HP has joined the move into 3D printing, saying its system will produce objects up to a metre wide when it launches in 18 months time.
The company says its Multi Jet Fusion technology will allow for low-cost 3D printing at faster speeds than anything on the market when it arrives in 2016. HP made the Multi Jet Fusion announcement alongside what it calls a new ‘”lended reality” desktop product, named Sprout, which may interest packaging and pre-media businesses in graphic arts.
The company claims Multi Jet Fusion will run at 10 times the speed than anything currently on the market, and will price it significantly more affordable.At the launch event in New York HP showed off a currently-unnamed printing device that uses Multi Jet Fusion. The device is about as tall as a small refrigerator, and as wide as a heavy-duty copy machine.
The technology uses a print bar that produces more than 350 drops per second at 21 microns, which, according to HP, is able to print 1000 working gears in three hours. In addition to these gears, HP showcased a heavy duty chain link that was created with a Multi Jet Fusion printer.
At the launch event in New York HP showed off a currently-unnamed printing device that uses Multi Jet Fusion. The device is about as tall as a small refrigerator, and as wide as a heavy-duty copy machine. Stephen Nigro, senior vice president for HP inkjet and graphic solutions, says, “As we examined the existing 3D print market we saw a great deal of potential but also major gaps in the combination of speed, quality and cost.”
Multi Jet Fusion printers will not be generally available until 2016. It is not yet known whether it will be shown at drupa. Until launch HP is working with a several customers on the technology, as part of its Open Customer Engagement Program.
The scalable Multi Jet Fusion devices will have working areas from 10.8cm to in excess of 101cm. The printer has a dual carriage design, which involves layering materials and special chemical agents in what is described as a ‘multi-agent printing process.’
HP calls Sprout the first of a series of products in its new blended reality ecosystem. Ron Coughlin, senior vice president of HP consumer PC and solutions, says it merges the 3D and 2D creative worlds, and allows users to move seamlessly from thought to expression. He says, “The $1899 device goes on sale in the US next week. It combines a scanner, high-resolution camera, projector, capacitive touch mat, high-definition touch screen and depth sensor. It allows 3D items to be scanned into a digital environment for manipulation.”
