Design for additive
Channels are redesigned as smooth curves with self-supporting cross sections, and machining stock is added on sealing faces and ports.
METAL 3D PRINTING
SLM Printed Manifold with Internal Channels
A typical compact hydraulic or air manifold produced by selective laser melting, with curved internal channels that cannot be drilled, then CNC-finished on every sealing face and port.
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Typical requirements
- Component
- Manifold block with internal channels
- Material
- AlSi10Mg
- Process
- SLM, stress relief, CNC finishing
- Critical features
- Port threads, O-ring grooves, sealing faces
- Finish
- Bead blast; machined faces Ra 1.6 µm
- Inspection
- Channel flow check, CMM on machined features
Engineering considerations
- A drilled-and-plugged design relies on cross drillings that can leave dead zones and need many sealing plugs.
- Curved channels need to remain self-supporting during printing so no supports are trapped inside.
- As-printed surfaces are usually too rough for O-ring seals and threaded ports.
- Machining datums need to be designed into the printed blank so the CNC operation can locate it reliably.
Typical manufacturing route
SLM printing
Parts are oriented to minimise supports on functional faces and printed in AlSi10Mg on a powder-bed fusion system.
Post-processing
Stress relief before removal from the build plate, support removal and powder clean-out of every channel.
CNC finishing
Sealing faces, O-ring grooves and threaded ports are machined from printed datum pads in a dedicated fixture.
Typical inspection plan
- Every channel checked for blockage and loose powder with compressed air before shipment. Where the manifold carries pressure or has a cleanliness limit, the leak or pressure test (medium, pressure, hold time and allowed leak rate) and the cleanliness requirement are agreed in the quotation.
- Machined faces, port positions and thread gauging inspected on CMM and with thread plug gauges.
- Surface roughness of sealing faces verified with a portable roughness tester.
Applying this to your part
The actual route, tolerances, inspection scope and records are agreed for each drawing during quotation.
Engineering guides for parts like this
Engineering guideMachining SLM Printed Metal Parts: Supports, Datums and Which Features to FinishHow small SLM printed metal parts are prepared for CNC finishing: which features to machine, how much stock to add, using the build plate…Read the guideEngineering guideSLM Porosity: How Laser Power, Scan Speed, Layer Thickness and Powder Affect Part DensityWhy SLM metal parts end up porous: lack of fusion, keyhole and gas pores, the laser settings and powder condition behind them, and where…Read the guide
See also our custom machined parts.
PROJECT INQUIRY
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Send the drawing, material, quantity and the features that control assembly. An engineer replies within one business day; NDAs are signed on request.
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