SLS4All - Affordable SLS 3D Printer

First of all – ORDERS ARE OPEN! You can now order a complete set of parts to build your Inova SLS printer. Two batches of 15 sets are currently open. One for delivery in September ’24, the other in October ’24. Check out our store for all the details.

Secondly – Inova is becoming open source as promised. We’ve started with the hardware, which means that:

• full BOMs
• schematics for the GATE1 and ZERO1 expansion boards
• the complete Live! as well as a downloadable 3D model of the Inova printer

are now available in the members section.

We have also done most of the FW and SW pre-publishing activities. So, the SLS4All Compact software package will also be released very soon.

Hunt For The Best Print Quality - Close To The Perfect Setup?

Testing and tuning of the release candidate version of my DIY SLS 3D printer is in full swing. It's been over a year since testing my first prototype, so I've been full of anticipation and uncertainty. I'm happy to report that testing of my new version, which I call the Inova MK1, is well under way. The first results after solving many, many issues look really promising.

Winter is here :-)

If you're wondering what I was working on in last 10 months, here is the vid showing the design changes of my printer I've made to the second evolution of my printer ;-)

Work on the upgraded version of the printer has progressed on all fronts, including firmware and software.

I dare to call it a Release Candidate, and I firmly believe it will be.

After thorough testing, I will fine-tune the documentation, which will then be available as open source.

I have finished designing an updated version of my SLS 3D printer. I have now started to produce individual parts and components. I have begun fabricating the printer cover panels and will continue with the construction of the frame from the extruded aluminum profiles.

Based on the recent print tests I realized I am much too close to the physical limits of the current printer prototype to get the best print quality I can. Therefore, I decided to focus my efforts on the development of the updated version which addresses these limits. From my perspective it is more time effective than to upgrade first prototype.

I have already finished the design of the bottom printer's part. The top printer’s part is finished from say 80%, so I think I will start building it in about a month. If it works well, I plan to gradually release this version as an open source.

It's been a struggle with time, but finally the video is out showing the testing of the printer :-)

I had some time to think about "the kit" and I have, I hope, a good news because your interest persuaded me to do it.

My short-plan is as follows: 

1) I need to tune the printer to make nice, repeatable prints. I believe it should not take too long. It could be done in a couple of weeks. Simultaneously, I plan to start some preparatory activities for kit. These will mostly relate to organizational and logistical aspects.

2) Make design changes I am calling v2 and do the documentation - drawings, assembly manual, source codes, etc.

3) Build and test v2. Here will be also a good space to fine-tune assembly manual, etc.

4) Finalize all the manufacturing and logistical aspects, announce prices, delivery dates, etc.

5) Open pre-orders, start making kits and publish the Inova documentation (DXFs, STLs, manuals, FW, SW, ...)

6) Support you in building your own Inova (kit or your own build from scratch) :-)

When it will be?

It is not a small bite but I will do my best to be able to deliver first kits to you by the end of autumn. Let's fingers crossed. I will keep you informed about the progress of the steps above on a regular basis.

As a result of the last print test I spent many hours by finding the right way how to ensure the best possible heat distribution/consistency across the print bed surface. Problem was, some areas of bed surface were under or over heated.

I ended up with new halogen shielding and quite simple procedure how to tune it. Unfortunately, current design of the topFrame limits me in making heat distribution good enough for the whole print bed area. As a result of that I must use smaller print space in the Y axis for further testing. It will be around 130mm instead of 150mm. But good is, that it should not be problem to fixed that. So, the final working area will be still 150x150mm 😉

Here is the pict of what I am talking about. The orange rectangle is the 150x150mm effective print area - it is rectangle because of camera view perspective. I need to have the temps diffs max about 2.5°C. Therefore, the top and bottom row inside the rectangle is a bit problematic. The test was done for 100°C.

When I checked video from the last print, there was a diffs range up to 5+°C :-o

I will make the next print test in coming days.

I did 3 tests past two weeks and here are the results. If you are intersted in more details please join Discord - https://discord.com/invite/qDFNFASM57

 Test nr. 1 - first few sintered layers on my printer ever!

Test nr. 2 - moving forward, now it starts to be really 3D :-)

Test nr. 3 - last time numbers were not printed. Now they are! Few more print tests like this one and then Benchy is waiting :-)