After months of testing earlier this year, MNL are proud to announce another first in the UK. Innov'PA 1550 is a completely new Nylon SLS powder producing parts with a superior surface finish. With the look and feel much closer to injection moulded components, Innov'PA 1550 is a cut above other Nylon SLS powders.

Innov'PA 1550 with its more “plastic like” behaviour, is based on a new formula and a radically different manufacturing process. The improvement in the mechanical properties, and its ability to produce finer detail is down to a smaller grain size resulting in better cohesion between layers. This polyamide powders natural colour is white-cream. Innov'PA produces models that are functional with excellent chemical resistance. These properties make components more suitable for rapid manufacture, than other Nylon powders.

New Powder enables Vacuum Metallizing on to SLS

With the first installation in the UK of a new SLS powder, Malcolm Nicholls Limited is now able to vacuum metallize straight onto SLS parts. Innova'PA has a finer surface finish that is reducing finishing, enabling for the first time, intricate SLS parts to be vacuum metallized.

Vacuum metallizing onto SLA parts was not successful due to the high temperature involved in the Metallizing process. Metallizing early SLS parts were also not too successful either as the “furry” surface finish meant that a lot of detail was lost in the finishing process.

In the past Malcolm Nicholls Limited has produced vacuum metallized parts, but this was a lengthy process. Firstly MNL would produce a master model using Stereolithography. Hand finishing followed using our skilled model makers to apply a perfect gloss finish to the model. This itself can take some time to get the end result just right. From this master a silicon tool would be produced; into this tool a high-temp polyurethane resin would be poured, producing a perfect replica, suitable for the metallizing process.

This however has all changed; MNL now offer a superior new SLS nylon, Innov'PA. This material coupled with our Hi-Q Sinterstation gives the component a much improved surface finish, thus creating a better surface to apply our gloss technique. The silicon tooling and vacuum casting steps are no longer needed yielding typical savings of 30-40% on both cost and timescales.