For the DMLS routing, you can specify the following process setup options:

By default, the height of each layer to be sintered is halfway between the machine’s minimum and maximum layer thickness (specified by the machine properties Minimum Layer Thickness and Maximum Layer Thickness). Users can override the default with the setup option. See the formula for Number of Layers in Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

By default, the space allowance around nested parts is specified by the cost model variable nestingAllowance (5mm in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default nesting allowance with this setup option See Number of Parts for Metal Sintering.

With true-part-shape nesting, the cost engine uses an internal algorithm that considers multiple candidate nesting arrangements using a variety of part orientations. By default, the various orientations differ by an angle specified by the cost model variable defaultUtilizationStepAngle (90° in starting point VPEs).

With this setup option, users can specify a step angle for the cost engine to use in order to generate additional candidate orientations—smaller nesting angles result in the consideration of a greater number of candidate nesting arrangements (which increases costing time, but may result in more efficient nesting).

Note that when the user specifies a step angle, the default candidate orientations are still included for consideration.

See Number of Parts for Metal Sintering.

By default, this is the maximum number of parts that can fit on the build platform, with a border around each part whose width is specified by the cost model variable nestingAllowance (5mm in starting point VPEs) or the setup option Nesting Allowance. With the setup option Number of Parts, users can override the default on a part-by-part basis, and specify a number of parts. See Number of Parts for Metal Sintering.

Note that when you override the default with this setup option, the Material Nesting diagram can no longer be displayed.

This option specifies the height of the base support structure which forms a buffer between the build platform and the part. The default base height depends on the base-structure-removal process included in the current routing. The routing might include any of the processes listed below. Each base-removal process has an associated cost model variable that specifies the default base height for that process:

Users can override the default base height with this setup option; such an override applies regardless of the base-structure-removal process in the current routing. See Machine Feasibility for Metal Sintering, Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering, and Material Cost Formulas for Metal Sintering.

This controls the speed at which the recoater blade travels across the machine bed to spread the powder. By default, it is specified by the cost model variable dmlsPowderRecoatSpeedOver (76mm/sec in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default with this setup option. See the formula for Recoat Time per Layer in Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

This controls the speed at which the recoater blade returns to its starting point after spreading the powder. By default, it is specified by the cost model variable dmlsPowderRecoatSpeedReturn (200mm/sec in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default with the setup option. See the formula for Recoat Time per Layer in Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

By default, the time taken to fit and level the build plate in the machine bed is specified by the cost model variable dmlsFitBuildPlateTime (300 seconds in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default on a part-by-part basis with this setup option. See the formula for Preparation Time in Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

This option controls the time to load the part model into the machine software and splice it into layers. By default, the time is specified by the cost model variable loadFileAndSpliceTime (0.25 hours in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default with this option. See the formula for Amortized Batch Setup in Labor and Setup Formulas for Metal Sintering.

This controls the time taken to remove the oxygen from the build chamber prior to part construction. The default time is specified by the cost model variable dmlsPurgeDuration (1800 seconds in starting point VPEs). See the formula for Preparation Time in Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

By default, the time per part to heat the build chamber is specified by the cost model variable dmlsHeatChamberTime (3600 seconds in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default on a part-by-part basis with this setup option. See Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.

By default, the time per part to cool the build chamber after a sintering cycle is specified by the cost model variable dmlsCoolChamberTime (3600 seconds in starting point VPEs). Users can override the default on a part-by-part basis with this setup option. See Cycle Time Formulas for Metal Sintering.