IMTS 2026 brings the North American debut of EOS’s six-laser M4 Onyx

IMTS 2026, running September 14-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago, sets aside part of its South Building for an Additive Manufacturing Sector produced in partnership with Mesago and GBM and accelerated by Formnext. At the show, EOS brings the North American introduction of the M4 Onyx, a laser powder bed fusion system that the company first unveiled at Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt and began shipping commercially in the first quarter of 2026.

The machine pairs a 450 x 450 x 360 mm build volume with six 400 W lasers, delivering 50 percent higher throughput and a 30 percent lower cost per part than its prior systems and supporting titanium, nickel, steel, and aluminum alloys at launch. A four-laser variant built around 1 kW beam-shaping lasers, the M4 Onyx FLX, is due in the third quarter of 2026. “We are working closely with customers and partners across the defense and aerospace supply chain to help address the growing need for faster, more resilient production,” said Patrick Boyd, marketing director at EOS.

AI moves in on AM

AMT, which owns and produces IMTS, frames additive manufacturing’s role at the show around where artificial intelligence is entering the production workflow rather than around any single machine. Boyd notes that AM advances featured in the Additive Manufacturing Sector include AI-enabled tools that optimize build preparation, automatically orient parts, generate support structures, and simulate builds to predict distortion or failure before printing begins. During production, AI-driven monitoring systems analyze meltpool behavior and sensor data in real time to detect anomalies, helping ensure part quality and repeatability. Post-build, machine learning is being applied to process data to continuously refine parameters, reducing trial and error, and accelerating qualification cycles.

AMT sees additive manufacturing as one tool, along with automation and AI, that helps suppliers move critical components from long, multi-tier supply chains to on-demand, localized production. The framing matches the broader numbers IMTS organizers cite for the show: manufacturing technology orders reached $2.19 billion in the first four months of 2026, up 28.9 percent year over year, according to AMT’s U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report, while manufacturing labor productivity rose 3.2 percent in the first quarter on a 3.3 percent output increase with flat hours worked, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

When push comes to reshoring

IMTS, which encompasses 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space and 10 Technology Sectors, features about 40 million tons of equipment, hosts thousands of live demonstrations, and attracts more than 89,000 people and 1,800 exhibitors. Because of rapid technology advances, IMTS 2026 will be the first major industry event where visitors can learn how Industrial AI operates across machining, automation, metrology, software, tooling, quality control, AM, production, and planning systems. New attractions include the Industrial AI Arena and the Industrial AI Conference.

“Production demands and workforce constraints are pushing manufacturers to take a closer look at technologies like AI, digital twins, additive manufacturing, and advanced automation, all of which are woven through the manufacturing ecosystem at IMTS,” said Mike Cicco, president and CEO of FANUC America and chairman of the board at AMT.

“As companies adopt digital technologies, they improve efficiency, increase operational visibility and achieve more consistent results,” continued Cicco. “Visitors to IMTS will see how advances in AI-driven capabilities like vision systems, predictive analytics, and adaptive control can simplify programming and routine tasks, enable employees to take on higher-value responsibilities, and make automation of parts and data more accessible across a broader range of skill levels.”

IMTS 2026 is expected to draw more than 89,000 attendees and 1,800 exhibitors across 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space and 10 technology sectors, including AM alongside industrial AI, automation, digital twins, machining, and metrology.