Category: Guides & How-To

Steel prints two ways: SLM melts it, binder jetting glues and sinters it. Which six grades actually run in industry, what density and tolerance each process holds, and where printing steel loses to machining or casting.

SLS sinters powder particles at their surfaces; SLM melts them completely. The difference decides materials, supports and density, and it decides which process can make the part at all. Side by side, with failure modes and cost.

Five families, one page: sand binder jetting, SLS, metal binder jetting, SLM and large-format systems — build volumes from 160 mm to 4 m and the 2026 ex-works price band for each.

How selective laser melting works step by step – density, materials, support structures and their real cost, when SLM is the wrong choice, and gradient parts.

How binder jetting and SLM metal 3D printers differ – density, supports, alloys, throughput and what drives the US,000-570,000 price band.

Six commercial rapid prototyping routes compared on lead time, tolerance, surface finish and cost per part, with the quantity where tooling takes over.

The mold-making operation itself: pattern allowances by alloy, sand and binder targets, ramming and mold hardness, gating and riser design, vents, closing, pouring temperatures and shakeout – plus when a printed sand mold removes the pattern entirely.

How lost wax casting works, step by step: pattern waxes, ceramic shells, dewaxing, burnout, pouring, tolerances and the defects to watch for.

Industrial SLS pricing bands, coated sand and PSB wax consumables, laser time and a per-part worked example, with a worksheet for filling in your own local costs.

The sand casting process from pattern to finished part: six steps, five molding methods compared, sand and binder selection, gating and riser design, and pattern options.