A finite element heat transfer analysis is applied to the selective laser sinteringof a layered part made frompolyroerpowder. The sinteringsubroutine in the code is based on the analyses of Scherer [l t 2] and Mackenzie and Shuttleworth [3] . The density and conductivity of the particle bed are treated as functions of the void fraction of the bed. The Yagi -Kunii [4] thermal characterization of the powder bed is used to calculate the effective conductivity of the bed. An example is worked for ABS powder.