Interview with Elisabeth Moreno on HP and 3D Printing in Africa

Elisabeth Moreno, the Vice President and Managing Director Africa at HP Technology, talks to us about HP’s role in 3D printing in Africa, as well as the company’s influence in promoting the technology.

Elisabeth Moreno                                        

Can you tell us about your involvement in 3D printing and additive manufacturing?

HP’s vision in 3D printing is to change how the world designs and manufactures and to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The combination of our IP, an expanded platform and a portfolio of products, and a continuously growing ecosystem of partners makes us a leader in 3D printing. We have alliances with organizations and companies including BASF, Materialise, and Siemens; and with industry leaders like Jaguar Land Rover, Vestas and more, all of which embrace HP 3D printing solutions.

Just a few weeks ago we announced a new 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Barcelona, Spain, which brings together hundreds of the world’s leading additive manufacturing experts in more than 150,000 square feet of cutting-edge innovation space.

In Africa, we know from Albright Stonebridge Group that 3D printing technology is expected to become a $4.5 billion industry in emerging markets by 2020. The technology is already being used today in various industries throughout the continent, including medical, agricultural, infrastructural and manufacturing applications.

What special projects or works have you done or are currently developing in the 3D printing landscape?

Globally, our work in 3D printing is quite vast. HP 3D printing technology is used for everything from prototyping to mass production. A few examples include:

• HP LIFE Centers throughout Africa are one area we’re exposing youth and women to disruptive technologies like 3D printing. Through these LIFE Centers, HP is giving entrepreneurs in Africa the tools and education needed for jobs of the future, and no doubt 3D printing will play a huge role in this transition.

• Recently we announced our work in South Africa with Tarsus Distribution and Solid Edge Technology. HP Multi Jet Fusion technology will be available through Tarsus’s and Solid Edge’s networks, particularly benefiting the automotive, industrial, healthcare, consumer goods markets.

• Globally, we recently announced an expanded collaboration with customer SmileDirectClub to revolutionize the way that millions of people can achieve a straighter smile. By leveraging HP Jet Fusion 3D printing, SmileDirectClub will produce 50,000 unique mouth molds a day, and nearly 20 million individual 3D printed mouth molds in the next 12 months.

HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers family 

What can you say about Women in 3D Printing and their influence or contribution to the technology?

3D printing can help make life better for everyone, everywhere. But like all other industries, if the people shaping the technology and the way it is used do not reflect society, we will be let down.

As an African woman, this topic is near and dear to my heart. We must ensure this next industrial revolution is inclusive and powered by the diversity of thought. HP prioritizes diversity in all that we do, and our 3D printing business is no exception.

How do you see 3D Printing and Additive manufacturing’s growth and development?

Although 3D printing technology isn’t necessarily new, the scope of its potential has taken off in just a matter of years. 3D printing is already being used in major industries like automotive, healthcare and heavy industry, just to name a few.

Here in Africa, we’re working closely with leaders like Tarsus Distribution and SeTech to bring 3D printing to South Africa.

SeTech’ s demo center, just outside of Johannesburg, is fully functional with an HP Multi Jet Fusion 4200 production unit and will enable customers to do benchmarking for a variety of verticals mentioned above.

Working with SeTech and Tarsus, we are spreading the knowledge about the possibilities 3D printing can offer to the African landscape, provide training sessions with experts and teaching customers about the technology.

HP Jet fusion 3D printer

Around the world, we also see 3D printing playing a huge role in education and skills provision for future jobs. For example, we’re beginning to see universities adopt 3D technology to prepare the future workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Model printed with HP Multi Jet Fusion

Two universities in Turkey have recently installed HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers to drive education and R&D purposes. Celal Bayar University has installed Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers in their Technology Centre, which they are using for both education and R&D purposes.

And, Istanbul Technical University, a highly respected university dedicated to the field of technology, has installed MJF 3D printers in their incubation center, ITÜMagnet, giving startups access to 3D printing technology.

ITU Magnet Incubation Center

What is your current organization’s position on 3D Printing and Additive manufacturing?

No doubt, there is a digital revolution happening in all areas of design, distribution, sustainability, and the entirety of the end-to-end manufacturing process. This revolution is enabling companies to do great things – innovate faster, leverage flexible manufacturing, reinvent their supply chains, create new markets, and produce new applications in new ways that were previously impossible.

And we’re just getting started. The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently estimated the value of digital transformations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be as much as $100 trillion over the next 10 years.

Parts printed at Incubation centre using HP Multi Jet Fusion