How AltForm Redefines Powder Bed Fusion Through AI-Powered Software Suite

AltForm’s journey began as Prima Additive, a company founded in 2018 with a strong focus on industrial laser technologies and metal additive manufacturing. Over the years, the company focused on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED), with plans to move additive manufacturing from prototyping to industrial production.

Last Novebmer, the company rebranded as AltForm after a majority acquisition by precision manufacturing technologies company Sodick Group in May 2025.

Why software and AI are becoming central to machine tool builders in Europe 

AltForm strongly believes that the future of European machine tool manufacturers will increasingly depend on their ability to integrate advanced processes, automation and artificial intelligence into coherent industrial platforms. 

Hardware performance alone is no longer enough. In many mature manufacturing technologies, including Powder Bed Fusion (the most established metal additive manufacturing technology to date), mechanical performance, laser power and build volume are approaching a level of standardization. As a result, differentiation must increasingly come from software intelligence, usability, data exploitation and operational efficiency. 

In AltForm’s case, this vision applies to advanced laser technologies. Laser Powder Bed Fusion technology is a core pillar, but it is part of a wider ecosystem that also includes Direct Energy Deposition, remote laser welding, laser hardening and advanced surface treatments.

AltForm

Rethinking the human–machine interface in the age of AI 

This challenge led AltForm to a fundamental question: what should the user interface of a machine tool look like in the era of artificial intelligence? 

Traditionally, additive manufacturing systems, especially PBF machines, require highly skilled operators. In many production environments, these operators are engineers rather than technicians. This creates a significant hidden cost: the total cost of ownership of a machine is not only driven by capital expenditure and consumables, but also by the cost of highly specialized personnel required to run it. 

At the same time, the company realized that a comprehensive software suite could have a direct impact on its business model. Rather than remaining a pure machine builder, AltForm saw the opportunity to evolve into a platform orchestrator, where value is generated through data, intelligence, services and ecosystem integration. 

Partnering with Connect Reply to build a software-first ecosystem 

To turn this vision into reality, AltForm partnered with Connect Reply, one of Italy’s leading software development companies and part of the Reply Group, known for large-scale industrial digitalization and AI projects. 

Together, AltForm and Connect Reply designed and developed a fully integrated software suite for Powder Bed Fusion systems. 

The ecosystem is structured around three layers: 

1. An on-machine Human-Machine Interface (HMI) 

2. A mobile interface for remote monitoring and control 

3. A centralized fleet-management platform 

Across all three layers, AltForm introduced a first, concrete step in AI adoption: a virtual assistant embedded into the user experience. 

The AI virtual assistant: lowering barriers and guiding operators 

The AI virtual assistant is the cornerstone of AltForm’s software strategy and the element most directly aligned with the current AI discourse in machine tools. 

The assistant is available across the HMI, the mobile interface and the fleet-management platform, ensuring consistency and continuity of interaction. 

Its core functions include: 

• Supporting operators through build setup, job preparation, parameter selection and workflow execution

• Helps identify anomalies, interpret alarms and suggest corrective actions based on machine state and historical data

• Leads operators through scheduled and corrective maintenance procedures

• Analyzes machine behavior and usage patterns to suggest preventive actions

AltForm

Mobile control and fleet intelligence 

Beyond the machine itself, AltForm extended the same logic to factory-level oversight. 

The mobile interface allows users to monitor machine status, job progress and key production metrics remotely. At a higher level, the fleet-management software provides centralized visibility across multiple systems. 

Blockchain, digital passports and IP protection 

An additional dimension of the software suite addresses traceability, certification and intellectual property protection, increasingly important in regulated and distributed manufacturing environments. 

AltForm’s software enables the creation of a digital passport for each component, storing process data, machine parameters and production history. Blockchain technologies are used to ensure data integrity and trustworthiness.

The same infrastructure can also be used to protect design data, allowing customers to send encrypted build files to third parties without granting access to the underlying geometry. The machine can execute the job, but the design itself remains protected, addressing a key concern in distributed manufacturing models. 

Why Powder Bed Fusion was the starting point 

AltForm deliberately chose Powder Bed Fusion as the first technology for this software transformation. 

PBF is one of the most mature metal additive manufacturing processes. As hardware performance converges, differentiation based solely on laser count or build volume becomes increasingly limited. AltForm decided that the real competitive edge should shift toward software intelligence, usability and operational efficiency. 

Today, AltForm’s PBF systems are among the few on the market already integrating a native AI virtual assistant, positioning software as a primary differentiator rather than a secondary feature. 

AltForm

What comes next: deeper AI integration and real-time intelligence 

Future developments will focus on: 

• Advanced real-time process monitoring via AI-based pattern recognition

• Deeper correlation between sensor data, process parameters and part quality

• Continuous learning mechanisms

• Expanded predictive models

Beyond PBF, a major challenge lies in extending the same software and AI logic to other laser technologies, starting with Direct Energy Deposition and later including remote laser welding and surface treatments. 

Integrating lasers, automation and AI as a unified vision 

The goal is not to replace human expertise, but to augment it. This shift may prove to be one of the most decisive differentiators for the next generation of machine tools.