HP Showcases Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing Applications, Announces Expanded Partnerships

HP‘s Multi Jet Fusion technology has been spreading to every corner of the industry as the company cements partnerships all over the world. This week in Barcelona at the HP Innovation Summit, HP announced additional collaborations that will see the technology further utilized by some industry heavyweights, as well as highlighting several of the applications in which Multi Jet Fusion is already being used to change how things are made.

“The digital transformation of the $12 trillion manufacturing industry is changing the game for the world’s designers, product developers, manufacturing and supply chain professionals, creating massive opportunity for the 3D printing ecosystem,” said Ramon Pastor, General Manager of Multi Jet Fusion, HP Inc. “In collaboration with our customers, we are proud to reinvent the way the world designs and manufacturers and to drive innovative new applications made possible with HP Multi Jet Fusion. Whether it’s helping the Swiss Guard protect the Vatican or reinventing what can be done for an entire industry like orthopedics, the possibilities are endless.”

Protolabs was one of HP’s original partners when Multi Jet Fusion technology was initially launched, and now the service bureau is upgrading its seven HP Jet Fusion systems to industrial HP Jet Fusion 4210 systems in order to meet growing demand for production-grade 3D printing. Applications in which Protolabs has already been using the technology to help customers include specialized packaging, such as a promotional series of Black Panther masks put out by Pepsi. In addition, Protolabs used MJF to help customer Stream Lion Design to solve a combustion turbine issue, 3D printing a modal hammer to survey engines in the field and double the speed of data collection.

“The demand for 3D-printed production applications continues to grow and HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology is furthering our ability to deliver our customers industrial-grade parts quickly and cost-effectively,” said Vicki Holt, president and CEO, Protolabs. “By expanding the capacity of our HP Multi Jet Fusion services and installing printers in the United States and Europe, we are meeting the needs of our global customer base and demonstrating that geographically distributed, on-demand production is a reality today.”

Materialise was another early MJF partner, and has been using eight HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D printers. Now Materialise and HP have joined with RSPrint to scale an end-to-end solution for the production of personalized 3D printed insoles. Through RSPrint, FitStation powered by HP uses customer data to design custom insoles, which are then 3D printed on Materialise’s Jet Fusion 3D printers.

Belgian service bureau ZiggZagg has also jumped on the MJF train, investing in six HP Jet Fusion 4210 3D printers. ZiggZagg serves a variety of customers across industries including medical, consumer goods, industrial and automotive. According to CEO Stijn Paridaens, the company also plans to purchase an additional five Jet Fusion 3D printers by the end of the year. 

“We see a huge market opening up with this technology,” he said.

IAM 3D Hub, an organization that brings together private companies, public entities, and R&D organizations to integrate and coordinate 3D printing activities around the world, has installed eight HP Jet Fusion 4200 systems and is also working with HP to expand educational and training opportunities and offer business mentoring.

“IAM 3D Hub shares HP’s vision to accelerate the adoption and development of 3D printing technologies for industrial production, and provide expansive education and training opportunities to grow the market,” said Aintzane Arbide, General Secretary, IAM 3D Hub. “HP’s leadership has already helped us move the needle across our various programs specific to technology innovation. The advanced capabilities of Multi Jet Fusion allow organizations to completely rethink their approach to product engineering and design, complex workflows, and advance the future of their manufacturing processes.”

At the summit, HP also showcased several of the applications in which customers have been using Multi Jet Fusion technology, such as 3D printed helmets worn by the Vatican’s Swiss Guard, lightweight bicycle helmets produced by Sculpteo for customer Syncro Innovation, and an ankle foot orthosis 3D printed by Crispin Orthotics. Stay tuned for more details from the summit taking place this week.

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[Images: Sarah Goehrke unless otherwise noted]