Solid freeform fabrication (SFF) is a manufacturing technology that pr
oduces parts directly from computer-aided design databases. Examples o
f the SFF approach are selective laser sintering (SLS) and selective l
aser reactive sintering (SLRS), both of which have the potential to di
rectly produce structurally sound metallic or ceramic parts. The devel
opment of suitable materials systems that can optimize the SLS or SLRS
processes are critical to this technology. For instance, nanocomposit
es, in which the constituents are mixed on a nanometer scale, have the
potential to provide important advantages in the SLS and SLRS process
es. One strategy is to design and develop nanocomposites in which one
nanosize component has a lower melting point than the other nanosize c
omponent, either of which can serve as the matrix phase. The nanoscale
dispersion of the low-melting component can aid the sintering process
during SLS or SLRS. In this article, the philosophical basis for SLS
and SLRS of nanocomposites is discussed. Conceptual design of nanocomp
osite systems and the SLS/SLRS results of a few exploratory systems ar
e presented.