By Nishant Arora
Barcelona, May 22 (IANS) As 3D printing appears set to transform the manufacturing sector globally, global printing and PC major HP on Tuesday announced that three big digital manufacturing players have deployed its Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing solutions.
Manufacturing today is a $12 trillion market globally which 3D printing -- or Additive Manufacturing (AM) -- is set to disrupt in years to come.
"The digital transformation of the 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.
US-based Protolabs and Belgium-based Materialise and ZiggZagg have embraced HP's MJF 3D printing solutions for digital manufacturing.
"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," Pastor told reporters during the "HP Innovation Summit" here.
HP also announced collaboration with Spain-based International Additive Manufacturing (IAM) 3D Hub and highlighted numerous Next-Gen applications of 3D printing in action.
These include new lighter-weight helmets for the Pontifical Swiss Guards, custom merchandising for PepsiCo, airflow manifolds for high-performance auto racing, industrial machinery used in the construction of skyscrapers and orthosis devices improving the quality of life for patients, among others.
Protolabs is upgrading its seven HP Jet Fusion 3D printers in the US and Germany to industrial HP Jet Fusion 4210 3D systems to meet the increasing demand for global 3D production services.
"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.
Protolabs is using the Multi Jet Fusion technology to provide compelling custom packaging applications for customers including PepsiCo.
Materialise has already deployed eight HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D printers.
Materialise and HP have now entered into an exclusive agreement with Belgium-based RSPrint to scale an end-to-end 3D solution to design and manufacture customised insoles.
ZiggZagg, a leading 3D printing provider in Belgium, has installed six HP Jet Fusion 4210 3D printers to produce parts for their customers across the medical, consumer goods, automotive and industrial markets.
IAM 3D Hub, which brings together private companies, public entities, and R&D organisations, has installed eight HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D printing systems.
IAM 3D Hub is also tapping HP's industry leadership and technology expertise to expand educational and training opportunities, provide business mentoring and help grow the industry ecosystem.
"The advanced capabilities of Multi Jet Fusion allow organisations to completely rethink their approach to product engineering and design, complex workflows, and advance the future of their manufacturing processes," said Aintzane Arbide, General Secretary, IAM 3D Hub.
Expanding its 3D printing portfolio, HP Inc recently introduced the industry's first 3D printing technology to enable manufacturers to produce engineering-grade, functional parts in full colour, black or white.
(Nishant Arora is in Barcelona on an invitation from HP. He can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)
