Is This the End of Affordable SLS 3D Printing?

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing has traditionally been out of reach for most small businesses and independent manufacturers, with high costs and complex workflows keeping it reserved for large-scale production. But with recent price drops, startups like micronics and accessibility improvements—especially with the Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W—that’s changing fast.

In this video, we break down why SLS is now a viable option for more businesses and engineers than ever before. We also dive into the Micronics acquisition—a story that got the 3D printing community buzzing. Did Formlabs really buy out the competition to kill low-cost SLS? Or was this a strategic move to develop something even better? We examine what actually happened, separating fact from speculation.

Why Should You Care About SLS?

If you’re running low-to-mid volume production, need functional prototypes, or want a cost-effective alternative to injection molding, SLS printing is worth your attention. Unlike FDM (filament) printing, SLS doesn’t require support structures, allowing for high-density batch printing. That means you can pack as many parts as possible into the build chamber, hit print, and come back the next day to a completed run—without worrying about adhesion, supports, or warping.

With the Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W, we’ve been batch-printing hundreds of parts at a time, including nylon 12, nylon 11, carbon-fiber-reinforced materials, and glass-filled composites—all with incredible precision and durability.

Is SLS More Cost-Effective Than Injection Molding?

For many businesses, the answer is yes. Consider this:

• A single injection mold for nylon parts can cost $10,000+—before you’ve even made a part.
• If you only need 10,000 parts or fewer, the total cost of an SLS system (printer, post-processing, and materials) can be lower than injection molding.
• SLS allows for rapid iteration and customization, something injection molding doesn’t offer.

By downloading Formlabs’ free software, you can even load in your parts and instantly calculate batch yield, print time, and material usage, making it easy to assess whether SLS makes sense for your production needs.

What Really Happened to Micronics?

When Formlabs acquired Micronics, a startup working on a sub-$10,000 desktop SLS printer, the internet erupted with claims that Formlabs was eliminating competition. But was that really the case?

Here’s what we know:

• Micronics was operating at an unsustainable price point. The margins likely wouldn’t have supported long-term operations, which could have led to failure or bankruptcy.

• Formlabs didn’t just buy the tech—they brought the founders onto their team. Instead of shutting down Micronics, they integrated the engineers into Formlabs’ SLS division, allowing them to continue developing next-generation SLS solutions.

• The official statement from Formlabs claims they acquired Micronics to “develop the next generation of accessible SLS.”

Could this mean an even more affordable SLS machine is on the horizon? Time will tell—but if there’s one thing we do know, it’s that SLS is more accessible now than it’s ever been.

Should You Invest in SLS?

For businesses that need functional, durable parts in materials like nylon, carbon fiber, or glass-filled composites, SLS offers a scalable and cost-effective solution. If you’re considering adding SLS to your workflow, now is the time to start evaluating your options.

Want to learn more?

📌 Watch our full SLS printing guide here: [Insert Link]
📌 Check out the Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W: [Insert Link]

If you’re interested in using functional 3D printing materials for engineering, manufacturing, or prototyping, reach out to us at Vision Miner. We specialize in high-performance plastics like PEEK, ULTEM, PPSU, PPS, CFPA, and more, plus professional 3D scanning solutions to streamline your workflow.

📞 Call us at 833-774-6863

Follow Us for More

00:00 Introduction
00:17 Who is SLS 3D Printing for?
01:10 Is SLS good for Businesses?
03:29 SLS Metal, Polymer, etc
05:52 How we use the Fuse 1+ 30W in our own 22 IDEX Production
08:14 The Micronics Situation
13:50 Reach out, and we'll help you get set up :)

[nerdtalker]

Yes get the Micronics guys on and have them tell their side of the acquisition story

[mammadoktorn]

PLEASE get the micronics founders on the podcast
, it would make a great video

[HydrationAppreciator]

Frankly, getting the two kids, or anyone from formlabs for that matter, on the pod will be a waste of time. The simple truth is that they probably won't (can't) say anything more than has already been said. I personally still don't believe formlabs have any intention of pursuing an affordable desktop/hobbyist machine, and I think the US is perhaps the least likely place on earth to encounter some form of 'corporate altruism.' The guy who was making calls to backers offering a formlabs machine discount and access to their "open material license" certainly seemed to have been coached to carefully avoid discussing the Micron's fate.

Maybe micronics would have fizzled out under the crowdfunding model, or maybe they could have miraculously succeeded. In any case, now we'll likely never know how the economics play out in that particular scenario. I get that you guys target corporate clients and therefore have a very different perspective on this stuff, but I think backers do have a right to be pissed. Affordable home SLS stands a real chance to set off a 'home small parts/low marginal cost manufacturing revolution' that people have been hoping for and teasing from FDM for years, and I think people perceived that (potential) promise as having been snatched away, and *that's* why the response was so overwhelming and negative. Let me tell you, after seeing that formlabs require an $11, 899 license to remove powdered plastic DRM from their machine, I am certainly feeling regret having backed their Form 1 kickstarter (I got a shirt from the campaign because I couldn't afford anything back then but I wanted affordable hobbyist SLA to succeed).

I would much rather hear from the guy behind the ~$7k SLS4All Inova kit printer on the podcast. At least he will probably be open to discussing specifics about the machine and the economics of his project.

[RetroByLaw]

FORMLABS did kill the competition its simple nothing complicated about it

[jordannall]

Remember that time we almost had cheap sls? Yeahh good times, good times

[marshallb]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Micronics guys were looking for a buyout and didn't intend to bring anything to market. That's just modern day America nowadays.

[brezovprut]

Acquiring Micronics is most disappointing news for 3DP industry I came across in last 2 years. I encourage everyone to support open source SLS projects to counter the greedy policy of well established companies that kill each one budget SLS competition (first Swedish WeMatter, followed by Swiss Sintratec and US Micronics)

[o_tdiggity]

A common issue I've noticed for awhile is that people don't value 3d printed parts to make the $50k for an SLS setup justifiable. Once the customer find out it's been 3d printed, something in their mind gets triggered and they believe it should cost $1. This is in the aftermarket automotive space.

[gunsmoke]

I think it's pretty cut dry and simple form Labs bought them out so they didn't have to compete with anyone so that they can keep their prices unreasonably High. Simple as that.

[BigFx]

Just like in FDM, people who just have printers, and are not in for the tech, have no idea what it means "just" to jump from 65 to 80C chamber, let alone 100+ temps and then hate on your 22idex, I think most don't understand what SLS actually competes with. Glad you made the comparison to injection moulding, because that's exactly it. Mould pricing aside, by the time I get one mould commissioned and delivered to factory, i could have the formlabs system shipped to my door, printed thousands parts already, be done with the production run and switch to another one, and not worry about decommissioning the mould or paying storage fees etc. Seen a video of some dude making and selling usb-c conversions for earpods cases with the fuse. Dude literally built a successful manufacturing company as 1 man show, meeting demand of thousands. You would need top dollar investment and months of production line setup just couple years back.

[EverythingSLS-uw]

Right now the only viable low cost unit is… ~$7K for the SLS4ALL kit. interview the founders Tomas and Pavel. I know it’s not quite a hobbyist printer yet (less than $4K) but lots of opportunity for this machine to improve in cost and design. If you promote competition and it takes away market share from FormLabs maybe they respond with an entry level unit. Even Sinterit announced their lower cost “Suzy” model to be released this year under $20k.

[Elliot]

The MetalMatters and SLS4All projects are two areas that will hopefully make the SLM and SLS a little bit more affordable for smaller printers. it would be great if you could bring attention to those projects.

[DrDoohickie]

I would also like to see the Micronics founders on the podcast. I found your justification for Micronics being bought to help the market and possibly make SLS more accessible to be really informative and thought provoking. I would like to hear more of that sort of business and industry breakdown. Love the content! Very listenable.

[daveisradicle]

Great video, and I hadn't even thought about it from that perspective -- at that price, on the micronics machines, where are the margins? Where are the margins for R&D? At that price how many engineers stateside could they scale out too? Super valid point, thanks guys.

[rescuemethod]

This is a great channel. Can you do a talk on resin printing for engineering applications? Im thinking for shoes as in super tough and impact resistant to use as a bottom unit, to replace molded foamed semi-flexible polyurethane. Also resin to replace a soft foam such as EVA or PU foam, but not a matrix structure, an actual foam structure which has uniform dampening, rebound in all directions. Resin? FDM? SLS?

[Pirate-Printing]

Yes! Please get them on! I don't know how much they would even be able to say but it might be pretty cool

[tomyocom]

If you did not SELL these systems you may have had a different opinion. Creality, any cubic. remembering there early days. Micronics raised 1 million dollars in LESS than 15 minutes. There could have been 10, 000 SLS machines, like early PRUSA's out there, but these kids are smarter are smarter than Joseph and seem to have a better understanding of things. Now the cost is 4x., four times as expensive, why that much ? I did pop a like on this vid by the way. Yes, get these young men on the show! Funny I applied to be support for them in my region, they said who applies on line, you can't be serous. Of course they did not know my background! haha. Then they got bought..

[GabrielAlejandroZorrilla]

guys, can you load the podcasts in Spotify? Love this format. Cheers.

[shirgall]

We'd love to see an interview with those Micronics guys to see how it has been going.

[michaelbraaten]

Yes I want to see that. I’d really like to hear how it’s gone since the acquisition and what the future looks like. I didn’t participate in the kickstarter but I was really excited at the idea of an affordable/hobbyist SLS printer.