Woah…
http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=x-CktCpdc6o&u=/watch?v%3D8equ02z-s8U%26feature%3Dshare
Yeah, hobby filament printers have a way to go.
When do the patents expire for selective laser sintering?.. I’m sure once that happens there will be plenty of hobby level products popping up.
Wonder of we can 3d print the respirators we’ll need for that? 
@Mike_Miller , respirators are cheap… Divorce is not.
After some reading, I am happy to avoid printing with powder.
The problem for me that no one points out about SLS or resin printing is that you cannot have a hollow, sealed space. The space would be filled with powder/resin. Hollow items are possible with FDM.
Just a minor limitation on those amazing technologies.
@Carlton_Dodd Eh, a small hole in the right place/places takes care of it. Inverted SLA machines can print hollow parts without any problem. The majority of DIY SLA machines are inverted because it’s a little easier to do and requires much less resin volume.
@Ben_Malcheski Truth. A small hole could be easily sealed also, if needed.
So, ‘inverted’ as in ‘pull the part up, out of the material’. I guess I never noticed that!
Thanks for the info.
Is the Laser (or DLP) above or below then?
Above… But the speed makes me wonder if there’s more than one up there.
Any small focused heat source can do what SLS printers do , such as inductive heating for metal (requires high frequency, high voltage AC circuit) or infrared or ultrasonic emission for plastic. Eliminating the usage of a laser would make similar technology accessible.
http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Induction_Sintering
Induction is done with a coil. Ultrasonic welding is done with a transducer, which is partly coil and partly magnet from my understanding. In theory these would be approachable to enthusiastic hobbyist. I suggest shielding the unit with a Faraday Cage (wire mesh) to ensure compliance to FCC regulations. FCC doesn’t joke around.