By Michelle Martin, Editor — November 9, 2017
Courtesy of HP
HP Jet Fusion 32 4200 printers
3D printing is one of the most disruptive technologies of our time, spearheading a new 4th Industrial Revolution that will radically change the way we conceive, design, produce, distribute, and consume pretty much everything.
But until now, 3D printing hasn’t been a viable means of large-scale industrial manufacturing (think big factories) because of prohibitively expensive production costs and limited technology. In order to realize HP’s vision of digitally transforming the $12 trillion global manufacturing industry, the economics of 3D printing needed to be completely rewritten.
Today, HP announced that it has smashed that economic barrier and paved the way for cost-effective, industrial-scale 3D manufacturing with the new Jet Fusion 3D 4210 Printing Solution.
The new solution increases production volume for HP Jet Fusion 3D printers by enabling continuous operation, greater overall system efficiency, and the ability handle larger quantities of 3D printing materials, while significantly lowering production costs with reduced pricing on HP’s 3D materials and shared service contracts.
When put together with HP’s industry-leading Multi Jet Fusion technology, those enhancements double the existing “break-even point” at which 3D printing remains cost-effective to an unprecedented 110,000 parts, and drastically reduces the cost-per-part, up to 65% less than other methods.
“The new 3D 4210 Printing Solution enables our customers to mass-produce parts using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology for significantly less than other processes, and fully benefit from the economies of scale,” says Ramon Pastor, General Manager of Multi Jet Fusion for HP’s 3D printing business. “HP’s Jet Fusion 3D systems have now reached a technological and economic inflection point that combines the speed, quality, and scalability needed to accelerate manufacturing’s digital industrial revolution.”
Courtesy of HP
Materials companies can use HP’s Materials Development Kit to quickly test compatibility with Jet Fusion printers.
Today, HP also announced the further expansion of its industry-first Open Materials Platform, a collaborative development and distribution model where HP and its growing ecosystem of 3D partners work together to drive materials innovation, reduce costs, and create new applications and markets for Multi Jet Fusion technology. There are already over 50 leading companies actively engaged on the platform.
It was announced that leading chemical companies Dressler Group and Lubrizol have joined the growing HP 3D partner ecosystem, and also that three new three new engineering-grade 3D printing materials are coming to the open platform: PA 11, PA 12 Glass Beads, and Polypropylene.
The new materials raise the bar on production quality, strength, versatility, and flexibility, but only one of them is going to space (for now).
The new HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 Glass Beads, an innovative new nylon material filled with tiny glass beads, was used to make one of the most complex parts in a specially-designed HP ENVY Zero-Gravity printer developed with NASA that’s being sent to the International Space Station this February. The printer’s output tray needed to be particularly lightweight, watertight, and durable for its journey to space, and 3D printing with PA 12 Glass Beads provided the perfect solution.
HP continues to unlock the economics and technology of 3D manufacturing, with a deeply-engaged network of partners committed to accelerating the digital industrial revolution.
Says Corey Weber, co-founder of leading printing service bureau Forecast 3D, “It has never been more clear to us that HP’s Multi Jet Fusion represents the future of digital manufacturing.”
