Revolutionizing Metal 3D Printing
with EOS Smart Fusion

Precision. Efficiency. Sustainability.

EOS Smart Fusion is our software innovation to significantly reduce cost, increase efficiency and quality in metal 3D printing. It is available with the EOS Smart Monitoring software plan and requires an OT camera system to enable advanced thermal management. This not only accelerates the additive manufacturing process of metal components, but also optimizes it by reducing support structures.

Key benefits of EOS Smart Fusion:

Cost savings

With Smart Fusion you can drastically reduce the need for supports and optimize the topology of your part already when designing it which results in less supports and material needed. This significantly reduces production time, material usage and the overall cost per part.

Precision and Quality

High-resolution images enable the software to perform real-time thermal management where needed. This is done by optimizing the laser power along with ensuring more homogeneous microstructures and part quality

Productivity increase

An increase in productivity of up to 40% is possible depending on factors like process parameters, part geometry, material and machine configuration.

How EOS Smart Fusion works

In general, the Smart Fusion software optimizes the laser power of the metal EOS system in real-time to efficiently overcome manufacturing challenges. It measures the local thermal conditions and adjusts the laser power based on algorithms and OT data.

In detail, Smart Fusion enhances the traditional DMLS process through its real-time monitoring and closed-loop feedback system. It constantly monitors thermal emissions produced by the melt pool and the part through advanced sensors and imaging systems and analyzes the gray values. Leveraging this data, it dynamically determines the ideal laser power depending on the part geometry. First time right – Smart Fusion reduces the number of trials to 1 This process is repeated layer by layer with a high optical resolution of approx. 100 μm. The number of iterations required to get a part right is reduced to one, along with the advantage of reducing support structures which solely exist to dissipate heat.

EOS Smart Fusion benefits

Elimination of Support Structures
With EOS Smart Fusion the need for traditional supports in additive manufacturing is reduced to a minimum if not even eliminated. This allows greater freedom of design and reduces the amount of post-processing and time needed to finalize a part after the build. It also minimizes the material need and waste caused by the design, build and removal of the support structures, which enables a more sustainable, faster part production.
Increased Build Speed
EOS Smart Fusion allows real time control of the laser parameters and optimizing the thermal management in each layer. This leads to less waiting and cool-down times during the build process, overall faster build speed and lower risk of defects.
Enhanced Part Quality
The real-time thermal management enables equal distribution of the heat and therefore a homogeneous part quality throughout the build job. It reduces overheating and the likelihood of defects such as warping, cracking and porosity ultimately delivering improved mechanical properties and microstructure.
Reduced Cost-Per-Part
There are various factors that contribute to the reduction of the cost per part when utilizing EOS Smart Fusion:
- Less material needed to build the parts as the support structures are reduced dramatically. This also leads to less resources needed for the post-processing
- Increased build efficiency and speed lead to higher throughput and shorter production cycles
- Minimized defects and scrap rates result in fewer iterations and rework needed when building the optimal part
- The optimized build times and part quality lead to better machine utilization and higher productivity which positively impacts the cost-per-part

Customer Case Studies

EOS Smart Fusion case studies have shown a significant reduction in building time by up to 21%* relative to original manufacturing processes. In addition, a saving of up to 80%* in the support structures was achieved in this specific case.

Find more details and customer case studies in our Whitepaper “The Hitchhikers Guide to Smart Fusion”

_{*Result from the case study of a bracket built from Ti64 on the EOS M290}