在复杂零件的注塑模具制造中，电火花加工技术是必不可少的。由于从技术角度来看，制造一个完整的电极通常是不可能的，因此电极几何形状必须被划分为100多个单独的部分，以制造具有多个脊和槽的零件，例如钻床的外壳，这种情况并不少见。选择性激光烧结的逐层构造技术允许在一次操作中制造甚至复杂的电极。弗劳恩霍夫IPT目前正在与四家欧洲公司开展一个工业研究项目，其目标是通过加快EDM电极的生产，减少模具制造业的生产时间和成本。

The technology of Electro Discharge Machining is indispensable in the manufacture of injection molds for complex parts. Since it is frequently impossible from a technical point of view, to manufacture a complete electrode, it is not uncommon for the electrode geometry to have to be divided into more than a hundred individual segments for the manufacture of parts with a number of ridges and grooves, such as the casing for a drilling machine. The layer-by-layer construction technique of Selective Laser Sintering permits even complex electrodes to be manufactured in one operation. The objective of an industrial research project with four european companies currently under way at the Fraunhofer IPT, is to reduce throughput times and costs in the mold manufacturing industry by accelerating the production of EDM electrodes.