HP
HP Jet Fusion 5420W.
HP has announced the launch of its HP Jet Fusion 5420W 3D printing system as part of a new machine series that facilitates the additive manufacture of white parts.
At Formnext, the company is also showcasing its HP Metal Jet S100 solution for the first time in Europe, with a new production application from John Deere a feature of its booth (Hall 12.1; D59).
“Additive manufacturing delivers on today’s most urgent market demands including sustainable innovation, hyper-personalisation, and business resiliency,” said Didier Deltort, President of Personalization & 3D Printing, HP Inc. “Together, with our global network of partners and customers, we are scaling additive manufacturing to meet these needs.”
HP Unveils New Jet Fusion 5400 Series
To enable entirely new production applications, HP is adding the new HP Jet Fusion 5400 Series to its existing Jet Fusion portfolio, with the HP Jet Fusion 5420W the series' first product. This product has been designed to enable the high-quality additive manufacture of white parts and is said to provide all the benefits of HP's Multi Jet Fusion technology, initially commercialised via the 4200 and 5200 Series. HP says the new machine is ideal for the automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, and industrial markets. Early customers using the new system to produce innovative white applications include DI Labs, Prototal Industries, and Weerg.
“HP continues to provide us with the advancements we need to push the boundaries of additive manufacturing and produce the final parts our customers need,” said Jan Löfving, CEO, Prototal Industries. “Beyond the industrial grade production HP delivers, we are seeing immediate interest in the new white applications made possible by the latest addition to HP’s Multi Jet Fusion family. As a proud Digital Manufacturing Partner in HP’s DMN, we are equipped to take on bold, innovative projects and help companies get the most value out of AM production.”
HP has also announced since announced its cumulative 100 million Multi Jet Fusion parts milestone at last year's Formnext, more than 70 million additional parts have been printed in the past 12 months. Among them are the following applications, also on show at Formnext.
- Using their HP Jet Fusion fleet, GKN Forecast 3D produced 60,000 spoiler closeout seals with BASF ULTRASINT TPU01 (thermoplastic polyurethane) for General Motors. Innovative vapour polishing and drying processes enabled by AMT cleared a bottleneck, halved production time, and were used to finish parts, eliminating the need for post-print dyeing. The seals close out gaps on the left and right sides of the rear spoiler, improving finish and fuel efficiency, and the spoiler closeout seal recently earned top prize in the additive manufacturing category at the 51st annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards.
- Demonstrating the power of hyper-personalisation, Smith I/O MAG Imprint 3D Goggles are produced with Multi Jet Fusion technology and offer a truly custom fit based on the individualized features of a person’s face. Named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2022, these first-of-their-kind goggles eliminate light leaks, air gaps, and hot spots for world class performance on the slopes.
New Metal Jet application
Launched in September, HP’s Metal Jet S100 Solution is enabling industrial customers, such as Domin Digital Motion, Lumenium, and Schneider Electric, to achieve 'better productivity, low part cost, and outstanding quality' per HP. John Deere, the global manufacturing leader of agricultural and construction equipment, is the latest adopter - using Metal Jet technology for the production of a valve in the tractor fuel system.
Together with GKN, John Deere is now manufacturing Metal Jet-printed valves in its agricultural machinery. In addition to significant productivity gains and environmental benefits, the high-quality part is said to be functional in extreme weather conditions. John Deere is also leveraging HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology to optimise its production processes using 3D printed prototypes to test and fine tune components and parts such as windshield holders, reducing pre-assembly from 30 days to ten, delivery times by up to ten weeks, and overall production costs by between 20 to 25 percent.
“Our focus on innovation and sustainability is at the core of everything we do for our customers,” said Dr. Jochen Müller, Manager Global Digital Engineering at John Deere. “We are proud to be among the first in the agricultural industry to leverage the benefits 3D printing for both prototyping and final parts production. Leveraging industrial 3D printing platforms for polymers and metals, we are discovering opportunities to deliver more efficient, reliable, and sustainable equipment.”
Materials, post processing, and DMN updates
On materials, HP partner Lubrizol has announced the new ESTANE 3D M88A TPU, a flexible and highly durable material which enables complex geometries and lattice structures. And in post-processing, HP and AMT have announced a new strategic alliance to provide customers with 'seamless, fully automated post processing support' through the entire 3D printing production workflow.
Together, HP and AMT are working to help customers more efficiently and cost effectively apply post processing capabilities like unpacking, cleaning, surface finishing, colouring, sporting and quality control for applications produced with HP’s industrial Jet Fusion 3D printing portfolio. In addition to its partnership with AMT, HP is collaborating across the post processing ecosystem to ensure customers have access to a broad range of alternatives from providers including AM Flow, DyeMansion, and Rösler Group AM Solutions. DyeMansion is offering advanced post processing options for Multi Jet Fusion customers including surface finishing and colouring for white parts produced with the new Jet Fusion 5420W Solution.
Supplementing the updates from HP on materials and post-processing, the company has also announced Oechsler as a new Digital Manufacturing Partner in HP’s DMN. Oechsler is the first to take advantage of the joint post processing support with AMT and develop a range of applications.
“At Oechsler, we choose to work with companies who have a shared vision of working together to deliver optimal outcomes. HP and AMT building a comprehensive approach from printing to an integrated post processing solution is a critical step in the adoption of additive manufacturing at scale,” said Matthias Weisskopf, General Manager, OECHSLER Motion.
HP's commitment to sustainability
In line with its sustainability commitments, HP has announced it is offering its customers using polymer-based technologies a new Virtucycle recycling and buyback programme by Arkema. The programme enables interested HP customers to sell used PA11 and PA12 powders, and printed parts, as opposed to disposing materials via costly, environmentally harmful practices such as landfilling or burning.
