Injection Moulding Asia

Powder-form nylons for SLS

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Using SLS, designers and processors can produce complete families of fully functional prototype parts, each with different dimensions, one after the other, before they cut any metal for tooling. Once the design is validated, they can use SLS for limited series commercial production.

Industries such as aerospace, automobile racing, robotics or medical prosthesis manufacturers have already adopted direct manufacturing technologies that aim to produce in a fraction of time customised design parts with properties similar to those made by traditional technologies.

Until now, growth of so-called "time compression" technologies beyond these sectors has been limited, partly because the choice of materials available for SLS is much more limited than it is for conventional moulding.

With the introduction of PA6 powders, the same polyamides can be used for prototyping and for injection moulding.

The part of the rapid prototyping/manufacturing sector using these additive technologies (as opposed to machining, or subtractive technologies) has a current turnover of around EUR800 million, with a potential estimated to reach EUR3 billion in 2015, which means the potential for SLS powders is forecast to rise to between EUR100 million and EUR200 million by 2020, says Rhodia.