The world’s largest 3D printer and a cancelled IPO - the curious case of Eplus3D
The Atomic Layers: 00317
Atomic Layer of the Week:
Eplus3D has unveiled a metal 3D printer that measures 3 meters by 3 meters by 3 meters - and that’s just the standard version. Optionally, it can be expanded to 5 by 10 by 5 meters.
In other words, the size of a small house 😳
On top of that, it’s equipped with 100 lasers, with the option to scale up to 256. The machine is capable of producing 670 kilograms of metal per day. No other system of this kind comes close to these parameters.
And yet, the same company has just withdrawn its IPO application 🤨
Eplus3D had filed for a listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market, aiming to raise around $177 million. The plans were concrete: expanding production capacity in Beijing, building an R&D center in Hangzhou, and developing a global service network.
All of that has now been pulled - without explanation. The exchange formally terminated the process. Case closed.
How is it possible that a company building record-breaking machines struggles to go public?
To understand that, you first need to appreciate what Eplus3D has actually achieved from an engineering standpoint. The EP-M3050 is not just a slightly larger 3D printer.
It represents solutions to several fundamental engineering challenges that have long limited large-format LPBF metal printing.
The first issue is galvanometer mirrors, which scan the laser beam across the powder bed. On small machines, they work well. But as the build area increases, so does the angle of reflection, which distorts the laser spot at the edges.
One solution is to mount the mirrors higher - but that makes the machine impractically tall. Eplus3D bypassed this by distributing the workload across hundreds of lasers operating in parallel.
The second issue is gas flow. During LPBF, the laser melts metal powder, generating smoke and fumes. If the laser passes through that cloud, it loses power - and the result is a defect.
Maintaining uniform gas flow in a small machine is manageable. In a machine the size of a house, it becomes comparable to designing an industrial ventilation system - but with laboratory-level precision. Eplus3D claims to have solved this as well.
And the numbers support that claim. The material deposition rate reaches 3,500 cubic centimeters per hour - roughly equivalent to the volume output of about 150,000 desktop printers.
The system can print in rectangular, cylindrical, or even ring-shaped volumes — the latter because many large metal components have that geometry, so there’s no need to print empty space.
It’s an impressive achievement. No one else has built anything like it.
And this is where the paradox begins…
Eplus3D is growing. Revenue increased from 247 million yuan in 2022 to 471 million in 2024 - over +38% annual growth. Hardware margins reach 46%, and international sales - through subsidiaries in Germany and the U.S. — go as high as 58%.
Net profit rose from 68 to 99 million yuan year-over-year. The company holds 123 patents. Its machines are pioneering not just in China, but globally.
An IPO seemed like a natural next step. Yet Eplus3D unexpectedly withdrew its application.
IPO processes in China are not abandoned without reason. The prospectus, filed in June 2025, revealed several areas that regulators tend to scrutinize closely.
First, receivables. They grew faster than revenue - from 82 million yuan in 2022 to 217 million in 2024, reaching 46% of annual revenue. More than one-third of those receivables were overdue by more than a year.
In simple terms: the company is selling, but it takes a long time to get paid. That’s not a healthy signal for investors.
Second, key machine components - lasers and galvanometers - are sourced from foreign suppliers. According to the prospectus, there are no domestic alternatives yet.
In a context of tightening export controls, especially between the U.S. and China, that’s a major risk. The company builds machines whose core technology could, in theory, be cut off.
Did these factors halt the IPO? It’s unclear. But connecting the dots, it’s hard not to conclude that the capital market looked at Eplus3D and thought: too early, too complex, too many uncertainties.
And that brings us to the core issue.
Metal 3D printing remains a niche. LPBF systems are complex to operate, expensive to purchase and maintain, and require specialized knowledge and infrastructure. They have very real applications — aerospace, space, medical, energy - but these are limited-scale markets with long purchasing cycles and strict certification requirements.
Innovation in this space - even as spectacular as the EP-M3050 - is difficult to commercialize.
Not because it’s flawed. But because the market doesn’t yet know what to do with it.
A public market investor looking at 256 lasers and a house-sized printer doesn’t think about engineering elegance. They think about how many customers will buy it, when they will pay, and whether the company will end up producing ever-larger parts for an ever-smaller customer base.
Eplus3D can print 670 kilograms of metal per day. The question every analyst asks is not “is it possible?”, but “who needs this, and how much are they willing to pay?”
And that’s a question the prospectus did not answer convincingly.
Maybe the company will return in a year with a revised application. Maybe it will seek private capital. Maybe the market will eventually catch up.
Or perhaps the EP-M3050 will remain what it is today - a record-breaking machine discussed at industry conferences, installed in a handful of facilities worldwide, doing things no one else can do.
But that’s not a business model that convinces the stock market.
Atomic Layer from the Past:
37 years ago, Hans J. Langer and Dr. Hans Steinbichler founded EOS, Germany’s first rapid prototyping company.
Initially focused on stereolithography, EOS shifted in the 1990s to laser-based powder bed fusion (SLS and DMLS), becoming a global leader in additive manufacturing. Its first customer was BMW.
Steinbichler left the company in 1990, and sadly passed away in 2005.
EOS pioneered key systems, including Europe’s first SLS machine and an early commercial metal AM platform. By 1997, it focused entirely on laser sintering. The company later expanded globally, developed advanced materials, and launched Additive Minds.
Leadership transitioned from Langer to his daughter Marie, reflecting EOS’s evolution into a mature industrial AM powerhouse.
Read all:
News & Gossip:
#1
And since we’re on the subject of Chinese companies and market debuts, Creality has filed for a Hong Kong IPO - its third attempt to go public and a potentially historic listing for the consumer 3D printing segment.
The company remains the global leader by cumulative shipments, but is losing ground to Bambu Lab, which a while ago overtook it in annual sales.
According to documents Creality’s revenues are growing, but unit sales are declining and profitability has turned negative. Yes, the company is running on loss, despite being profitable in following years…
#2
Last week, I wrote about HP’s new 3D printer, suggesting the company had effectively ended speculation about a potential exit from the AM industry. This week, the market reacted. Shares of HP Inc. jumped more than 7% in a single day - the strongest performance in over a year!
#3
Elegoo has secured over RMB 500 million in a Series B+ funding round led by Meituan, with participation from other investment funds. This follows a previous Series B round in November 2025 backed by DJI. The company reported over RMB 2.3 billion (~EUR 290 million) in revenue for 2025, with more than 90% generated overseas.
#4
BIWI SA, a Swiss manufacturer of elastomers and composites, has acquired the assets of bankrupt startup 9T Labs, including its intellectual property and 40 machines. The Zurich-based company had previously raised $21.5 million before entering bankruptcy in November 2025.
BIWI has rebranded the acquired composite additive manufacturing technology as Neocarb and plans to integrate it into its operations.
#5
Velo3D announced they will sponsor Andretti Performance and provide AM technology for two 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge events at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. Its branding will appear on the No. 43 Andretti Performance Porsche.
Velo3D has already produced an aluminium CP1 radio control mounting bracket for the car, improving rigidity and reducing weight using Constellium’s Aheadd CP1 alloy.
#6
And finally, I regret to inform you that Michael Molitch-Hou’s book “Impossible Works: The Book of 3D Printed Art” didn’t reach its funding goal on Kickstarter. The book was described by me here:
Mike himself, however, hasn’t lost his vigor and still intends to publish it through traditional publishing! 💪