EOS GmbH is rolling out a new titanium processing method for its EOS M4 ONYX metal 3D printer, an update the company says removes one of the biggest bottlenecks in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) production of Ti64 parts. The six-laser system's new Ti64 60-micron parameter set lets the EOS M4 ONYX print low-angle overhangs, down to 25–30 degrees, without support structures, EOS said in a September 3 blog post. EOS frames the goal as a system built to "shatter legacy laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) constraints," arguing that traditional Ti64 printing has forced manufacturers into high surface roughness and manual support removal.
The EOS M4 ONYX addresses the overhang problem with what EOS calls "automatic contour parametrization," software that adjusts laser settings in real time based on the local overhang angle of each surface instead of one fixed setting. The adjustment targets down-facing surfaces, where heat tends to accumulate, while leaving already-stable up-facing surfaces alone. EOS says the result is a more uniform surface finish that needs less post-print smoothing to reach net shape.
For quality teams, the more consequential number may be porosity. EOS reports density levels below 0.005 percent porosity across the entire build plate, including in cantilevered parts, not just lab test cubes. Because subsurface porosity is a common crack initiation site under cyclic fatigue loading, especially in aerospace and medical titanium parts, that reduction could ease the CT scanning and inspection work needed to certify parts. EOS attributes part of the gain to new exposure features aimed at vector endpoints, where the company says legacy titanium processes tend to generate pores.
Hardware changes drive the throughput side. EOS moved from four lasers to six on the M4 ONYX and paired them with new dynamic scanners and exposure-ordering software that cuts down on skywriting and short jumps between vectors, moments that eat into theoretical build-rate math. The company settled on a 60-micron layer thickness as a balance between deposition speed and feature resolution. Smarter scanning also reduces spatter, the oxidized metal droplets ejected from the melt pool that otherwise have to be sieved out of reusable powder.
EOS is porting the parameter set's benefits to its existing EOS M 290 and EOS M 400-4 systems. Those machines will not match the M4 ONYX's build speed, but EOS said customers can expect measurable gains in surface quality, density, and spatter reduction on the older hardware.
