Abstract: A powder bed laser sintering (PBLS) device includes a build chamber having a build area defined over a build plate. The build area is bounded by a plurality of walls comprising first and second end walls and first and second side walls extending between the first and second end walls. The build plate is movable relative to the plurality of walls to successively lower in stages. Powder material is layered into the build area at each stage and is selectively subjected to a laser beam to fuse the powder material to form an additional layer of a component at each stage. A powder dam extends between the first and second side walls through the build area. The powder dam holds the powder material between the powder dam and the first end wall.