Yes — SLS 3D printing is industrially mature for production runs of 10 to 100,000+ parts per year. Parts on Demand runs 11 industrial machines (3x EOS P500 dual-laser + 7x EOS P396 + 1x EOS P110) in parallel, with traceability, QC, and lead times from 3 working days — including repeat batches.
Why SLS works for production runs
SLS is process-wise mature for production runs because the printer is a closed thermal system: lasers, bed temperature and ambient heating are controlled. Result: print-to-print repeatability within ±5% on mechanical properties, and within ±0.1-0.3 mm on dimensions. For most industrial tolerances that’s enough.
More importantly: with SLS there is no tooling. A run of 10 parts and a run of 10,000 parts use the same digital production file. Design changes between batches go straight into production — no tool rework, no NRE cost per revision. For sectors where the design evolves (medical devices, agriculture, robotics aftermarket) that’s decisive.
For regulated applications we offer PA12 Blue MD with FDA + EC1935/2004 documentation. Per batch we deliver a Certificate of Analysis with material traceability and production parameters.
How does Parts on Demand scale production runs?
Our capacity: 11 industrial EOS machines. Three EOS P500 dual-laser systems for large runs (build volume 500x330x400 mm each), seven EOS P396 for medium runs (340x340x600 mm), and one EOS P110 for small, fast batches.
The P500 dual-laser runs two lasers in parallel, halving build time compared to a single-laser machine. That makes runs of 1,000-10,000+ parts per year economically viable without losing margin on machine hours.
For larger annual volumes (10,000-100,000+) we deploy PA 950 HD: this material is optimised for high powder reuse (up to 80%), lowering material cost per part by about 35%. Typical use: industrial brackets, enclosures, ducting, manifolds.
When is SLS not the right call for production?
SLS is not the right call for:
- Runs above 100,000 parts per year on stable designs — injection molding wins on cost-per-part there
- Parts that must be PC, ABS, PP or glass-clear material — those polymers are not available in SLS powder
- Very thin walls under 0.8 mm — SLS has a minimum wall constraint due to powder-bed mechanics
- High-gloss surface requirements as-shipped — SLS parts have a slightly grainy surface by default
- Tolerances tighter than ±0.1 mm — these require CNC post-machining or a different process
In several of these cases customers use a hybrid strategy: SLS for first batches, injection molding once the design stabilises and the volume justifies it.