I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Inova Mk1 and Easy Post Processing Kit. I purchased the full kit in September of 2024 and was impressed with the care and attention put into labeling and packaging of all components. The interactive instructions were very helpful, especially being able to rotate the 3D models to get different perspectives while assembling. I assembled the kit over the course of a couple of months due to my preoccupation as a PhD student, but as mentioned in the description it would be possible to assemble the kit within 4 days.
The print quality is truly amazing. The selective laser sintering process can capture fine details such as 6-32 threads and the powder-based layers removing the need for supports. Constraints such as part orientation and design for additive manufacturing no longer present too much of an issue. I’ve worked with numerous additive manufacturing processes such as FDM and SLA and the part quality from this printer is best I’ve ever seen.
That being said, there are several costs and challenges I encountered. Material and powder cost for SLS is around $100 per kg vs $10 – $20 per kg for FDM printing. I found that proper wiring of all the components was the most difficult part of this build as some areas of printer are difficult to reach. One last thing, powder is messy and PPE such as disposable gloves and respiratory protection is something you’ll need to invest in. I’d recommend the EPP kit as it saves so much time (30 minutes vs. 2 hours of manual sifting) and is the most affordable option on the market right now.
Throughout the whole process, Tomas and Pavel have been so helpful. From facilitating the purchase to individual help on assembly process, the two along with all the members of the discord server have made the whole assembly and print process enjoyable. I’m really happy that a process like SLS has been made more accessible and I look forward to what the team at SLS4All has next!
