EOS is preparing to unveil a new polymer 3D printing platform at Formnext 2026, and one early customer has already tested the system under production conditions. Materialise, an additive manufacturing service provider, reported 44% higher productivity than with the previous EOS platform and a reduction in build time per part of more than six minutes.
The evaluation used the soon-to-launch EOS printer to produce a cable twist wheel for GKN Aerospace. Materialise wanted to know whether the machine could print the part successfully—it could—and to assess reliability, the impact of new features, productivity and efficiency, usability and control, and how easily parts could be post-processed.
Three lasers and workload balancing
EOS has not yet released all technical details. The company plans to present the platform on November 17 at Formnext 2026 at its booth in hall 12, stand D71. What is known is that the system uses a three-laser architecture with intelligent utilization and dynamic load balancing. The load-balancing function seeks to maximize output per build by distributing exposure work evenly across the lasers, while greater laser capacity supports higher productivity.
Giovanni Vleminckx, process engineering manager at Materialise, said the three lasers make a visible difference in performance. He said their intelligent utilization helps the service provider achieve considerably higher throughput while maintaining the part quality customers expect. He also stressed that the system’s overall performance, rather than one isolated feature, stood out.
The platform offers extended process controls, allowing users to work with validated parameter sets or open them up for more control and alignment with specific applications and key performance indicators.
Build time and powder handling
During the cable twist wheel build, Materialise recorded productivity gains of 44% compared with the previous machine. Build time per part fell from 19 minutes 53 seconds to 13 minutes 51 seconds. The company also pointed to downstream benefits from an advanced roller recoater that creates softer powder cakes, making parts easier to depowder and reducing handling effort.
Vleminckx described the soft powder cake as a tangible improvement for operators. He said parts are easier to unpack and depowder, which makes the overall workflow noticeably more efficient.
The combination of three lasers, a new roller recoater and open process controls is significant for a manufacturing service with high-throughput requirements and a need to adapt to different production applications. Materialise’s figures come from its own evaluation of a pre-launch system; EOS is expected to provide fuller specifications at Formnext 2026.