How ACMI’s new AMCM M 8K expands domestic aerospace and defense manufacturing capacity

In late January, ACMI has acquired the AMCM M 8K, becoming the first organization worldwide to deploy the large-format laser powder bed fusion system. The acquisition falls into ACMI’s strategy to strengthen the U.S. industrial base by providing advanced manufacturing access to aerospace and defense contractors and their supply chains.

The M 8K is engineered for mission-critical components, including rocket engines and missile structures. The system combines an 800 × 800 × 1,200-millimeter build envelope with eight U.S.-made 1.2-kilowatt nLIGHT lasers, capable of processing demanding materials, including copper alloys. The platform can move up to four metric tons of powder along the Z-axis while maintaining precision, a technical requirement for production-scale aerospace work.

Two technical innovations address challenges that have historically limited large-format powder bed fusion. AirSword is a gas-flow management system that maintains uniform airflow across the entire build area, preventing laser smoke from interacting with the optics and protecting optics during extended runs. Dynamic Scan Fields, a software capability within EOSPrint, allows eight lasers to operate cooperatively rather than in fixed quadrants. Users can select from fully automated layer-dependent optimization, controlled-overlap strategies for reproducibility, or fixed segmentation for high-volume multipart jobs—flexibility that reflects the diversity of aerospace and defense production workflows.

AMCM, the customization division of EOS, designed the M 8K specifically for large-format metal additive manufacturing. The company retained a fixed-scanner architecture—where lasers remain stationary and the powder bed moves—rather than adopting moving-optics approaches used by some competitors. According to Georg Fey, Team Manager Application & Innovation at AMCM, this approach maintains speed and quality without the complexity of moving optics.

ACMI will operate the M 8K alongside an M 290 system already in its facility, both equipped with nLIGHT lasers and compatible with the same process workflows. The pairing allows customers to use the smaller M 290 for initial process development before scaling to production volumes on the M 8K. EOS Additive Minds, a U.S.-based support team, provides process development services.

The acquisition also reflects the broader U.S. government and industrial emphasis on onshoring critical manufacturing, especially as global tensions continue to escalate. By expanding domestic production capacity for components previously manufactured offshore or constrained by supply availability, ACMI aims to strengthen supply chain resilience in the defense and aerospace sectors. John Burer, Founder and CEO of ACMI Group, characterized the acquisition as enabling U.S. manufacturers to develop new production strategies and scale efficiently. ACMI operates through affiliates ACMI Federal, ACMI Capital, and ACMI Properties, consolidating funding, resources, and expertise to address gaps in the U.S. industrial base.