Selective laser sintering materials data including duraform, glass filled polyamide nylon, primecast polystyrene
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Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

We supply our SLS prototypes in Nylon, Glass-Filled Nylon, Polystyrene and Alumide, giving you a choice of materials dependent upon your prototyping requirements. Nylon and Glass-Filled Nylon provide good long term stability, strength and durability required for form, fit and functional testing. Building parts in Polystyrene provides a fast track route to metal castings. AlumideT gives a 'metallic' appearance which can be further enhanced by dressing or machining, ideal when replicating metal parts.

 

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

There are a number of different materials available for use with the EOS M270, varying from Bronze-based alloys to Tool Steel and Stainless Steel. Some materials are more suited tocertain applications than others, ie. parts for aerospace and automotive environments would be produced using Cobalt Chrome or Stainless Steel, whereas tooling is generally made using Bronze or Maraging Steel.
Alumide
The manufacture of stiff parts of metallic appearance for applications in automotive (eg. wind tunnel tests or parts that are not safety-relevant), tool inserts for injection and moulding small production runs, illustrative models (metallic appearance), education and jig manufacture, among other aspects. Surfaces of parts can be finished by grinding, polishing or coating. An additional advantage is that low tool-wear machining is possible eg. milling, drilling or turning.
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Polyamide PA2200 (Nylon 12)
By far the most common material used in SLS, parts have good long term stability, offering resistance to most chemicals. It is harmless to the environment and safe to use with foodstuff. Complexity is irrelevant and the material delivers the impact strength and durability required for functional testing. Tensile and flexural strength combine to make tough prototypes, with the flex associated with many production thermoplastics. It is able to emulate living hinge designs, certainly to 20+ cycles. The material is non-hygroscopic, thereby negating the requirement to seal the surface on components being used with liquids.
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Glass Filled Polyamide PA3200 (Nylon 12)
This is the Glass Filled variant of PA2200. Providing greater rigidity, the glass-filled blend is perfect when prototyping rigid parts intended for production in advanced engineered thermoplastics, and is the right choice for functional testing. Form, fit and functional testing can now be completed without sacrifice. The filler is glass bead and not fibre. Hence the part predominantly increases in stiffness but not strength. Filler ratios approximately 40%. Material is non-hygroscopic, thereby negating the requirement to seal the surface on components being used with liquids.
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PrimeCast 100 (Polystyrene)
This is a Polystyrene material originally conceived as a sacrificial master for investment casting purposes. In lieu of making a tool the CAD design would be manufactured directly in this material and the component then treated sacrificially as per wax in investment casting. For complex or short lead-time items, this can offer significant speed and cost savings. Subsequent work has highlighted how well this material functions as a master pattern for Vacuum Casting as an alternative to Stereolithography.
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Stainless Steel (EOS SS 17-4)
EOS StainlessSteel 17-4 is a pre-alloyed stainless steel infine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 17-4 and European 1.4542 and fulfils the requirements of AMS 5643 for Mn, Mo, Ni, Si, C, Cr and Cu. This kind of steel is characterised by having very good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, especially excellent ductility in laser processed state, and is widely used in a variety of engineering applications.
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Cobalt Chrome (EOS CC MP1)
EOS CobaltChrome MP1 is a fine powder mixture for laser-sintering on EOSINT M 270 systems, which produces parts in a cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based superalloy. This class of superalloy is characterised by having excellent mechanical properties (strength, hardness, etc.), corrosion resistanceand temperature resistance. Such alloys are commonly used in biomedical applications such as dental and medical implants and also for high-temperature engineering applications such as in aero engines.
  Click here for full technical specification>>

Bronze (Direct Metal EOS DM20)
DirectMetal 20 is a very fine-grained bronze-based, multi-component metal powder. The resulting parts offer good mechanical properties combined with excellent detail resolution and surface quality. The surfaces can be easily post-processed by shot-peening and can be polished with very little effort. The specially developed powder mixture contains different components which expand during the laser-sintering process, partially compensating for the natural solidification shrinkage and thereby enabling a very high part accuracy to be achieved.
  Click here for full technical specification>>

Maraging Steel 1.2709 (EOS MS1) (provisional data)
EOS MaragingSteel MS1 is a maraging steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 18 Maraging 300, European 1.2709 and German X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5. This kind of steel is characterised by having very high strength combined with high toughness. It is easily machinable after the building process and can be easily post-hardened up to approx. 55 HRC by a simple thermal age-hardening process. This kind of steel is conventionally used for complex tooling as well as for high-performance industrial parts, for example in aerospace applications.
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Full Specifications

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Alumide
Application:
The manufacture of stiff parts of metallic appearance. Surfaces of parts can be finished by grinding, polishing or coating. An additional advantage is that low tool-wear machining is possible eg. milling, drilling or turning.
Colour: Metallic Grey
Machine: EOS P360
Material Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Density of laser-sintered part 1.36 ± 0.05 g/cm³ EOS-method
Mechanical Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Tensile modulus 3800 ± 150 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 527
Tensile strength 46 ± 3 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 527
Elongation at break 3.5 ± 1 % DIN EN ISO 527
Flexural modulus 3000 ± 150 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 178
Charpy – Impact strength 29 ± 2 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Charpy – Notched impact strength 4.6 ± 0.3 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Shore D hardness 76 ± 2   DIN 53505
Thermal Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Melting Point 172-180 °C DIN 53736
Vicat softening temperature B/50 169 °C DIN EN ISO 306
Heat Conductivity 0.5 – 0.8 W(mK)-1  

Polyamide PA2200 (Nylon 12)
Application:
Material is non-hygroscopic, thereby negating the requirement to seal the surface on components being used with liquids.
Colour: White
Machine: EOS P700, EOS P360, 3D Systems HiQ 2500 Plus
Material Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Density of laser-sintered part 0.9 - 0.95 g/cm³ EOS-method
Mechanical Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Tensile modulus 1700 ± 150 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 527
Tensile strength 45 ± 3 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 527
Elongation at break 20 ± 5 % DIN EN ISO 527
Flexural modulus 1240 ± 130 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 178
Charpy – Impact strength 53 ± 3.8 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Charpy – Notched impact strength 4.8 ± 0.3 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Izod – Impact strength 32.8 ± 3.4 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 180
Izod – Notched impact strength 4.4 ± 0.4 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 180
Ball indention hardness 77.6 ± 2   DIN EN ISO 2039
Shore D hardness 75 ± 2   DIN EN ISO 868
Thermal Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Melting Point 172-180 °C DIN 53736
Vicat softening temperature B/50 163 °C DIN EN ISO 306
Vicat softening temperature A/50 181 °C DIN EN ISO 306
Coefficient of thermal expansion 1.09 x 10-4 /K  

Glass Filled Polyamide PA3200 (Nylon 12)
Application:
Material is non-hygroscopic, thereby negating the requirement to seal the surface on components being used with liquids.
Colour: Grey-White
Machine: EOS P700, EOS P360, 3D Systems HiQ 2500 Plus
Material Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Density of laser-sintered part 1.23-1.28 g/cm³ EOS-method
Mechanical Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Tensile modulus 3200 ± 200 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 527
Tensile strength 48 ± 3 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 527
Elongation at break 6 ± 3 % DIN EN ISO 527
Flexural modulus 2100 ± 150 N/mm² or MPa DIN EN ISO 178
Charpy – Impact strength 35 ± 6 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Charpy – Notched impact strength 5.4 ± 0.6 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 179
Izod – Impact strength 21.3 ± 1.7 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 180
Izod – Notched impact strength 4.2 ± 0.3 kJ/m² DIN EN ISO 180
Ball indention hardness 98   DIN EN ISO 2039
Shore D hardness 80 ± 2   DIN EN ISO 868
Thermal Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Melting Point 172-180 °C DIN 53736
Vicat softening temperature B/50 166 °C DIN EN ISO 306
Vicat softening temperature A/50 179 °C DIN EN ISO 306
Coefficient of thermal expansion 0.68 x 10-4 /K  

PrimeCast 100 (Polystyrene)
Application:
The primary use for this material is as a sacrificial master for investment casting. Generally, it is also suitable for ceramic shell casting, however special measures against shell cracking are necessary. Another application is the production of master patterns for vacuum casting.
Colour: White
Machine: EOS P360
Material Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Density of laser-sintered part 0.70 - 0.85 g/cm³  
Mechanical Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Tensile Strength, X-/Y-direction 5.5 ± 1.0 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 527
Tensile Strength, Z-direction 1.2 ± 0.3 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 527
Tensile Modulus 1600 ± 250 N/mm² DIN EN ISO 527
Elongation at break 0.4 ± 0.1 % DIN EN ISO 527
Thermal Properties: Value Units Test Specification
Glass Transition Temperature 150 ± 1 °C DIN 53765
Material Destruction 250 - 550 °C DIN 51006
Remaining Ash Content 0.002 % DIN EN ISO 3451-1


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Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)

Stainless Steel (EOS SS 17-4)

EOS StainlessSteel 17-4 is a pre-alloyed stainless steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 17-4 and European 1.4542 and fulfils the requirements of AMS 5643 for Mn, Mo, Ni, Si, C, Cr and Cu. This kind of steel is characterised by having very good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, especially excellent ductility in laser processed state, and is widely used in a variety of engineering applications.

This material is ideal for many part-building applications (DirectPart) such as functional metal prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts. Standard processing parameters use full melting of the entire geometry with 20 µm layer thickness, but it is also possible to use skin and core building style to increase the build speed. Using standard parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions. Laser-sintered parts made from EOS StainlessSteel 17-4 can be welded, machined, micro shot-peened, polished and coated if required. Unexposed powder can be reused without restriction or refreshing.

Typical Applications:

  • Engineering applications including functional prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts.
  • Parts requiring high corrosion resistance, sterilisability, etc.
  • Parts requiring particularly high toughness and ductility.
  • Tooling.
Technical Data
Minimum recommended layer thickness:
20 µm
Minimum wall thickness: 0.4 mm
Volume rate: between 2-5 mm3/s
Physical and Chemical properties of Laser Sintered parts
Relative density with standard parameters: approx. 100%
Mechanical properties of Laser Sintered parts
Ultimate tensile strength (MPIF 10) 900 MPa + 50 MPa
Yield strength (Rp 0.2%) 500 MPa + 50 MPa
Elongation at break up to 30%
Young’s Modulus 190 GPa + 30 MPa
Hardness 23-33 HRC

Surface roughness
- after shot-peening
- after polishing


Ra 5 µm
Rz up to < 0.5 µm
Thermal properties of Laser Sintered parts
Coefficient of thermal expansion (20-500ºC) approx. 13-20 x 10-6 m/mºC
Thermal conductivity (at 20ºC) approx. 12-14 W/mK
Maximum operating temperature 550ºC

Cobalt Chrome (EOS CC MP1)

EOS CobaltChrome MP1 is a fine powder mixture for laser-sintering on EOSINT M 270 systems, which produces parts in a cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based superalloy. This class of superalloy is characterised by having excellent mechanical properties (strength, hardness, etc.), corrosion resistance and temperature resistance. Such alloys are commonly used in biomedical applications such as dental and medical implants and also for high-temperature engineering applications such as in aero engines.

The chemistry of EOS CobaltChrome MP1 conforms to the composition UNS R31538 of high carbon CoCrMo alloy. It is nickel-free (< 0.1 % nickel content), sterilisable and suitable for biomedical applications. The laser-sintered parts are characterised by a fine, uniform crystal grain structure. They fully meet the requirements of ISO 5832-4 and ASTM F75 for cast CoCrMo implant alloys, as well as the requirements of ISO 5832-12 and ASTM F1537 for wrought CoCrMo implants alloys except remaining elongation. The remaining elongation can be increased to fulfill even this standard by hot isostatic pressing (HIP).

This material is ideal for many part-building applications (DirectPart) such as functional metal prototypes, small series products, individualised products or spare parts. Standard processing parameters use full melting of the entire geometry with 20 µm layer thickness, but it is also possible to use skin and core building style to increase the build speed. Using standard parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions. Laser-sintered parts made from EOS CobaltChrome MP1 can be welded, machined, micro shot-peened, polished and coated if required. Unexposed powder can be reused without restriction or refreshing.

Typical Applications:

  • Prototype or one-off biomedical implants, e.g. spinal, knee, hip bone, toe and dental.
  • Parts requiring high mechanical properties in elevated temperatures (500 - 1000 °C) and with good corrosion resistance, e.g. turbines and other parts for engines, cutting parts, etc.
  • Parts having very small features such as thin walls, pins, etc., which require particularly high strength and/or stiffness.
Technical Data
Minimum recommended layer thickness:
20 µm
Minimum wall thickness: 0.4 mm
Volume rate: between 1.5-5 mm3/s
Physical and Chemical properties of Laser Sintered parts
Relative density with standard parameters: approx. 100%
Mechanical properties of Laser Sintered parts
(Properties drop by 10-20% in Z direction)
Ultimate tensile strength (MPIF 10) 1400 MPa + 40 MPa
Yield strength (Rp 0.2%) 980 MPa + 30 MPa
Elongation at break 10% + 2%
Young’s Modulus 210 GPa + 10 MPa
Hardness 40-45 HRC

Surface roughness
- after shot-peening
- after polishing


approx. Ra 5 µm
Rz up to < 1 µm

Thermal properties of Laser Sintered parts
Coefficient of thermal expansion (20-500ºC) 11.5 x 10-6 m/mºC
Coefficient of thermal expansion (500-1000ºC) 12.5 x 10-6 m/mºC
Thermal conductivity (at 20ºC) 11 W/mK
Thermal conductivity (at 500ºC) 20 W/mK
Maximum operating temperature 1150ºC

Bronze (Direct Metal EOS DM20)

DirectMetal 20 is a very fine-grained bronze-based, multi-component metal powder. The resulting parts offer good mechanical properties combined with excellent detail resolution and surface quality. The surfaces can be easily post-processed by shot-peening and can be polished with very little effort. The specially developed powder mixture contains different components which expand during the laser-sintering process, partially compensating for the natural solidification shrinkage and thereby enabling a very high part accuracy to be achieved.

This material is ideal for most prototype injection moulding tooling applications (DirectTool) and for many functional metal prototype applications (DirectPart). It offers the highest building speed and thus is particularly suitable for larger tools and parts. It also offers a broad window of usable process parameters, e.g. a wide range of achievable mechanical properties and build speeds. Standard parameters use 20 µm layer thickness for the skin and 60 µm layers for the core, but for faster building the entire part can be built using 40 µm layers for the skin and 80 µm layers for the core.

Using standard skin parameters the mechanical properties are fairly uniform in all directions, which is especially beneficial for many DirectPart applications. Areas built with core parameters have a porous structure, but the combination of skin and core produces a strong total part. Parts built from DirectMetal 20 also have good corrosion resistance.

Typical Applications:

  • Injection moulds and inserts for moulding up to tens or even hundreds of thousands of parts in standard thermoplastics using standard injection parameters.
  • Direct manufacture of functional metal prototypes.
Technical Data
Minimum recommended layer thickness:
20 µm
Minimum wall thickness: 0.6 mm
Volume rate: between 10-20 mm3/s
Mechanical properties of Laser Sintered parts
Remaining porosity 8%
Tensile strength (MPIF 10) up to 400 MPa
Yield strength 200 MPa
Young’s Modulus 80 GPa
Hardness 120 HV

Surface roughness
- after shot-peening
- after polishing


Ra 3 µm
Rz up to < 1 µm

Thermal properties of Laser Sintered parts
Coefficient of thermal expansion 18 x 10-6m/mºC
Thermal conductivity (at 50ºC) 30 W/mK
Maximum operating temperature 400ºC

Maraging Steel 1.2709 (EOS MS1) (provisional data)

EOS MaragingSteel MS1 is a maraging steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 18 Maraging 300, European 1.2709 and German X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5. This kind of steel is characterised by having very high strength combined with high toughness. It is easily machinable after the building process and can be easily post-hardened up to approx. 55 HRC by a simple thermal age-hardening process. This kind of steel is conventionally used for complex tooling as well as for high-performance industrial parts, for example in aerospace applications.

Typical Applications:

  • Heavy duty injection moulds and inserts for moulding all standard thermoplastics using standard injection parameters, with achievable tool life of up to millions of parts.
  • Die casting moulds for small series of up to several thousand parts in light alloys.
  • Direct manufacture of heavily loaded functional metal prototypes.
Technical Data
Minimum recommended layer thickness:
40 µm
Minimum wall thickness: 0.4 mm
Volume rate: between 2-4 mm3/s
Physical and Chemical properties of Laser Sintered parts
Relative density with standard parameters: approx. 100%
Mechanical properties of Laser Sintered parts

Ultimate tensile strength (MPIF 10)
- as laser sintered
- after age hardening*


1100 MPa + 100 MPa
1950 MPa + 100 MPa

Yield strength (Rp 0.2%)
- as laser sintered
- after age hardening*


1000 MPa + 100 MPa
1900 MPa + 100 MPa

Elongation at break
- as laser sintered
- after age hardening*


8% + 3%
2% + 1%
Young’s Modulus 180 GPa + 20 GPa

Hardness
- as laser sintered
- after age hardening*


33-37 HRC
50-54 HRC

Ductility (Notched Charpy impact test)
- as laser sintered
- after age hardening*


45 J + 10 J
11 J + 4 J

Surface roughness
- after shot-peening
- after polishing


Ra 4 – 6.5 µm
Rz up to < 0.5 µm

Thermal properties of Laser Sintered parts
Coefficient of thermal expansion TBC
Thermal conductivity (at 20ºC) TBC
Maximum operating temperature 400ºC

* Age hardening: 490 ºC / 6h / air cooling



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