The enclosure is usually finalised towards the end of an electronics project, once the board and connectors are fixed. For small runs (prototypes, batches of tens or hundreds of devices), an SLS enclosure avoids the cost of a mould and lets you move a connector or add a ventilation slot without paying for tooling again.
Standard PA12 parts come out grey and can be dyed black. If you need white or another colour, PA12 White can be dyed in various shades. The surface is matte and slightly grainy after blasting. To close the enclosure, use snap fits sized for nylon or heat-set brass threaded inserts. Formlabs also lists PA11 and PA12 as suitable for self-tapping screws.
On flammability, Formlabs PA12, PA12 GF and PA11 are rated UL 94 HB, tested on 3 mm specimens. HB is the lowest rating in UL 94, so these are not flame-retardant materials. If your product requires V-0 or another rating, tell us at the start, because our current range has no flame-retardant material. Certification of the final product remains the responsibility of the manufacturer.
Why SLS
- No mould is needed, so the cut-outs for connectors, buttons and displays can change from one batch to the next.
- Internal ribs, bosses for inserts and thin walls come out without supports.
- Nylon snap fits survive repeated assembly better than snap fits made from standard SLA resins.
- The base and lid are printed in the same build and with the same orientation, which helps them fit together.
Parts we often print
- Enclosures for IoT sensors, gateways and development boards
- Covers with ventilation slots and connector cut-outs
- Clips and holders for DIN rail mounted boards
- Bezels and masks for displays
- Buttons, levers and battery covers
- Cable guides and cable strain relief parts
- Mounts for antennas and radio modules
Design tips
- For threaded inserts, size the hole from the insert manufacturer's data sheet and leave enough material around the boss.
- Snap fits have to flex in the XY plane. Tell us in your request which faces of the enclosure are visible, so that we can choose the orientation.
- For a lid and base printed separately, Formlabs recommends a clearance of 0.2 mm on features under 20 mm² and 0.4 mm on larger ones.
- Closed walls do not make a printed enclosure watertight. For protection against water and dust, design in a gasket and test the assembled enclosure.
- For embossed text and logos, use a character height of at least 4.5 mm, and for engraved text at least 3 mm (Formlabs values for PA12). Choose a bold font.
The full rules are in the SLS design guide.