Design Guidelines

Support Considerations

In the metal 3D printing process (Selective Laser Melting, SLM), the ideal part design minimizes the need for supports, which are temporary structures. Supports are required for surfaces that form an angle of less than 45 degrees with the horizontal plane (XY plane or machine table). After fabrication, the supports are removed, often leaving separation marks that typically require surface treatment.

In some cases, parts may have areas where removing supports is challenging or inaccessible. To address this, the design must be adjusted to eliminate surfaces with slopes less than 45 degrees. Without such adjustments, manufacturing the part using this method may not be feasible.

Support Structures

This image shows a typical built platform of the SLM process. The support structure requires ample time and proper tooling to be removed efficiently. However, the designer can minimise the amount of support by considering some tricks and tips.
In addition, support-free technology from Eplus3D can mitigate much of limitations of the process where access for removing the support is limited.

Some design tips and feasible feature sizes are shown in this table.

WHY E-3DMETAL?

Our long history in system design and delivering high-quality complex systems with our deep and extensive experience in metal 3D printing can assist your business in adopting the benefits of AM technology.