I began openSLS as an inaugural fellow at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Rice University, housed in Dr. Jordan Miller's lab for Advanced Microphysiological Systems in the Fall of 2013 and the lab has continued to develop the system and to publish research conducted on openSLS.
During the construction and testing of the first and second gen openSLS powder handling modules, I began to experiment with laser sintering Iron and eventually steel particles. I found that localized inert gas shielding could be very effective in mitigating oxidation (see images 2 and 3 below). These experiments provided the groundwork for the openDMLS project that I pursued at Autodesk as an Artist in Residence.