HP 4200 @ Forecast 3D
Installation of HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 printers.
HP has announced the expansion of its 3D printing portfolio with the HP Multi Jet Fusion 4210 platform, and three new materials.
The company also welcomes two new additions to its collaborative materials partner ecosystem, and two new adopters of its Materials Development Kit (MDK).
These announcements represent further progress in HP’s ambition to disrupt the $12 trillion manufacturing market with its Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing process. The 4210 system is said to significantly lower operating costs and increase volume production capabilities, raising the breakeven point for large-scale manufacturing to 110,000 parts versus injection moulding compared to the 50,000 of the 4200 machine. Additionally, HP says it has achieved the industry’s lowest cost-per-part, up to 65% less than other 3D printing methods currently on the market.
Speaking via an online webcast yesterday, Ramon Pastor, General Manager of Multi Jet Fusion for HP’s 3D printing business, said the 4210 system paves the way for industrial scale 3D manufacturing.
“The new 3D 4210 Printing Solution enables our customers to mass-produce parts using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology for 65% less than other processes, and fully benefit from the economies of scale,” Pastor commented in a company press release. “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.
“The 4200 has a breakeven point of 50,000 units versus injection moulding. This is a great start, but really our ambition is to, in time, get to rates of a million plus. Not in the next month, not next year, but in [many] years to get to this position. The 4210 is the next step towards getting longer runs and make them economically viable,” he explained in the online webcast.
HP MJF customers
HP’s new platform is available to pre-order for existing customers of the 4200 system, which HP has confirmed includes the likes of BMW, Nike, Jaguar, Materialise and Shining 3D, among others. The new system includes hardware and firmware upgrades, designed to improve the overall efficiency and enable continuous operation. It also includes a new processing station capable of handling significantly higher materials volumes. Customers of the new solution will also benefit from shared service contracts and ‘significantly lower’ pricing on HP’s engineering-grade 3D printing materials and agents.
As of today, those materials include the HP 3D High Reusability PA 11, HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 Glass Beads, and the HP 3D High Reusability Polypropylene. These materials have been developed at HP’s 3D Open Materials and Applications Lab in Corvalis, and broaden the uses and capabilities of the MJF technology.
The PA 11 material is suitable for low-cost, high quality functional parts which require sufficient impact resistance and ductility. HP lists prostheses, insoles, sporting goods, snap fits, and living hinges as fitting applications for this material. Meanwhile, the High Reusability PA 12 Glass Beads is said to be suitable for parts which require dimensional stability and repeatability. Housings, moulds and tooling applications have been outlined, while HP has also revealed the material was used to print the tray of the company’s Envy ISS Printer. This zero-gravity 2D printer was custom developed for NASA for use on the International Space Station. The third new material, HP 3D High Reusability Polypropylene, won’t be available until mid-2018, but does offer enhanced flexibility, ‘excellent’ chemical resistance, and lightweight and watertight capabilities.
While the HP Open Materials Platform begins to bear fruit, there are no signs of slowing down. HP has announced chemical companies, Dressler Group and Lubrizol will join the collaborative materials partner ecosystem. Dressler Group specialises in grinding and refining chemotechnical products and will provide HP’s materials partners preferred access to its toll grinding manufacturing capabilities. Lubrizol, meanwhile, boasts one of the most comprehensive portfolios of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) in the world.
HP 3D Open Materials & Apps Lab
HP's Open Materials & Applications Lab
“As a global leader in specialty chemicals, we’re excited to join HP’s open 3D materials platform to help drive the digital manufacturing disruption led by 3D printing,” said Rick Tolin, President of Lubrizol Advanced Materials. “Having access to HP’s industry-first 3D Open Materials and Applications Lab and its wealth of cutting-edge tools, while collaborating directly with our customers, will help secure our place at the forefront of materials innovation and development into the future, while advancing the development of our Estane Engineered Polymers product line.”
“With over 40 years of powder innovation and expertise we’re thrilled to help HP’s 3D materials partners on its open platform accelerate the development of thermoplastic powders for Multi Jet Fusion use,” added Jan Dressler, manging partner at the Dressler Group. “We see our collaboration to the HP ecosystem as enabling 3D materials development that is incredibly precise and cost-effective, or as we call it, ‘on the dot.’”
More than 50 companies are now engaged in HP’s Open Materials Platform, including DSM and Dow Chemical. These two firms have acquired HP’s industry-first Materials Development Kit with the objective of developing 3D powders for the Jet Fusion 3D printers in collaboration with HP. Meanwhile, two of the first companies to join HP’s materials programme, Evonik and Henkel, have moved to acquire HP’s Jet Fusion printers to accelerate customised applications development.
HP will be willing to discuss more about the above announcements at formnext powered by TCT next week. The company will be showcasing its 3D printing solutions in Hall 3.1, Booth E40.
