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Additive Manufacturing Industry Shifts to Application-Driven: Ursa Major and EOS Deepen Strategic Cooperation

September 27, 2025 Applications 251

In the advanced manufacturing lab of Ursa Major, a rocket propulsion company based in Youngstown, Ohio, EOS laser powder bed fusion 3D printers are producing rocket engine components on demand.

As a benchmark application enterprise in the additive manufacturing field, Ursa Major's choice of partners holds significant reference value for understanding the entire additive manufacturing industry.

Ursa Major once announced the formation of the "American Additive Manufacturing Ecosystem Alliance (AAAME)," further lowering the threshold for external understanding of its partnership network. Other founding members of this alliance include software provider Dyndrite, laser manufacturer nLIGHT, and EOS—one of the pioneer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the additive manufacturing industry. Ursa Major and EOS have established a strategic partnership for many years, with the core of their early collaboration being EOS's copper powder bed fusion (PBF) technology.

Greg Hayes, Senior Vice President of the Global Additive Applications Department at EOS, stated, "Without the continuous pressure and demands from our customers, EOS would not have achieved what it has today. Our customer base is driving the industry forward, and for applied technology, this is the best path to success. In emerging technology fields, everyone is looking for customers who can not only push the technical limits once but also turn those advancements into routine operations."

EOS has announced that Ursa Major plans to purchase three additional M 450-4 FLX machines manufactured by AMCM, a brand under EOS, for the production of hypersonic vehicle components. Nick Doucette, Vice President of Operations at Ursa Major, stated, "Ursa Major is committed to scaling up the production of cost-effective, high-performance hypersonic systems, which requires partners with both reliability and exceptional technological expertise. EOS, with its decades of equipment R&D capabilities and an additive applications team we've had the privilege of collaborating with for years, perfectly meets both these requirements."

The core commonality between EOS and Ursa Major lies in both companies' professional ability to flexibly balance R&D and commercialization. Greg Hayes remarked, "Collaborating with Ursa Major and working closely with their engineers allows them to fully leverage all the tools still under development at the EOS R&D Center. This is one of the key ways they continue to push the boundaries of technology—though clearly, this path isn't suitable for every company. Most EOS customers need a more convenient 'shortcut.' However, companies like Ursa Major don't rely on shortcuts; they apply professional-grade control capabilities within the stable additive manufacturing ecosystem that EOS has built over the long term."

While Ursa Major's development path may not be suitable for all companies, the growth and expansion of the AAAME alliance are expected to make pushing the limits of additive manufacturing technology a more achievable goal. In the alliance's founding press release, Ursa Major CEO Dan Jablonsky explained the core motivation behind creating AAAME: "America cannot afford fragile supply chains, vulnerability to international economic fluctuations, or decade-long delivery cycles for critical national security systems. This alliance brings together key players in the additive manufacturing ecosystem to build a more responsive and resilient industrial base. Our goal, through coordinating policy, innovation, and execution, is to ensure warfighters receive the equipment they need when they need it."

Jablonsky added, "Ursa Major is the right company to drive change in engine production models now because it is unburdened by legacy systems. The company can start from scratch, selecting technologies suited to current mission requirements, while possessing excellent intellectual property and a talented engineering team. At least within its focused core product areas, these advantages enable it to generate greater impact faster than traditional industry leaders."

EOS has consequently become an ideal partner for Ursa Major at this stage: the performance and reliability of EOS-branded equipment are widely recognized, which aligns precisely with what Ursa Major seeks – a partner capable of scaling alongside its needs and offering reliability in both technological and commercial aspects. Ursa Major requires a collaborator that can grow with them during production scaling, one willing to go all-in and assist them in fully mastering methods to optimize part production using the equipment.

Looking ahead, another crucial role of the AAAME alliance lies in enabling Ursa Major, EOS, and the broader U.S. industrial base to achieve more flexible switching between defense and commercial production. In the current context of rapid defense technology development, while "dual-use" has become a frequently mentioned term, its practical value as a critical mechanism for emergency production scaling under national security demands remains highly significant and cannot be overlooked.