A special method to manufacture metallic microstructures is SLM. It is one of the rare generative methods for metals and is normally taken into the list of rapid prototyping technologies. The technique is completely different than the abrasive techniques described so a base platformmade of the desiredmetalmaterial, a thin layer of a metal powder is distributed. A focused laser beam is ducted along the structure lines given by a 3DCADmodel,which is controlled by a the laser exposure, themetal powder ismelted, forming a welding bead. The first layer of welding beads forming a copy of the 3D CAD structure is generated. .
