EOS is preparing to unveil a new polymer 3D printing platform at Formnext 2026, with full details scheduled for November 17. Before the launch, Materialise has evaluated the system under real production conditions and reported 44% higher productivity than with the previous EOS platform, along with a per-part build time reduction of more than six minutes.
As part of the evaluation, the additive manufacturing service provider used the unnamed EOS printer to produce a cable twist wheel for GKN Aerospace. Materialise said the machine successfully printed the part. The evaluation went beyond printability. The trial also examined reliability, the impact of new features, productivity and efficiency, usability and control, and the ease of post-processing printed parts.
EOS has not yet disclosed all technical details of the platform, but the available information describes a three-laser architecture with intelligent utilization and dynamic load balancing. The new machine is a polymer system, and its three-laser setup is linked to greater output. The company says dynamic load balancing maximizes output per build by evenly balancing the exposure workload, while greater laser capacity contributes to higher productivity.
Giovanni Vleminckx, process engineering manager at Materialise, said the three lasers make a visible difference in performance. According to Vleminckx, their intelligent utilization helps the service provider achieve considerably higher throughput while maintaining the part quality its customers expect.
The platform also offers extended process controls. Users can work with validated parameter sets or open them up for greater control and alignment with specific applications and key performance indicators. Vleminckx said the overall performance of the system stood out, rather than one isolated feature, combining the productivity needed with the process stability and control required to move demanding applications into production.
In the GKN Aerospace part trial, Materialise recorded the 44% productivity gain against the previous machine and saw build time per part fall from 19:53 to 13:51 minutes. The company also noted downstream benefits from an advanced roller recoater that creates softer powder cakes. That feature makes it easier to depowder parts and reduces handling effort.
Vleminckx described the soft powder cake as a very tangible improvement for operators. Parts are easier to unpack and depowder, he said, making the overall workflow noticeably more efficient.
The combined changes are significant for a manufacturing service such as Materialise, which has high-throughput requirements and needs to adapt to different production applications. EOS plans to present the new polymer AM platform in person from November 17 at Formnext 2026, at its booth in hall 12, booth D71.