Best Metal Additive Manufacturing Systems for Industry in 2026

By the editors at Reliable. Last updated November 5, 2026.

How We Evaluated

This guide covers systems that build metal parts additively for production, tooling, spare parts and repair: laser and electron beam powder bed fusion, metal binder jetting, and directed energy deposition with powder or wire. It does not cover polymer printers, desktop bound-metal printers, cold spray, or contract manufacturing services. The six entries are selected suppliers and product families, organized by use case; each entry compares a vendor portfolio, not a single machine.

The comparison is based on vendor documentation, product pages and announcements reviewed in November 2026. Reliable has not run comparative tests, and the "Best for" labels reflect our reading of documented capabilities and application fit, with the numbering organized by use case rather than overall performance.

We evaluated the process each system uses; the largest build volume it offers; which materials and parameter sets the vendor documents; the software that prepares, monitors and records the build; the industries each vendor names; whether pricing is published; and company stability signals such as ownership, acquisitions, bankruptcies and recent launches. We referenced ISO/ASTM 52900:2021, the vocabulary standard for additive manufacturing, for the process categories used throughout.

Reliable does not accept payment for rankings. Vendors may sponsor enhanced listings with additional detail, but editorial rankings are independent. Read our editorial policy.

Why Metal Additive Manufacturing Systems Are Different

A machine tool is bought on a specification. A metal additive system is bought on a specification plus a qualified process, and the process is where buyers get lost. The same laser, powder and build file produce different parts on different parameter sets, which is why Colibrium Additive's $31 million NAVAIR contract is written around material process combinations and design allowables as well as the four printers it delivers.

The second difference is that the printer is one part of the purchase. Depending on the process and the part specification, a powder bed system needs powder handling and sieving, inert gas or vacuum equipment, depowdering, thermal treatment, support removal, finish machining and inspection. A binder jet system needs curing, depowdering and a sintering furnace, with curing integrated on some models.

Fine metal powders can be combustible dusts. NFPA 660, the consolidated combustible dusts standard that absorbed NFPA 484 in its 2025 edition, applies to how they are stored and handled, and the edition a site must meet is set by its authority having jurisdiction and its insurer.

The third difference is process family, and ISO/ASTM 52900 names the categories: powder bed fusion by laser or electron beam, binder jetting and directed energy deposition. Laser powder bed fusion, the most common, suits complex parts in steel, nickel, titanium and aluminum, and electron beam melting runs hot and in a vacuum, which suits titanium and crack-prone alloys.

Binder jetting separates printing from densification and favors small parts in volume. Directed energy deposition builds big, repairs worn parts and clads surfaces, and it runs on a shop floor.

The fourth is consolidation. TRUMPF agreed on July 4, 2025 to sell its additive business to the LEO III Fund, advised by the DUBAG Group, and the business rebranded as ATLIX that November. Desktop Metal filed for Chapter 11 on July 28, 2025, and Arc Impact bought its binder jet technology in September. Nano Dimension agreed to sell Markforged to Stratasys for $42.5 million while keeping the binder jet line.

For maintenance and reliability teams the use cases differ from aerospace production, and they belong in the specification. Printing an obsolete spare from a scan or drawing, replacing a casting that has a two-year lead time, rebuilding a worn shaft or die by deposition, and holding a digital inventory in place of a physical one all favor different systems.

HII has ordered Nikon SLM machines to develop replacements for legacy naval castings, and 3D Systems highlights a partnership with Eureka Pumps to print pump spares on demand.

6 Best Metal Additive Manufacturing Systems in 2026, Ranked by Use Case

1. EOS — Best for Production Laser Powder Bed Fusion From a 5,000-Printer Install Base

EOS, founded in 1989 in Krailling near Munich, opens this list on the strength of its install base. On January 15, 2025 the company announced its 5,000th industrial 3D printer across its polymer and metal lines, an EOS M 400-4 at Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing in Statesville, North Carolina, whose fleet alone runs to 18 EOS machines. The first EOS installation was a STEREOS 400 at BMW.

The current metal line runs from the EOS M 290, the single-laser workhorse with a 250 x 250 x 325 mm build volume, through the M 290 1kW for copper, the two-laser M 290-2 and the four-laser M 400-4, with a refurbished M 100 offered as an entry model. EOS assembles the M 290 family and the M 400-4 at its Pflugerville, Texas, facility near Austin.

Its sister company AMCM builds large-format systems, including the AMCM M 8K that Kratos is installing for hypersonic work.

The 2026 story is the EOS M4 ONYX, unveiled at Formnext on November 18, 2025 with commercial availability announced for the first quarter of 2026. It carries six 400 W lasers and a 450 x 450 x 400 mm build volume including the build platform, 25 percent larger than the M 400-4, which EOS continues to sell; EOS announced Evology Manufacturing's purchase of an M 400-4, agreed at IMTS, on October 22, 2026.

EOS claims up to 50 percent higher productivity and 30 percent lower part cost excluding powder, with job changeovers under 30 minutes on the Grenzebach Dual Setup Station. For the M4 ONYX FLX variant, with four 1.5 kW beam-shaping lasers, EOS announced availability for the third quarter of 2026. Launch materials are titanium, nickel and stainless steel, with IN718 and Ti64 processes on the datasheet and other alloys on request.

EOS pairs the machine with RFS Pro filtration, which it says eliminates filter consumables and neutralizes hazardous condensate, and offers Volkmann automated powder handling as an option. EOS chose IMTS in Chicago in September 2026 for the system's North American introduction.

The software side is EOS Build+ on a Siemens control, with open platform communications and web APIs, Smart Fusion to minimize supports, and digital fingerprinting that EOS says cuts quality assurance and non-destructive inspection effort by up to 50 percent. EOS quotes up to 97 percent system availability with a full-service contract. The trade-off is scale: EOS sells production systems and the services around them, and its documented processes are the ones to ask for by name.

Best for: Manufacturers moving metal parts into serial production who want a large documented materials and process library, a deep install base to learn from, and a US assembly line for the M 290 and M 400-4.

Pricing: Request a configuration-specific quote. Consumables and spares sell through the EOS Store.

Process: Laser powder bed fusion; one, two, four or six lasers depending on model.

Example models: EOS M 290, 250 x 250 x 325 mm; EOS M4 ONYX, 450 x 450 x 400 mm including build platform; larger through AMCM.

Software: EOS Build+, Smart Fusion and Smart Fusion Replay, Siemens control, open APIs.

Industries named: Automotive, aviation, defense, energy (nuclear, oil and gas, turbomachinery), manufacturing (heat exchangers, housings, tooling), medical, semiconductors, space, data centers.

2. Nikon SLM Solutions — Best for Large-Format, Multi-Laser Production of Big Parts

Nikon SLM Solutions, Lübeck, Germany, is the maker of the NXG XII 600, and that machine is the reason it ranks here. The NXG XII 600 uses twelve 1 kW lasers across a 600 x 600 x 600 mm build envelope, with automatic build cylinder exchange and external preheating and depowdering stations. Nikon states build rates of up to 1,000 cubic centimeters per hour, which depend on the alloy, parameters and part layout.

The NXG XII 600E stretches the Z axis to 1,500 mm, and Nikon has announced two-meter build height systems on the same platform. Nikon Corporation completed its acquisition of SLM Solutions in 2023.

The rest of the range covers the sizes below. The SLM 280 and SLM 500 are the single- and multi-laser machines that built the company's install base, and Nikon shipped its 1,000th system, an NXG XII 600 for Bosch, in November 2024. Nikon manufactures the NXG XII 600 in Greenville, South Carolina, and installed a US-built machine at its technology center in Long Beach, California, which matters to defense buyers.

The defense work is the 2026 proof point. On February 3, 2026, Nikon announced that HII's Newport News Shipbuilding had placed a second order for an NXG 600E, intended to produce large components and alternatives to legacy castings for US Navy ships, with Nikon SLM leading parameter development for nickel aluminum bronze. Nikon has also made a Long Beach NXG 600E available to the Navy's Maritime Industrial Base program and signed a memorandum with Rocket Lab for two ultra-large-format platforms.

Two things happen this month. On November 4, 2026, the company announced that CEO Sam O'Leary will move to the Supervisory Board during its fiscal fourth quarter, with Jan-Niklas Thielmann and Simone Castellani becoming Co-Presidents under Hamid Zarringhalam, who runs Nikon Advanced Manufacturing. On November 17 it plans to unveil MACHX, a new laser powder bed system for mid-size production that adds to the SLM and NXG lines.

The trade-off is scale of commitment. An NXG XII 600 is a production asset that needs a powder supply chain, depowdering capacity and heat treatment sized to match, and Nikon positions it for serial production in automotive, aerospace and energy. A plant that prints a few spares a month will be better served lower in the range or by another vendor.

Best for: Aerospace, defense, shipbuilding and energy manufacturers producing large components or high volumes of parts, and buyers who want a US-built large-format machine.

Pricing: Request a configuration-specific quote.

Process: Laser powder bed fusion; twelve 1 kW lasers on the NXG models.

Example models: NXG XII 600, 600 x 600 x 600 mm; NXG XII 600E, 600 x 600 x 1,500 mm; smaller SLM 280 and SLM 500.

Software: Nikon SLM build preparation and monitoring software; open machine architecture.

Industries named: Aerospace, defense, naval shipbuilding, automotive, energy, space.

3. Colibrium Additive — Best for Electron Beam Melting and Qualified Aerospace and Medical Production

Colibrium Additive is the GE Aerospace company that announced its relaunch from GE Additive on April 25, 2024, retiring the Concept Laser and Arcam EBM brands it had bought in 2016. It is based in Cincinnati and Lichtenfels, Germany, where its laser machines are built, and sells powder through AP&C in Montreal. Its current catalog lists laser and electron beam machines.

Electron beam powder bed fusion is the distinction. The Spectra family, descended from Arcam, melts titanium and other reactive or crack-prone alloys under vacuum at high temperature, which orthopedic implant makers have used for years. The Spectra L is the flagship with a 4.5 kW beam, and the Spectra M, with a 270 mm diameter by 430 mm build volume and the same 4.5 kW beam, is the smaller machine announced in 2024 with first deliveries scheduled for early 2025.

On the laser side, the M Line is the modular production platform, offered with four 400 W or four 1 kW lasers over a 500 x 500 x up to 400 mm build volume. The 1 kW version was announced November 18, 2025 for non-reactive materials, and Colibrium publishes separate 400 W and 1 kW parameter documents for Nickel 718 and CoCrMo.

The M2 Series 5 is the mid-size laser machine, and the X Line 2000R, with two 1 kW lasers over 800 x 400 x 500 mm, is the largest.

The company also commercialized a Series 3 binder jet system in 2024; it does not appear in the current printer catalog, so confirm availability and support before treating it as a purchasing option.

The qualification business is what sets the company apart. In April 2026, Colibrium announced a $31 million NAVAIR contract to develop six material process combinations with design allowables, expanding its AlSi7Mg and IN718 packages and adding 17-4PH and 7050-RAM2 to a portfolio that includes 316L, cobalt chrome and Ti64. Planned deliveries include three M Line systems and one M2 Series 5, licensed process data and a training program through Colibrium's AddWorks services.

The trade-off is focus. Colibrium's language and references are aerospace, defense and medical, and a general industrial plant should ask early which process, laser or electron beam, fits its parts, and what the support model looks like outside those markets.

Best for: Aerospace, defense and orthopedic manufacturers that need titanium and reactive alloys by electron beam, or that need the material data and allowables to certify printed parts.

Pricing: Request a configuration-specific quote.

Process: Electron beam powder bed fusion (Spectra), laser powder bed fusion (M Line, M2 Series 5, X Line 2000R).

Example models: M Line, 500 x 500 x up to 400 mm; X Line 2000R, 800 x 400 x 500 mm; Spectra M, 270 mm diameter by 430 mm.

Software: EBMControl 6.4 with Point Melt on the Spectra L and Spectra M, Colibrium build and monitoring software, AddWorks process data.

Industries named: Aerospace, defense, medical and orthopedic implants, automotive, energy.

4. 3D Systems — Best for Low-Oxygen Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Spare-Parts Workflows

3D Systems, Rock Hill, South Carolina, is the company Chuck Hull founded 40 years ago, and its Direct Metal Printing line is the low-oxygen laser powder bed option on this list. The DMP Flex 350, the DMP Factory 350 and the DMP Factory 500 use a vacuum-capable chamber with argon shielding that the company says holds oxygen below 25 ppm and cuts argon consumption, and they are programmed in 3DXpert.

The DMP Flex 200 covers small parts, and 3D Systems produces metal printers in Riom, France.

The DMP Flex 350 Triple is the current workhorse. Three 500 W lasers share the standard 275 x 275 x 420 mm removable print module, or an alternate 350 x 350 x 350 mm module for impellers and cooling plates, with both heights including the build plate.

3D Systems rates it up to 30 percent more productive than the DMP Flex 350 Dual and DMP Factory 350 Dual, and on July 27, 2026 it announced that Elmet Technologies is deploying one for hypersonic parts, with qualification ahead.

Large format is the 2026 direction. On August 10, 2026, 3D Systems announced an additional $9 million Air Force award under the Large-Format Metal 3D Printer Advanced Technology Demonstrator program, known as GEN-II DMP-1000, taking total funding to $27.4 million since 2023 and extending the work two years. In January 2026 the company said that when the program completes it expects to be the only US provider of a fully domestic large-frame metal ecosystem.

Spare parts are where plants meet this vendor. At RAPID + TCT in Boston in April 2026, 3D Systems launched AddiTrak, a fleet monitoring and process control platform, and highlighted its partnership with Eureka Pumps of Norway to manufacture large-format metal pump spares on demand with DMP. Buyers who do not want a machine can work through 3D Systems' production partners; the company sold its own on-demand parts business in 2021.

The trade-offs are corporate. On November 4, 2026, 3D Systems reported third-quarter revenue of $99.3 million, up 8.8 percent, a net loss of $33.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $3.1 million, after several years of cost cutting. It announced a CEO transition plan on August 4, 2026. Ask about the roadmap for the machine you buy and the service organization behind it.

Best for: Plants and suppliers that want a laser powder bed machine with low-oxygen processing for titanium and nickel alloys, and operators building an on-demand spare parts workflow.

Pricing: Request a configuration-specific quote.

Process: Laser powder bed fusion in a low-oxygen argon atmosphere; one to three lasers.

Example models: DMP Flex 350 Triple, 275 x 275 x 420 mm or 350 x 350 x 350 mm, heights including the build plate; DMP Factory 500, 500 mm class; GEN-II DMP-1000, about 1,000 mm, in development.

Software: 3DXpert, AddiTrak fleet monitoring.

Industries named: Aerospace and defense, space, medical, transportation and motorsports, energy, semiconductor, industrial equipment.

5. HP — Best for High-Volume Binder Jetting of Small Stainless Parts

HP's Metal Jet S100 is the binder jet system on this list, and it approaches metal from the opposite end to the powder bed vendors. Launched at IMTS in September 2022, it jets a binding agent onto layers of metal injection molding powder, cures the green parts, and sinters them in a furnace.

HP's additive business marked ten years at RAPID + TCT in April 2026 and runs its metal development from Barcelona.

The system is a workflow, which HP sells as a solution. A powder management station blends and loads the build unit, the printer writes up to 430 x 309 x 170 mm of green parts in the S100 configuration, and curing and powder removal stations follow before sintering. The S100P and the entry-level S100D, which cures in the printer, offer smaller effective volumes.

HP's primary materials are stainless 316L and 17-4PH, with qualified and compatible materials from approved suppliers, including Ni718 qualified by Continuum Powders and INDO-MIM.

On April 14, 2026, at RAPID + TCT, HP described continuing development and qualification of three materials: copper for thermal management and electrification, M247LC nickel superalloy for high-temperature aerospace parts, and tungsten carbide-cobalt for tooling. HP's Formnext 2025 materials summary already listed copper from GKN as qualified and M247LC as compatible. On October 28, 2026, Hyperion announced commercial tungsten carbide manufacturing on Metal Jet S100 printers paired with its own sintering operations.

HP also announced a collaboration with Volkmann on the vPort, a contained, semi-automated depowdering and powder recovery unit positioned as an entry-level alternative to HP's fully automated powder handling. Volkmann sells it in the US, Canada and Europe.

The user base is service bureaus and powder metallurgy houses, with end-user plants buying the parts. INDO-MIM, a metal injection molding company, has ordered additional S100s, GKN Powder Metallurgy and Parmatech print on the platform, and Sculpteo opened an on-demand Metal Jet service in February 2026. Schneider Electric's circuit breaker filters, printed by GKN, are the reference application.

The trade-off is the furnace. Binder jet parts shrink in sintering, and final density, dimensions and mechanical properties depend on the powder, the sintering cycle and any later treatment, so compare qualified property data for the application. For a plant, the practical route is to buy Metal Jet parts from one of those suppliers and reserve a machine purchase for a dedicated production line.

Best for: Manufacturers and suppliers making thousands of small stainless, copper or carbide parts a year, and plants that want binder jet parts without owning the furnace.

Pricing: HP states a starting price of approximately $550,000 for the Metal Jet S100 platform and directs buyers to an HP 3D Print expert for a configuration-specific quote.

Process: Metal binder jetting with sintering.

Example models: Metal Jet S100, 430 x 309 x 170 mm effective; S100P, 430 x 309 x 100 mm; S100D, 430 x 309 x 40 mm; all print envelopes before sintering.

Software: HP Digital Production Suite.

Industries named: Automotive, aerospace, medical, industrial, energy and electrification, tooling.

6. DMG MORI — Best for Hybrid Additive Repair and Coating on a Five-Axis Machine Tool

DMG MORI is a machine tool group many plants already buy from, and its LASERTEC DED hybrid machines put directed energy deposition inside a five-axis machining center. For a maintenance organization that is the use case: mill away the damage, deposit new material through a powder nozzle, and machine it back to print in one setup. DMG MORI names repair of wear parts and wear- and corrosion-resistant coating among the applications.

The LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid 2nd Generation, announced as a world premiere on January 26, 2026, combines up to six processes in one machine: milling, turning, grinding, laser preheating, additive deposition and 3D scanning. It takes workpieces up to 840 mm in diameter by 350 mm, or 680 by 400 mm, and 600 kg, with laser power up to 3,000 W.

DMG MORI reports a 35 percent higher build-up rate and room for workpieces up to 170 percent larger than the previous model.

The materials story is what repair engineers will notice. Infrared and blue laser sources are both available, the blue laser for reflective metals such as copper. DMG MORI documents selective application of materials over 60 Rockwell C to avoid a separate heat treatment, grading hard and soft or magnetic and non-magnetic materials in one part, and adding copper cores to mold tooling for cooling.

The AM Assistant is the process control. A thermal camera watches the whole work area and the interpass temperature, a melt pool camera closes the loop on laser power, powder mass flow is calibrated automatically, and the AM Evaluator records the data against a 3D model for traceability. The machine runs on CELOS X with a Siemens SINUMERIK ONE control.

For bigger parts the LASERTEC 125 DED hybrid takes workpieces up to 2,000 kg with axis strokes of 1,335 by 1,250 by 900 mm, and DMG MORI also sells LASERTEC SLM powder bed machines.

The trade-off is that deposition is a welding process that produces coarser features and needs access for the nozzle and the cutting tools. Powder bed fusion is usually the better route for fine lattices and inaccessible passages, although alternating deposition and milling can produce some internal cooling channels, as DMG MORI's MG Metalltechnik case shows.

Best for: Plants, repair shops and tool rooms that want to rebuild worn shafts, dies, impellers and valves or apply hard-facing in one setup, with a machine tool service network behind the laser.

Pricing: Request a quote through DMG MORI's product inquiry and configurator.

Process: Powder directed energy deposition with five-axis milling, turning, grinding and scanning; powder bed fusion in the LASERTEC SLM line.

Example models: LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid 2, workpieces to 840 x 350 mm or 680 x 400 mm diameter by height and 600 kg; LASERTEC 125 DED hybrid, workpieces to 2,000 kg with 1,335 x 1,250 x 900 mm axis strokes.

Software: CELOS X, SINUMERIK ONE, AM Assistant and AM Evaluator.

Industries named: Tooling and mold making, aerospace, energy, medical, general engineering, repair.

Metal Additive Manufacturing Systems Comparison Table

How to Choose a Metal Additive Manufacturing System

1. Which process family do your parts need?

Laser powder bed fusion makes complex, fully fused parts in most engineering alloys and is where EOS, Nikon SLM, Colibrium's M Line and 3D Systems live. Electron beam suits titanium and crack-prone alloys, binder jetting suits thousands of small parts, and deposition suits large near-net shapes, repair and cladding.

List the ten parts you would print first, with material, size and tolerance, and the family will usually pick itself.

2. What build volume, and how many lasers?

Size the system from representative parts and the annual output you need. Nikon SLM's NXG XII 600E reaches 1,500 mm tall, EOS's M4 ONYX is 450 mm square, Colibrium's X Line 2000R is 800 mm long, and DMG MORI's LASERTEC 125 takes a 2,000 kg workpiece.

Buy the envelope your parts need; extra capacity may not pay back at low utilization, so compare qualified part cost at the expected workload.

3. What comes qualified, and what will you qualify yourself?

A parameter set with documented material properties is a large part of the product: NAVAIR's $31 million contract with Colibrium funds six material process combinations and design allowables alongside four printers, and Nikon SLM is developing nickel aluminum bronze parameters for HII. EOS, Colibrium and 3D Systems all sell material data and process packages.

Ask what alloys ship with validated parameters, what the vendor charges to develop a new one, and who owns the result.

4. What else does the plant need to add?

Budget for powder handling, inert gas or vacuum, depowdering, thermal treatment, support removal, machining and inspection as the process and the part specification require; binder jet adds curing and a sintering furnace, deposition adds finish machining, and some steps are integrated. EOS offers Volkmann powder handling and Grenzebach setup stations, Volkmann offers the vPort for HP Metal Jet, and DMG MORI puts the machining in the same machine.

Price the whole line, including powder storage and handling that meets NFPA 660 in the edition your authority having jurisdiction and insurer require, before comparing printer quotes.

5. Who will service the machine, and who owns the vendor?

TRUMPF's additive business is now ATLIX under a private equity fund, Desktop Metal's binder jet assets sit with Arc Impact, Markforged's sale to Stratasys is pending, Nikon SLM is naming Co-Presidents, and 3D Systems announced a CEO transition plan in August. DMG MORI and HP bring service networks built for other products.

Get the service territory, response time, spare parts commitment and software support term in writing, and ask what happens to the roadmap if the vendor is sold.

6. Is this a production line, a spare parts cell or a repair station?

A production line wants a multi-laser powder bed or binder jet system sized to the output, where the NXG, M4 ONYX, M Line, DMP Factory and Metal Jet S100 are positioned. A spare parts cell wants a mid-size laser machine such as the DMP Flex 350 or EOS M 290, plus scan-to-print and inspection tools. A repair station wants deposition, hybrid or robotic.

Many plants should start by buying printed parts from a service bureau on each process and let the invoices show which machine, if any, they should own.

The Honest Middle Ground

The six systems above are a shortlist, and several names a buyer expects to see sit just outside it.

Velo3D. The Fremont, California, company's Sapphire family prints complex nickel and aluminum geometries with minimal supports, up to 600 mm in diameter and a meter tall, and every machine is assembled in the United States. After a restructuring in 2024 and 2025, Velo3D reported $46 million of 2025 revenue and, on August 11, 2026, raised its 2026 guidance to $65 million to $75 million, with positive EBITDA forecast for the second half of the year.

On February 10, 2026, Velo3D announced its selection as the first qualified additive vendor under the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center's accelerated qualification program, with components in Aluminum CP1 and Inconel 718 still to be validated. It sits outside this six-supplier shortlist, and it belongs on any aerospace or defense shortlist.

ATLIX. TRUMPF's former additive business, carved out to the LEO III Fund in 2025 and rebranded in November, operates from Schio, Italy, with a German company in Ditzingen and a North American headquarters in Southlake, Texas. The former TruPrint line is now presented as the xBUILD 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000. The open question for a buyer is the service and parts commitment of a smaller company under new ownership, so ask for it in writing.

Meltio, Optomec and the deposition specialists. Meltio, of Linares, Spain, sells wire-laser deposition as the M600 printer, as Engine kits for CNC machines and robots, and as the Robot Cell, which it began assembling in New Britain, Connecticut, on September 2, 2026, with ABB robots and partner FORCE Automation. Its repair cases include Eurobearings, which cut lead times 30 to 50 percent on large components, and Cavaletto, which replaced manual electrode welding on forging dies at 67 percent lower cost.

Optomec's LENS systems, including a CS 558 cell with Siemens for turbine blade repair, serve aviation and energy MRO. Lincoln Electric, GEFERTEC and Sciaky build large parts by wire arc and electron beam deposition.

Renishaw, Xact Metal and One Click Metal. Renishaw's UK-manufactured RenAM 500 series is a credible production laser powder bed line from a company better known for probes. Xact Metal, in State College, Pennsylvania, began taking orders in October 2026 for its XM300G, which it describes as in development, and One Click Metal, a TRUMPF spin-out in Tamm, sells compact systems. Those two are the compact end of the market for a plant buying a first machine for spares and tooling.

The binder jet survivors. Desktop Metal relaunched in September 2025 after Arc Impact bought selected assets, including its binder jet intellectual property, with a new CEO and a research-as-a-service model. ExOne's German and Japanese units went to Anzu Partners, which brought ExOne GmbH and voxeljet, whose systems also print casting molds and polymer parts, together as one entity in August 2026.

Markforged's metal extrusion line goes to Stratasys if the $42.5 million sale announced by Nano Dimension closes as expected in the second half of 2026, while Nano Dimension keeps the metal binder jetting product line it bought with Digital Metal. Any of these can be a good supplier of parts; owning one of their machines now means asking about support first.

The Chinese makers. Bright Laser Technologies, Farsoon and Eplus3D sell laser powder bed machines, some with dozens of lasers, and Farsoon filed in October 2026 to raise capital for a manufacturing services expansion. Check powder supply, parameter support, export and defense restrictions, and local service before comparing them with the six above on price alone.

Related Guides

• Best 3D Metrology and Inspection Systems

• Best Robotic Welding Systems

• The Cost of Obsolete Automation

• Manufacturing Supply-Chain Disruption Costs

• Industrial Equipment's Lifetime Ownership Costs

Sources

• EOS: Industrial Scale: Introducing the EOS M4 ONYX, Charting a New Course for Metal Additive Manufacturing (press release of November 18, 2025; M4 ONYX product page with its part-cost footnote and datasheet; 5,000th printer release of January 15, 2025; Texas investment release of January 2026; Evology release of October 22, 2026; EOS Store M 100 listing)

• Nikon SLM Solutions: Peak Productivity: SLM Solutions Launches 12-Laser Machine (NXG XII 600 release; US production release of June 25, 2024 and Long Beach installation article; HII release of February 3, 2026; leadership release of November 4, 2026; Formnext 2026 MACHX page)

• Colibrium Additive: Colibrium Additive awarded Naval Air Systems Command contract to advance metal additive manufacturing (press release of April 22, 2026; rebrand release of April 25, 2024; M Line, X Line 2000R and Spectra M product pages; M Line 4 x 1 kW release of November 18, 2025)

• 3D Systems: 3D Systems Receives $9 Million Contract Award from U.S. Air Force for Advanced Large-Format Metal 3D Printing System (press release of August 10, 2026; DMP Flex 350 Triple product page; aerospace and defense release of January 5, 2026; RAPID + TCT 2026 release of April 13, 2026; Elmet release of July 27, 2026; third-quarter results of November 4, 2026; On Demand Manufacturing sale release of June 1, 2021)

• HP: HP Metal Jet S100 Platform (product page and pricing, build volume and materials FAQ; MJF 1200 and Metal Jet release of April 14, 2026; Hyperion release of October 28, 2026)

• DMG MORI: LASERTEC 65 DED hybrid 2nd Generation (product page; world premiere release of January 26, 2026; LASERTEC 125 DED hybrid page; MG Metalltechnik customer story; Chicago Innovation Days 2026 release)

• ISO: ISO/ASTM 52900:2021, Additive manufacturing, General principles, Fundamentals and vocabulary (standard abstract, confirmed 2025)

This guide is updated quarterly. Last review: November 2026. View all Reliable guides.