EOS Smart Fusion

Closed-Loop Process Control for Support-Reduced Metal Additive Manufacturing

EOS Smart Fusion

Precision. Efficiency. Sustainability.

EOS Smart Fusion is EOS’s closed-loop process control innovation for metal additive manufacturing. It actively manages thermal conditions during the build process to reduce support structures, improve part quality, and increase productivity.

Available as part of EOS Smart Monitoring, Smart Fusion uses live data from EOSTATE Exposure OT to automatically adjust laser power during the build - transforming process monitoring into intelligent, real-time process control.

EOS Smart Fusion is available with the EOS Smart Monitoring software plan and requires an active EOS Build Plan and OT camera system.

What Is EOS Smart Fusion?

EOS Smart Fusion is an automated, software-based thermal management technology for metal AM.

By continuously monitoring thermal emissions and energy input during the build, Smart Fusion dynamically adjusts laser power to keep the process within defined limits established during pre-processing. This enables stable builds even for challenging geometries without relying on excessive support structures.

Smart Fusion represents the next step beyond monitoring: from observing the process to actively controlling it.

Why Closed-Loop Control Matters in Metal AM

In laser powder bed fusion, thermal instability is one of the main causes of:

support-heavy designs
long build times
part distortion and defects
repeated trial builds

Static process parameters alone cannot compensate for local thermal variations caused by geometry, heat accumulation, or part orientation.

Smart Fusion closes this gap by reacting to real-time process data during the build - enabling robust, repeatable production conditions.

How EOS Smart Fusion Works

Smart Fusion enhances the conventional DMLS process through real-time monitoring and closed-loop feedback. In practice, this means:

A high-resolution OT camera continuously measures thermal emissions and energy input
Exposure OT analyzes gray-value distributions and thermal behavior layer by layer
Smart Fusion dynamically calculates the optimal laser power based on local conditions
Laser power is adjusted automatically during the build

This process is repeated layer by layer with an optical resolution of approximately 100 µm, allowing Smart Fusion to continuously react to local thermal variations throughout the entire build.

The result is a stable, first-time-right manufacturing process that significantly reduces the number of required iterations while enabling a substantial reduction in support structures.

Key Benefits of EOS Smart Fusion

Reduced Support Structures

Smart Fusion minimizes - and in some cases eliminates - the need for traditional support structures. This increases design freedom, reduces post-processing effort, and lowers material consumption and waste.

Increased Build Speed and Productivity

By actively managing heat and reducing cool-down times, Smart Fusion enables faster builds and higher throughput. Productivity gains of up to 40% are possible, depending on geometry, material, parameters, and system configuration.

Enhanced Part Quality

Real-time thermal control ensures more homogeneous heat distribution, reducing overheating and defects such as warping, cracking, and porosity. This results in improved microstructure and mechanical properties.

Reduced Cost per Part

Smart Fusion lowers cost per part by reducing material consumption through fewer support structures, shortening build times while improving machine utilization, minimizing scrap rates and build iterations, and significantly reducing post-processing and rework effort.

Smart Fusion Replay

Reproducible Intelligence for Series Production

Smart Fusion Replay enables the adaptive process control of Smart Fusion to be applied as a fully reproducible manufacturing process.

Once a build job has been optimized, Smart Fusion Replay allows it to be repeated deterministically, including all laser-related corrections. This is a key enabler for quality-critical and regulated industries such as aerospace and medical technology.

Smart Fusion Replay bridges the gap between intelligent process control and industrial-scale series production by ensuring: traceability, reproducibility and compliance with qualification requirements

Smart Fusion in the EOS Software Ecosystem

Smart Fusion is fully integrated into the EOS software stack:

EOS Build defines validated parameters and exposure strategies
EOSTATE Exposure OT monitors thermal behavior in real time
EOS Smart Fusion actively controls the process during the build

Together, they form a closed-loop system for data-driven, industrial metal additive manufacturing.

Training and Expert Enablement

To support successful adoption, EOS offers Smart Fusion Expert Sessions:

In-depth insights into intelligent process control
Practical examples and real-world applications
Guide on heat management, quality improvement, cost reduction

Designed for professionals aiming to increase efficiency, reliability, and competitive advantage in metal AM.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Smart Fusion

Whitepaper

This whitepaper explains how Smart Fusion enables support-reduced metal additive manufacturing through closed-loop process control, including design guidelines, qualification approaches, and real-world application examples.

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Smart Fusion Expert Session

Webinar

In this exclusive expert session, you’ll gain deep insights into the technology, its functional principles, and real-world applications – all packed into 7 focused chapters led by our top specialists.

Master the Challenge of Support-Free

On-Demand Webinar

This expert webinar shows how Smart Fusion enables support-free and support-reduced metal AM, reduces cost per part, and expands design freedom through intelligent thermal management.

Less Support: AM for Sustainability

Blog Article

This article explores how reducing support structures with real-time process control improves sustainability by lowering material usage, post-processing effort, and energy consumption in metal AM.