer height of 100 microns, making it capable of producing complex geometries at a decent resolution.

As with all SLS 3D printing, you’ll need some accessory equipment. Sintratec offers a blasting station($600) to depowder your part and a polishing station ($2,000) that tumbles them to surface perfection.

Sinterit’s Lisa X is the 3D printer manufacturer’s third SLS printer, introduced in late 2021, after the Lisa and Lisa Pro. Lisa X takes what made the Lisa Pro good and makes it better. After her makeover, Lisa X now offers a larger maximum print size (180 x 130 x 300 mm), a more powerful laser (30W vs. 5W), a wider material selection, and much faster print speeds. The new printer is up to 12 times faster than the Lisa Pro and can finish most print jobs in 24 hours, according to the manufacturer.

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The speed doesn’t come at the cost of detail quality since the Lisa X has the same 75-micron minimum layer height as its predecessor. The machine supports nine materials from Sinterit, but its open platform allows easy use of third-party powders as well. Although Sinterit says the Lisa X cools down quickly, it doesn’t have a removable build chamber, which means that you have to wait until the build fully cools before starting the next print.

If you’re someone who likes to fine-tune your print settings, you’ll appreciate Lisa X’s open software that enables you to change 32 printing parameters. This enables you to create your own material profiles and experiment with third-party powders outside of what Sinterit offers, so you can shop around for more affordable materials.

The Lisa X is marketed as a compact SLS printer, but it’s really bridging the gap between compact and industrial 3D printers. In addition to materials, another consumable is the chamber inert gas. The printer’s average inert gas consumption is 8 liters /min.

The Fuse 1+  is one of the most affordable SLS 3D printers from a maker with a reputation for reliable machines. It features a touch user interface and live stream monitoring of the print bed layer by layer. Formlabs says its “Surface Armor” technology forms a semi-sintered shell that prints around the surface of the part, providing good mechanical properties and a high-quality surface finish.

The Fuse 1+ 30W, which is the second version of the Fuse, launched in July 2022 and is twice as fast as the original Fuse. The laser on the Fuse 1+ is 3x more powerful than the Fuse, enabling it to produce with carbon-fiber infused PA11. In 2023, Formlabs introduced flexible TPU 90A powder to its menu and in 2024 launched a new polypropylene powder.

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Both Fuse versions have the same build volume of 165 x 165 x 300 mm and a layer thickness of 110 microns. Combined with the Fuse Sift, it can provide a 30% to 50% powder refresh rate, driving down material costs. There’s the option to run the machine with air or an inert gas, which enhances some material properties and boosts the recyclability of the unused powder.

It could be a great option for manufacturers looking for affordable high quality.

Formlabs also offers two machines designed to take the labor out of post-processing SLS parts. The Fuse Sift is a station for extracting parts from the powder bed and collecting unsintered powder so it can be reused. The new Fuse Blast is a fully automated batch cleaning and polishing solution.

The Sintratec S3 is a compact SLS 3D printer that, combined with its post-processing stations, provides a studio-friendly solution for high-detail batch printing and prototypes. This S3 machine is modular and comes with your choice of two different build chamber volumes.

The S3 version of Sintratec’s SLS solution debuted in 2022. It has a 30W laser and comprises two parts, a fusion module that houses the lasers and optics and a separate build module that houses the powder and recoater. Roll out one finished build module and roll in a fresh one without having to remove the part and clean out the powder. Then roll the finished build module into the depowdering station ($8,500) that covers material handling and material reclamation.

Quality control of prints in progress comes by way of an integrated 4K camera, giving layer-by-layer oversight. The manufacturer promises fast print speeds and high accuracy.

As you may know, laser sintering polymer powder is not that different from laser sintering metal powder, a process called laser powder bed fusion (LBPF) or sometimes selective laser melting (SLM). A new material from a company called HeadMade Materials enables select polymer SLS machines to produce metal parts. The technology is called Cold Metal Fusion and we cover it extensively in this guide, but here, know that the Sintratec S3 is compatible with this material although it’s still in beta testing. With this Cold Metal Fusion solution, the company says you can roll in a metal build unit for one build and then a polymer build unit for the next!

Sharebot SnowWhite 2 is the 2020 upgrade to the company’s previous SnowWhite unit. Its 14W CO₂ laser gives it the ability to print with a wider range of materials, including PA12, PA11, TPU, and reinforced powders that contain additives like carbon fiber, glass, and aluminum.

Geared toward research centers and R&D departments, the SnowWhite 2 is easy to use with an autonomous “one-click” user interface. Especially useful for research labs is the machine’s ability to use just 100 grams of powder to sinter a part.

SnowWhite 2 features an improved temperature control system, heating up to print temperature in just 15 minutes and providing high durability and surface detail. It also has an optional atmosphere control module that is compatible with both nitrogen and argon and eliminates yellowing in printed parts.

Priced at just under $40,000, this system is relatively expensive compared to other benchtop machines. It has a petite 100 x 100 x 95 mm build volume, making it one of the smallest SLS 3D printers on the market. The company doesn’t offer any post-processing stations so collecting the unused powder for reuse and cleaning arts has to be done manually or with a depowdering and polishing station from another vender.

In May 2023, 3D printing giant 3D Systems acquired the Swedish SLS printer maker Wematter and incorporated the economical “Gravity” machine into its portfolio as the SLS 300. It’s no wonder 3D Systems snapped up this young company. It’s suite of hardware and software effectively brought SLS 3D printing to smaller manufacturers as an affordable turnkey unit.

The SLS 300 has a well-sized printing volume of 300 x 300 x 300 mm and is easy to operate thanks to an intuitive touch screen. There’s a cloud-based operating platform that requires no installation. The company says that through “new components and algorithms”, the scanning speed has been increased by two times compared to the previous model saving up to 15 hours on a typical print job.

The powder material is contained in cartridges, thus eliminating the hazard of fine particles. In fact, in 2024, 3D Systems is launching a “Powder Recycling Station” for the 300 that will automatically recycle unused powder currently in the system and mix it with fresh material and put it back into cartridges.

3D Systems also offers a curious unit called the Atmosphere that provides “improved control of build chamber conditions.” The Atmosphere communicates with Gravity’s software and creates a more stable thermal environment during the printing process, the company says. This optional unit is supposed to boost the Gravity’s performance for increased part density, surface finish, and mechanical performance.

For post processing, 3D Systems offers a unit that cleans and extracts powder using a water spray gun containing different nozzles to clean cavities, surfaces, and smaller details. The Water Jet Cabinet uses 20 liters of tap water that recirculates, just plug it in, fill it with water, and get started. No running water or drain connections needed.

Although the printer retails for around $50K, the full ecosystem is closer to $70K – $90K.

Sinterit’s Nils 480, the big brother to the Lisa series listed above, delivers industrial speed (full bed printing in 30 hours) and size (200 x 200 x 330) enabling you to print, for example, a whole shoe, housing of most electronic devices, or a whole arm orthosis.

The Nils 480 includes many of the features that made the Lisa line popular, including a wide range of material options from PA12 to PP to TPU, plus third-party powders; an open parameter environment with more than 30 settings to control; and intuitive software.

In essence, if you like the Lisa X but wish it were bigger and faster … here you go.

The Nils also features what the company calls a Continuous Printing System, where you fill the powder once and print two full beds or a few lower-volume print beds all without repeating the print preparation process and powder filling. To do this, the previous bed automatically ejects, lifting a full cake to the cooling box. The printing bed comes back and another print automatically begins. Potentially, you could print two full volumes over the weekend, unmanned.

For post-processing, the Nils 480 can be paired with the same cleaning and powder management units from Sinterit that are offered with the Lisa series.

Farsoon Technologies’ polymer SLS technology comes in six configurations. Its eForm SLS machine is billed as the entry-level system with all the functionality and power of an industrial-level system, the company says.

The eForm comes with an easy-to-use touch-screen-based UI configuration for a production environment. Like most of the other SLS printers on our list, the eForm has optional powder handling units.

The larger 403P machines (HS403P, SS403P, and HT403P) all have an eight-zone heater and thermal controls to ensure an even temperature and minimize risks of inaccuracies. The HT model is built for processing high-performance materials, like PA 6, at high temperatures and features enhanced temperature shielding and thermal controls. The HS model is the – relatively speaking – budget option of the trio.

Farsoon also offers the industry’s largest SLS 3D printer, the HT1001P-2, which has a build volume of 1,000 x 500 x 450 mm and features two 100W CO₂ lasers. There are two more SLS printers in the company’s 252P series, which have the same compact build volume as the eForm but various temperature and laser features.

Farsoon is also a member of the Cold Metal Fusion club, hoping to offer customers the ability to 3D print metal parts on its SLS units. To date it has qualified the material but not officially rolled it out as an option. In late 2023, Farsoon also announced that it was offering the Cold Ceramic Fusion process on its  SLS platform HT252P that enables you to create ceramic parts.

Prodways’ ProMaker P1000 S is a more economical follow-up to the company’s ProMaker P1000 X. The S version features half the laser power as the X while still being an industrial machine that brings plenty of features to the table.

With more than 50 parameters to tune free of charge (some printer makers charge a fee to “unlock” perimeter editing), you can have greater efficiency and certainly more flexibility. By adjusting perimeters, such as laser power, heat, and cool-down time, you can optimize the strength, elasticity, or texture of a sintered part, the company says.

If you decide you want more speed, you can upgrade your ProMaker P1000 S to ProMaker P1000 X.

Prodways does not make a depowdering station or powder management equipment, but they’ll hook you up via a partner equipment manufacturer. Available materials are nylon PA11 in black and white, glass-filled PA11, PA12, PP, and TPU.

Eplus3D has offered a lot of SLS 3D printers over the years but currently only features the EP-P420 outside of China, which launched in 2021. The company is best know for its metal powder bed fusion machines, of which it offers 12 options.

This machine looks to provide high productivity at a relatively reasonable price point. With a huge build volume and a laser four-times the power of desktop-size SLS machines, it is clearly marked for high-volume production. The 120W CO₂ laser makes for detailed models with high surface quality and dimensional accuracy.

The forming cylinder of the machine is detachable, which reduces standby time between print jobs and increases manufacturing and sintering efficiency. Open printing parameters allow for precise setting adjustment for specific applications.

EP-P420 supports a good variety of materials, making the printer suitable for several applications with differing requirements. With a uniform heat control system, the printer can deliver reliably optimized mechanical properties. It also provides high powder recycling rates, which helps reach ROI faster.

The proprietary Eplus3D control software overseas printing process management, from build preparation and part positioning to printing monitoring and report generation function.

Manufactured by industrial 3D printing pioneer EOS, the Formiga P 110 Velocis FDR, introduced in 2021, offers flexibility and cost-effective production to the manufacturing floor, the company says. This FDR version of the Velocis, which is the company most economical, is a bit slower that it’s other offerings and doesn’t offer the same material range, but has a powerful and precise laser leading to very detailed prints.

The P 110 FDR features temperature management and software control, which speed up the heating and recoating processes, the company says. It’s laser makes it possible to produce wall thicknesses of only 220 microns.

The full suite of SLS machines includes an EOS material mixing station, unpacking and sieving station, and blasting cabinet.

The Velocis versions are EOS’ entry-level SLS 3D printers, but the company offers four more with larger volumes and more powerful lasers: the P 396, P 500, P 770, and the Integra P450, which is only available in North America. The P 770 has two 70W lasers and is one of the largest SLS printer on the market with a build volume of 700 x 380 x 580 mm. The P 500 also has two 70W lasers and is a popular choice with manufacturers and 3D printing service bureaus.

3D Systems has offered many SLS 3D printers over the years in various sizes but has recently reduced its offering to just the SLS 380, its most popular. One of the key elements of its claim to high repeatability and throughput is its management of heat. The machine has eight separately calibrated heaters to control the build chamber temperature.

The system uses a custom-developed algorithm to manage, monitor, and control in real-time, the thermal uniformity within the build chamber. There’s also an integrated high-resolution inferred camera that captures more than “100,000 thermal data samples” from within the build chamber per second, the company says. What all this boils down to is quite a bit of assurance that each layer is sintered according to plan, and should there be an error, you know which part of the batch it’s in. This level of production traceability is essential in larger manufacturing environments and regulated industries.

New to the SLS 380 is a water-cooled laser.

The 380 provides a large print chamber with a good build rate and a decent level of detail. It also has a counter-rotating roller to distribute powder more smoothly across the print bed, the company says.

The SLS 380 can be combined with 3D Systems’ Material Quality Center (MQC) to control material blend and delivery. The company offers the MQC Single to pair with one printer and MQC Flex which works with up to four printers simultaneously.

Unless you’ve gone through the hassle of manually collecting powder and hand-blending used powder with fresh powder in the right proportions, you may not realize what a convenience a machine that does this automatically is. In a production setting, it’s essential. The MQC Flex includes a recycled powder bin that provides convenient and immediate storage for unused powder post-printing.

If you’re not keen on 3D Systems powder handling solution, the company has partnered with AMT to provide a fully automated post-processing workflow, from de-powdering to vapor honing that it says delivers end-use parts in-hand faster.

The QLS is Nexa3D’s latest SLS 3D printer series with an impressive combination of speed, size, and accuracy due in part to its four 100W CO­₂ lasers. The QLS 820 is designed to be scaled for production with what the company says is “automation-ready architecture” and fleet management software.

With a removable build unit of respectable size (350 x 350 x 400 mm volume), the printer lays claim to high capacity. It’s also capable of processing a wide material range from practically any manufacturer.

The system is modular (with powder handling and refreshing stations available as add-ons) and can be scaled up based on application requirements. The QLS 820 is capable of cloud connectivity and has a web dashboard that enables end-to-end traceability of part production with centralized printer management and real-time data monitoring. It can also provide historical data analytics to help you easily keep track of printer performance.

Nexa3D also offers two smaller SLS 3D printer, the QLS 230 and the newer QLS 260. The QLS 260 is an open platform  printer with an fist 21-hour cycle speed. It uses a single 60 Watt CO₂ laser to produce parts from a broad range of high-temp thermoplastic and metal materials. The printer also features an on-board nitrogen generator

One downside at Nexa3D may be the lack of material processing and part cleaning units, yet these can be purchased from other OEMs.

In September 2023, Nexa3D announced a partnership with material maker Headmade Materials that enables you to print metal parts in the QLS series machines. Customers can printer polymers one day, metals the next. Once 3D printed, the metal parts then require several post-processing steps before they are solid industrial-quality metal parts.

Professional SLS 3D printers cost anywhere from $7,000 to a $750,000, which is not a helpful answer at all, we know. The truth is that for machines in the $10K to $90K range, you’ll usually find a consistent and public sticker price.

However, when you get above $100K, and especially when you approach $250K, there can be many factors that affect the final price you’ll pay, such as customizations, options, your location vs. where the machine is manufactured (import duties, taxes), how many you’re buying, discounting for education, research, or case study partnerships, long-term agreements, marketing agreements, instillation and training, optional warranties, and more.

The price of one machine with every possible add-on and customization going to a high-cost location can be three times the price per unit of a 10-machine order to major city.

That said, manufacturers should provide you with a ballpark figure for your CapEx request upon first contact. OEMs don’t want to spend time and resources serving a potential customer when their machine is clearly out of reach, so early transparency on prices is a win-win.

The “Free Consultation” boxes below each printer entry in this guide enable you to send a quick request directly to the manufacturer or a certified reseller.