Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material (typically metal), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model. When binding the material together, a solid structure is created. It is similar to direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). The two technology variations are instantiations of the same concept but slightly differ in technical details.
Selective laser melting (SLM) uses a comparable concept, but in SLM the material is fully melted rather than sintered, allowing different properties (crystal structure, porosity, and so on). SLS is a relatively new technology that so far has mainly been used for rapid prototyping and for low-volume production of component parts.
Today, production roles are expanding as the commercialization of AM technology improves.
Source: Wikipedia
