Loire Valleys largest Château recreated in SLS.

Some four hundred and fifty years after construction began on one of Frances most iconic architectural landmarks, Rapid Prototyping bureau Laser Prototypes have unveiled a scale model of Château de Chambord, produced entirely in using the Selective Laser Sintering process.

With some 11 kinds of tower and 3 types of chimney the complex roof scape alone would represent a significant challenge for any model making process, particularly in light of the customers tight project lead times. With rapid build times, and the ability to produce complex geometries with minimal post production processing the Selective Laser Sintering Process would prove the ideal process for meeting the project brief.

Customer supplied 3D CAD data of the Château was sliced into a series of 2D cross sectional layers using proprietary software to create an STL file. Once compiled this file was then fed to the companies SLS machine, where the model was grown layer by layer on a bed of PA Nylon powder.  Parts produced in the Selective Laser Sintering process require no support structure, as the Nylon powder proves self supporting with minimal clean up required, ensuring no damage to fragile/ fine features of the Château chimneys and towers.