ZONGHENG 3D SLS Printer on Kickstarter: Desktop SLS 3D Printer for Nylon Parts
- Jonathan
- 6 hours ago
- 8 min read
Support structures on a desktop print almost always leave cleanup behind: sanding, picking apart, checking for the seam they tore into the surface. Selective laser sintering skips that step by fusing powder instead of filament, but those machines have stayed inside factories, sized for production floors. The Zongheng 3D SLS Printer on Kickstarter shrinks that machine down to desk size.
ZONGHENG3D's campaign closed having raised $250,397 against a $44,602 goal from 40 backers, more than five and a half times its target. The company has spent eight years building industrial SLS printers, with more than 1,300 machines now deployed to universities and businesses worldwide, and the SLS1518 on Kickstarter compresses that engineering into a benchtop unit with its own enclosed post-processing station.
✅ Campaign result: Successfully funded, over 5.6x its $44,602 goal
⭐ Our verdict: 8.7/10, industrial SLS sintering shrunk into a desktop-sized system
💡 Best for: makers, engineers and small businesses that need functional nylon parts in-house
📦 Status: Late pledge open; March 2026 was the original delivery estimate, with no newer fulfillment update supplied
💰 Current price: $8,388 Early Bird, 40% off the $13,980 MSRP
Quick Verdict
Who Is It For?
The SLS1518 is built for makers, engineers and small businesses that need functional, support-free nylon parts without the cost and footprint of an industrial SLS machine, the exact audience Zongheng3D designed it for. It also suits universities and R&D labs that want a benchtop unit for prototyping between larger production runs. Anyone moving up from FDM printing into engineering-grade materials is the other clear buyer here.
Main Strengths
SLS sintering with ±0.2mm dimensional accuracy needs no support structures, so overhangs and mechanical parts avoid the support removal and surface marks typical FDM or resin prints leave behind.
Zongheng3D says a full build can print in under 8 hours, backed by a 10W 450nm diode laser and dual-side powder feeding that speeds up recoating.
The bundled HCL1518 post-processing station is fully enclosed, and Zongheng3D says it recycles 100% of unused powder while cutting cleanup time by roughly 90%.
Zongheng3D says every unit ships CE, FCC and FDA certified, with a Class 1 laser rating and 2-stage carbon and HEPA filtration quiet enough for an office, lab or home workshop.
Zongheng3D includes its VoxelDance SLS Industrial Edition slicing software, a package the company values at $10,000, at no extra cost with every printer.
Main Limitations
This is Zongheng3D's first Kickstarter campaign, and the creator profile lists zero prior backed or completed crowdfunding projects.
Build volume tops out at 160 x 160 x 200mm, sizing the SLS1518 for prototypes and small production runs rather than large single-piece parts.
Zongheng3D's own risk disclosure flags possible delays in raw material supply and mid-production process adjustments during mass manufacturing, and the campaign's original March 2026 delivery estimate has already passed without a published update.
Is the ZONGHENG 3D SLS Printer Worth Backing?
The SLS1518 is worth backing for small manufacturing teams and engineers who want industrial SLS output without the cost and floor space a full industrial machine demands. Hobbyists who print occasionally, or anyone without room for a 100kg, mini-fridge-sized machine plus its post-processing station, should look elsewhere. With no support structures required, an industrial-grade slicing suite included at no extra cost, and CE, FCC and FDA certification already secured, the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 pairs industrial capability with a footprint most competitors can't match at this scale.
ZONGHENG 3D SLS Printer Price on Kickstarter
The Zongheng 3D SLS price starts at $8,388 for the Early Bird bundle, 40% off the $13,980 MSRP, and it remains the only tier open since Zongheng3D capped it at 500 units, with 497 shown as remaining in the campaign material. It bundles one SLS1518 printer, one HCL1518 post-processing machine and 3kg of PA12 powder, with shipping fees and duties confirmed through a post-campaign survey. Buyers who expect to run the printer heavily can add the Build Chamber for $1,192, a $211 saving against its standalone retail cost.
At the Zongheng 3D SLS price of $8,388, the bundle covers the SLS1518 printer, the HCL1518 post-processing machine, VoxelDance SLS Industrial Edition, and 3kg of PA12 powder under one price rather than as separate line items. Zongheng3D positions that as a 40% discount against its planned retail price, and the value case rests on what's actually included at that tier rather than on a claim about what the pieces would cost bought apart. The Zongheng 3D SLS Printer on Kickstarter starts at $8,388.
What Is the ZONGHENG 3D SLS Printer and What Problem Does It Solve?
ZONGHENG3D : Industrial-Grade Sintering Built Into a Mini-Fridge-Sized Frame
The SLS1518 is a desktop selective laser sintering printer: a machine that fuses nylon powder layer by layer with a laser instead of melting filament through a nozzle. Because the surrounding powder bed supports every layer as it prints, the process needs no scaffolding, which is the single biggest difference from the FDM and resin printers most desktop users already own. Zongheng3D houses the whole system in a footprint about the size of a mini fridge, at 600 x 622 x 884mm and roughly 100kg.
Inside, a 10W 450nm diode laser and an industrial-grade galvanometer sinter each layer at 100 to 150 microns, defaulting to 110 microns, while dual-side powder feeding keeps recoating fast and consistent. Zongheng3D built this from eight years of industrial SLS work and more than 1,300 machines already deployed to universities and businesses, and the SLS1518 ships paired with its own HCL1518 post-processing machine rather than leaving powder handling to the buyer.
Why Support-Free Printing Never Left the Factory Floor
Anyone printing functional parts at home eventually hits the same ceiling: FDM needs supports that leave marks and cost time to remove, and resin printing has its own cleanup and post-cure steps before a part is usable. The process that skips all of that, selective laser sintering, has stayed confined to machines sized, priced and powered for factory floors, putting genuinely support-free, nylon-grade parts out of reach for a workshop budget.
The SLS1518 answers that gap by condensing the same powder-bed sintering process into a machine sized and priced for a workshop rather than a factory floor, pairing it with an enclosed post-processing station instead of requiring separate industrial handling equipment.
ZONGHENG3D Key Features and Specs: No-Support Sintering, Powder Handling, and Certified Safety
No-Support SLS Printing With a 10W Laser and ±0.2mm Accuracy
Because the powder bed supports every overhang as it sinters, the SLS1518 needs no add-on supports for interlocking parts, undercuts, or complex geometry that would otherwise require dissolvable or breakaway supports. Zongheng3D rates dimensional accuracy at ±0.2mm across a 160 x 160 x 200mm build volume, using a 10W, 450nm diode laser paired with a high-precision industrial galvanometer for the scanning path.
Layer thickness runs 100 to 150 microns, with 110 microns as the default, and Zongheng3D quotes a maximum build speed of 110mm per hour in Z at a 150-micron layer, dropping to roughly 9mm per hour at 20% infill and a 120-micron layer. Zongheng3D says a full build can print in under 8 hours, with a separate cooldown of up to 8 hours for a full cylinder once printing finishes.
Dual Powder Feeding and Chamber Control for Consistent Layers
The SLS1518 feeds powder from both sides of the build chamber rather than one, which Zongheng3D says speeds up recoating and applies powder more precisely, cutting waste between layers. German-engineered infrared sensors hold chamber temperature to within roughly 0.5 to 1°C, using four zones of semi-gold-plated far-infrared heating.
Zongheng3D pairs that four-zone infrared heating with a stated heating time of 15 to 25 minutes from a 25°C room, so a job can start without a long warmup.
The HCL1518 Post-Processing Machine: Enclosed Powder Recovery
Every SLS1518 pledge includes the HCL1518, a fully enclosed machine that handles powder cleaning, sieving, and mixing in one sealed unit rather than leaving cleanup to open bins and a respirator. At 670 x 759 x 957mm and roughly 90kg, it occupies its own footprint alongside the printer rather than tucking underneath it. Zongheng3D says the enclosed design recycles 100% of unused powder and cuts the time spent on cleanup by around 90% compared with manual handling.
An automated mixing function blends used and fresh powder, and Zongheng3D recommends an 8:2 ratio of used to fresh material for the best print quality on the next job. The company states this combination of recycling and automated mixing cuts production costs by close to 50% over time.
7-Inch Touchscreen and VoxelDance Software: One-Click Slicing
The SLS1518 runs on a 7-inch touchscreen paired with Zongheng3D's own embedded printing system for plug-and-play operation. Every unit ships with VoxelDance SLS Industrial Edition, a slicing package Zongheng3D values at $10,000, included at no extra cost.
VoxelDance handles the automated nesting that packs multiple parts into a single build, while Zongheng3D's embedded printing system separately runs closed-loop firmware control and automated calibration on the machine itself. The printer connects over USB. For a shop batch-printing several parts at once, VoxelDance's nesting turns each build into a production run instead of one part at a time.
Certified Safety: CE, FCC, FDA and a Class 1 Laser
Zongheng3D says the SLS1518 has passed CE, FCC and FDA certification along with LVD safety testing, and rates the laser as a Class 1 product. Air handling runs through a 2-stage carbon and HEPA filter system, and Zongheng3D positions the machine as quiet enough for an office, lab, or home workshop, though it specifies 100-120VAC/10A or 220-240VAC/5A power and a stable 18-28°C, under 80% humidity environment.
Material compatibility currently covers PA11, PA12, TPU, CF and GF, and Zongheng3D also offers custom material formulation for buyers with specific mechanical requirements outside that list. The company states other materials remain under testing, so the published range is what's confirmed to work today.
Should You Back the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 on Kickstarter?
The ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 is positioned less as a hobbyist upgrade and more as the desktop entry point into a process that machine cost and size have kept out of reach for small shops.
What's genuinely hard to find elsewhere at this scale is the full stack bundled together: sintering hardware, an enclosed post-processing machine, and a slicing suite, sold as one system instead of three separate purchases. For a small engineering team, that means batch runs of functional nylon parts can move in-house, on a schedule the team controls rather than one set by outside production capacity.
Zongheng3D backs the SLS1518 with a dedicated European office for after-sales support, and says other regions get remote assistance or on-site technician dispatch when needed. At $8,388, well under its planned retail price, the Zongheng 3D SLS Printer on Kickstarter remains open through late pledge for shops ready to bring SLS printing in-house.
FAQ about the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 on Kickstarter
Does the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 ship internationally, and what does shipping cost?
Zongheng3D says it ships anywhere Kickstarter operates, using DDP service through PledgeBox. Shipping fees and import duties aren't set yet and are collected through a post-campaign survey once final costs are confirmed, so backers should budget for that charge on top of the pledge price.
What warranty covers the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518?
The printer carries a standard one-year warranty covering manufacturing defects and hardware malfunctions under normal use. Zongheng3D offers extended coverage at $900 per additional year, and the warranty does not cover drops, water damage, or unauthorized modifications.
Are ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 units tested before they ship?
Yes. Zongheng3D states that every printer and post-processing machine goes through a one-week print testing period at the factory, and units only ship after passing that quality check, which the company positions as standard practice across its production line.
Can the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 print materials other than PA11, PA12, TPU, CF and GF?
Not yet. Zongheng3D confirms compatibility with those five materials only, and says additional materials are still under internal testing. Buyers with specialized requirements can request custom material formulation directly from the company's engineering team.
Is the ZONGHENG3D SLS1518 still available after the Kickstarter campaign ended?
Yes. The campaign closed on January 18, 2026 having funded more than five times its goal, and Zongheng3D is still accepting late pledges at the same Early Bird pricing while its 500-unit allocation lasts.
About the Author
Jonathan
Crowdfunding Strategist & Analyst at GizmoCrowd
Jonathan is Co-Founder of GizmoCrowd and a crowdfunding strategist with over 15 years of hands-on campaign experience on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
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