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HP Enters 3D Printing Market; Unveils Technology to Resolve Issues of Speed, Quality, and Cost

PALO ALTO, Calif.—HP's first foray into 3D printing attempts to fill critical gaps with a Multi Jet Fusion technology, offering solutions to speed, quality, and cost that have somewhat held 3D printing back. HP's Multi Jet Fusion is part of the company's new Blended Reality ecosystem, which is designed to break down barriers between the digital and physical worlds.

The new Multi Jet Fusion technology is intended to deliver on the full potential of 3D printing and will "change the way we think about manufacturing," according to company representatives in a press release.

"We are on the cusp of a transformative era in computing and printing," said Dion Weisler, executive vice president, Printing & Personal Systems (PPS) for HP, in the release. "Our ability to deliver Blended Reality technologies will reduce the barriers between the digital and physical worlds, enabling us to express ourselves at the speed of thought—without filters, without limitations."

These 3D printing advancements have the potential to revolutionize production and offer small businesses a new way to produce goods and parts for customers, according to representatives.

Multi Jet Fusion Benefits At-a-Glance Multi Jet Fusion is built on HP Thermal Inkjet technology and features a synchronous architecture that significantly improves the commercial viability of 3D printing, according to company representatives. 10-Times Faster: Images entire surface areas versus one point at a time to achieve break-through functional build speeds that are at least 10 times faster than the fastest technology in market today. New Levels of Quality, Strength and Durability: Proprietary multi-agent printing process utilizing HP Thermal Inkjet arrays that simultaneously apply multiple liquid agents to produce best-in-class quality that combines greater accuracy, resiliency and uniform part strength in all three axis directions. Accuracy and Detail: Capable of delivering fully functional parts with more accuracy, finer details and smooth surfaces, and able to manipulate part and material properties, including form, texture, friction, strength, elasticity, electrical, thermal properties and more—beyond other 3D print processes. Achieves Break-through Economics: Unifies and integrates various steps of the 3D print process to reduce running time, cost, energy consumption and waste to significantly improve 3D printing economics.

HP is working directly with customers under the HP Open Customer Engagement Program and will invite open collaboration. The hope is that HP and contributors will be able to achieve greater flexibility and versatility in 3D print materials beyond the current use of thermoplastics, which is expected to enable new solutions in segments such as additive manufacturing and to expand applications for engineering, architecture, and consumer goods. HP will also bring its color science and the full-color capabilities of traditional HP printing to 3D world in future-generation 3D Print systems.

Leveraging the company's decades of leadership in the print market and advanced materials science, HP Multi Jet Fusion is designed to resolve fundamental limitations in today's 3D print systems while delivering higher productivity and quality at a lower cost, according to company representatives.

"As we examined the existing 3D print market, we saw a great deal of potential but also saw major gaps in the combination of speed, quality, and cost," said Stephen Nigro, senior vice president, Inkjet and Graphic Solutions for HP, in the release. "HP Multi Jet Fusion is designed to transform manufacturing across industries by delivering on the full potential of 3D printing with better quality, increased productivity, and break-through economics."

The technology is primarily targeted to corporate clients, but HP wants to make it available to consumers as well as through 3D printing service bureaus. HP (www.hp.com) offers a broad technology portfolio spanning printing, personal systems, software, services and IT infrastructure.

Sprout by HP Reimagines Computing

HP is also introducing Sprout, a desktop computer that works as a dual-screen with a projector and a 3D-capable scanner that allows users to take physical items and seamlessly merge them into a digital workspace. The system also delivers what the company calls "an unmatched collaboration platform" allowing users in multiple locations to collaborate on and manipulate a single piece of digital content in real-time.

"People have always created with their hands," said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president, Consumer PC & Solutions for HP, in the release. "Concurrently, technology has progressed from the first transistors, through calculators to today's most sophisticated computing platforms. Until now, the physical and digital worlds have largely been separated and digital creation has remained in 2D. With Sprout by HP, we introduce the first immersive computing platform, seamlessly merging these two worlds together, enabling people to intuitively bring their creations, work, and projects to life in 3D."