Our newest machine is an EOS Formiga P100. To the left you can see a picture on it. The thing with the wires in front of it is not part of the machine by the way, it is a webcam so the production guys can keep an eye on it. The EOS Formiga P100 is a Selective Laser Sintering machine made by EOS gmbh of Germany. EOS was founded in 1989 and has revenues of 70 million Euros and is the largest manufacturer of Laser Sintering systems. You’re supposed to call them E, O, S but most say EOS.
Selective Laser Sintering is almost always referred to as SLS. Strictly speaking SLS is not 3D printing but a competing technology. Most people now use 3D printing as a catch all for all Rapid Manufacturing processes though. In this previous post I gave a definition of 3D printing and tried to explain the differences.
The SLS process works with a laser that selectively hardens your part. The object is made from a 
very fine powder. With SLS the build platform on which your part is being built goes up as your object “grows.” The powder is applied to the build platform, the laser hardens the part and the rest of the powder remains. Then the platform moves higher and a new layer of powder is applied. The hardened part is then at the end lifted out of what has by now become a big block of powder. The remaining powder acts as a support material and can be re-used(for a limited amount of time). 
You can SLS plastics, sand and even metals such as titanium. The Shapeways White, Strong & Flexible material comes out of the EOS. The material used is called Fine Polyamide PA 2200. The term polyamide might not be very well known but Nylon is a rather famous polyamide. Nylon 6 is a very common hard polyamide. The PA 2200 material is a polyamide 12. 
It is white and feels powdery to the touch. The material melts at 80 degrees Celcius and consists of spherical powder that has an average grain size of 60 μm. 60 μm is about 8.5 times bigger than an X chromosome or twice the size of a skin cell as this nifty graphic tells us(use the slider!). If you want detailed information about the material we have the Material Safety Data Sheet here.
The good thing about White, Strong & Flexible is that it looks good and is an interesting material to touch.
The resolution or accuracy is also high compared to other systems. The material can get dirty with the grease on your hands though. The material is also strong & flexible as you can see here. You can make live hinges with it as well as mechanical assemblies. It is very versatile and you can use a lot of different paints to paint it. It looks good for sculpture type objects and has translucent properties when thin that we used for our Photoshaper.
The EOS Formiga P100 itself is the baby of the EOS family. Having said that it is still as big as a coke machine
and costs between $150,000-240,000 depending on what you buy along with it. It uses a 30 Watt carbon dioxide laser and is capable of a layer thickness of 0.1mm. The maximum build volume is 20cm by 25 by 33(7.9 inches by 9.8 by 13).
The advantages of the machine are that removing support material is simple and quick compared to other processes. You simply take it out and for delicate parts use compressed air to blow away the powder. The laser does require some time to warm up though. All in all it is a great machine and definitely outperforms any other SLS systems in its price category.
On our forum there are lots of examples and pictures of White, Strong & Flexible models: here are some pictures of a reed manifold for a Vespa, a beautiful dish and a spiral necklace. You can also find more models in our Shops.
Hi Joris,
I’d be curious to know if the spare support material is reusable, like with the plaster powder in 3D printing.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris,
it is reusable. You can re-use the left over powder a few times but not indefinitely.
Joris
Thanks for the info about the type of printers used for the white, strong, and flexible materials. Whenever I show people my printed models they always ask what its made out of and how its made, and now I know some more information to tell them about it. It’s interesting to know that the material is similar to nylon. I would not have guessed that from seeing and feeling it myself.
As for the material itself, I can vouch for it being strong and flexible. At first glance I doubted it a little myself, but after some failed attempts at breaking my model I now know better. The finished product’s texture is similar to that of a sand dollar, and from my own models I can see that it is capable of some very fine details.
I’d also like to say thanks for the link to my model, the Spiral Necklace. I already feel like part of the community here after only a few weeks and hope to put some more of my designs up soon!
-NShortino
NShortino,
What exactly is a sand dollar?
I’m glad you already feel so welcome here! I thought Spiral Necklace was a great model and can’t wait what more you have to show us all.
Joris
Joris,
A sand dollar is a flat, round animal similar to a sea urchin or starfish, but when I was referring to its texture I was talking about the skeletons that wash up on beaches in the Eastern US (and I’m sure some other places). The skeletons are usually white when you find them and are slightly rough to the touch, similar to the white, strong, and flexible material.
If you do a google image search for ‘sand dollar’ you can find some good pictures of them.
-NShortino
Thank you!
I did do a google image search of sand dollar but did not know what they felt like.
Hey there. I do lost wax casting, and I also 3D model a bit. I was wondering if Polyamide is something I can melt like wax, and how it melts. I imagine it releases some pretty toxic vapors? I have access to a facility with the proper ventilation but still, just wondering, because I could make some pieces that I need to be super precise, and this is an easy, accessible way.
thanks!
Hi Joris,
I found this interesting blog by searching for a design houses in Europe that working with the FORMIGA P100 and can make us the first prototype of our design.
if you know that kind of design house, can you please contact me by email.
Thanks in advance,
Meital
What other printers do you guys use? How do you print in things like brass and silver?