Metal (DMLS)
Direct Metal Laser Sintering for fully dense metal parts. Available in stainless steel 316L, aluminum AlSi10Mg, titanium Ti64, and Inconel 718.
About Metal (DMLS)
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) produces fully dense metal parts directly from CAD data by selectively melting metal powder with a high-power laser. DMLS parts achieve 99.5%+ density with mechanical properties equivalent to wrought metal.
FabRapid prints in stainless steel 316L, aluminum AlSi10Mg, titanium Ti-6Al-4V, and Inconel 718. DMLS is ideal for complex geometries that would be impossible or prohibitively expensive to machine — such as conformal cooling channels, topology-optimized structures, and internal lattices.
DMLS parts typically require post-processing: stress relief heat treatment, removal from the build plate, support removal, and surface finishing (bead blasting, machining of critical surfaces). FabRapid handles the complete workflow from design review through finished parts.
Material Properties
Available Alloy Grades
Stainless Steel 316L
Corrosion-resistant austenitic steel with excellent ductility. The most cost-effective DMLS metal.
Medical devices, food processing, tooling inserts, general-purpose functional parts
Aluminum AlSi10Mg
Lightweight aluminum alloy with good strength and thermal conductivity. Heat-treatable.
Aerospace brackets, heatsinks, automotive components, lightweight structures
Titanium Ti-6Al-4V
High-strength, lightweight, biocompatible titanium alloy. The gold standard for aerospace and medical DMLS.
Aerospace structural parts, medical implants, motorsport components, satellite hardware
Inconel 718
Nickel superalloy for extreme temperature and corrosive environments. Maintains strength at 700°C.
Turbine components, rocket engine parts, chemical processing, nuclear applications
Compatible Manufacturing Processes
Metal (DMLS) can be processed using these manufacturing methods.
Available Surface Finishes
Surface treatments compatible with Metal (DMLS).
Common Applications
Design Guidelines for Metal (DMLS)
Minimum wall thickness: 0.4 mm — thinner than CNC but requires careful orientation planning
Design self-supporting angles (> 45° from horizontal) to minimize support structures
Add 0.3-0.5 mm stock to critical surfaces for post-machining to achieve tight tolerances
Escape holes (≥ 3 mm) required for enclosed volumes to remove unfused powder
Topology optimization and lattice structures can reduce weight by 40-60% while maintaining strength
Metal (DMLS) FAQ
As-printed DMLS tolerances are typically ±0.1-0.2 mm for small features and ±0.2-0.5 mm for overall dimensions. Critical surfaces are typically post-machined to achieve ±0.01-0.05 mm. Heat treatment (stress relief) before removing from the build plate is essential for dimensional accuracy.
For simple geometries, CNC is almost always more cost-effective. DMLS becomes competitive when: the geometry is very complex (deep internal channels, lattices), the buy-to-fly ratio is poor (machining wastes > 80% of expensive material like titanium), or the part combines multiple components into one. Generally, DMLS excels at complex, low-volume parts in expensive materials.
Yes. Properly processed DMLS parts achieve 99.5%+ density and mechanical properties that meet or exceed wrought specifications after appropriate heat treatment. Titanium Ti-6Al-4V DMLS parts routinely meet ASTM F3001 requirements for surgical implants.
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