Concept Laser M2 Series 5 Metal 3D Printer

The Concept Laser M2 Series 5 is a dual-laser metal powder bed fusion system from Concept Laser — now part of GE Additive — designed for mid-volume industrial production of complex metal parts in aerospace, medical, and industrial tooling applications. The Series 5 designation marks a significant evolution of Concept Laser's M2 platform, incorporating GE Additive's engineering improvements in laser optics, powder management, and control software developed following GE's 2016 acquisition of Concept Laser.

The M2 Series 5 builds on a 250 x 250 x 350 mm build volume with two 400W fiber lasers operating in parallel across the full build platform. Each laser scans independently with full z-axis coverage, enabling simultaneous exposure of any region of the powder bed. This dual-laser configuration provides roughly double the build rate of a single-laser equivalent while maintaining the process consistency and material quality that Concept Laser established as an industry benchmark — particularly for reactive metal alloys in aerospace and medical applications.

Concept Laser's LaserCUSING process — the company's proprietary term for its LPBF approach — is characterized by stochastic island scan strategies that distribute thermal energy across the build area rather than using linear scan vectors. This island scanning approach reduces residual stress build-up in the part, particularly important for large cross-section geometries where thermal gradient-driven distortion is a production challenge. The M2 Series 5 retains this approach while adding improved laser scan speed and power modulation through GE Additive's updated scan controller.

The machine is equipped with Concept Laser's proven closed-loop powder management system with overflow powder containment and automated powder sieving preparation. Process monitoring is handled through Concept Laser's QMmeltpool monitoring system, which captures meltpool imaging data layer by layer for in-process quality verification — a capability aerospace and medical customers increasingly require as part of their process qualification documentation. GE Additive's CT inspection and materials qualification services complement the M2 Series 5 hardware platform for customers building full production qualification packages.