The slowest step in industrial metal printing is not always the print. Before a laser touches powder, the build file has to be sliced, sorted into vectors and turned into instructions the machine can run, and on a dense multi-laser job that work can take a while. On 21 October 2026, Eindhoven-based Additive Industries and software firm Materialise announced a Next-Generation Build Processor for the MetalFab platform. In the companies' own benchmark, it cut pre-processing time from 46 minutes to 6.
The software is available to MetalFab users now, according to TCT Magazine. It builds on the existing Additive Industries build processor, and it also brings software features from the newer MetalFab 420K to the wider MetalFab installed base.
What a Build Processor Actually Does
Most makers think of slicing as the step between a model and a print. On a laser powder bed fusion system, the build processor handles a heavier version of that job. It takes the prepared build, with its parts, supports and parameters, and works out the scan vectors each laser will follow on every layer. It decides how exposure is applied and, on multi-laser machines, which laser covers which area. The result is the file the printer actually executes.
Additive Industries' original build processor was first introduced in 2015, TCT reports. That is a long time in this industry. Builds have grown larger, laser counts have gone up, and scan strategies have become much more detailed. A tool designed for the workloads of a decade ago can be expected to strain under today's jobs, and that strain shows up as waiting time between finishing the build layout and starting the machine.
The Numbers
The headline figure comes from the press release. On a benchmark build, the Classic Build Processor 2.6 needed 46 minutes for pre-processing. The Next-Generation Build Processor needed 6 minutes, roughly an 87 percent reduction. The companies credit multiprocessing and optimized algorithms. Put simply, the new software spreads the work across more processor cores and does less redundant work along the way.
It is a vendor benchmark, and the release does not describe the test build in detail, so readers should not assume every job will see the same speed-up. Still, the direction is clear. A queue of builds that once tied up a workstation for most of an hour each could clear in minutes if results like this hold up.
Speed is not the only claim. Additive Industries also points to better handling of large and complex builds, improved process stability, and more control over scan strategies. Those last two are the ones that matter on the shop floor. A file that processes quickly but behaves unpredictably on the machine is no improvement.
420K Features for Existing Machines
The more interesting part of the announcement may be what the update unlocks. The MetalFab 420K launched last year, according to TCT, and several of its software features now reach the wider MetalFab install base through the new processor. The release lists four:
- Optimized laser load balancing, which in general terms spreads scan work across the machine's lasers so that no single laser becomes the bottleneck on a layer.
- Variable beam diameter control by vector type, which allows different spot sizes for different kinds of vectors within the same build.
- Ghost vectors for thermal stability, which the companies tie to improved thermal stability during the build.
- Advanced exposure strategy controls, which give process engineers finer control over how energy is delivered.
For owners of earlier MetalFab systems, this is a software route to capabilities introduced with the newer platform. Industrial hardware buyers tend to judge vendors on how long their installed machines stay current, and pushing flagship features back through a software update is a strong argument on that front.
How It Fits Into the Workflow
The processor integrates with Materialise Magics, which handles build preparation, configuration and job submission. Shops already using Magics to set up MetalFab jobs keep that front end and get the new engine behind it. Existing users can import their profiles from the Classic Build Processor, which matters a great deal. Validated parameter sets typically represent a lot of qualification work in regulated industries, and nobody wants to rebuild them from scratch.
Materialise has done this before. TCT notes that the company has introduced similar Next-Generation Build Processor products for Nikon SLM Solutions and Renishaw. Additive Industries is therefore adopting a pattern Materialise has already applied to other laser powder bed fusion platforms, rather than taking on a one-off development project.
Karel Brans, Senior Director Partnerships at Materialise, framed the speed-up in economic terms, saying the processing time reduction directly impacts cost per part. He also connected the processor to Materialise's CO-AM ecosystem, saying build data becomes part of a wider digital thread from design through production. That is the company's effort to link the steps of an additive production workflow through connected software. The press release also includes comments from Additive Industries CEO Rik Bakker, who described the launch as a step in the company's strategy to maximize productivity and process performance for customers.
Bottom Line for Makers
Few FilamentFeed readers have a MetalFab in the garage. Even so, the announcement shows where the work in metal additive manufacturing is moving. The hardware gets the attention, but much of the practical progress now comes from software: how fast a build can be prepared, how precisely lasers are coordinated, and how heat is managed layer by layer. Ghost vectors and per-vector beam diameter are the industrial counterparts of the slicer settings hobbyists adjust on desktop machines, with much higher stakes per build.
For anyone sending parts to a metal service bureau, the cost argument is the one to watch. If pre-processing drops from most of an hour to a few minutes, engineering time per job could fall with it. Brans argues that saving flows into cost per part, though whether bureaus pass it on is another question.
For existing MetalFab operators, the practical points are simple. The update is available now, it works with the Magics workflow they already use, it imports their existing profiles, and it adds 420K-era scan controls according to the release. The 46-to-6-minute benchmark deserves to be checked against their own builds. The feature list is useful either way.
