There are a few aspects that definitely allow for a faster turnaround time. For a start, it’s more predictable as each layer takes the same amount of time to be printed, regardless of the contours or size of the build. That’s because, for each layer, the entire print bed gets fused at once, as opposed to a laser scanning the entire surface.

Secondly, it has an option of fast cooling which requires less cool down time than SLS (10 hours for the full build instead of 24 hours). However, this option will be chosen on a case-by-case basis, depending on the parts in each build, as it may cause slight deformations in the parts.

Combined with parts having a better surface quality by default and the possible finishing steps that are skipped by that, parts can be delivered faster. As a result, idle time is limited and machines can start building the next build earlier.

With the combination of the longer building time in SLS together with the slower cool down time, MJF is significantly faster from setup to final removal of parts. This is particularly true for highly detailed parts where the SLS process takes longer.