HP make series of announcements from RAPID+TCT

Among the announcements were the new HP Partner First 3D Printing Specialisation programme and launch of HP 3D Printing Reference and Experience Centres across the US and Europe.

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Global tech company, HP marked the first day of RAPID+TCT with several announcements, scaling its 3D printing commitment to meet growing demand.

HP officially unveiled the new HP Partner First 3D Printing Specialisation programme; announced a wide array of installations with manufacturing service bureaus and product design firms in key geographies; and more than a dozen new HP 3D Printing Reference and Experience Centres across the US and Europe. Henkel AG & Co has also been added to HP’s Open Materials and Applications Lab.

At the centre of these developments is HP’s Jet Fusion 3D printing solution. A production-ready commercial 3D printer, the Jet Fusion rapidly produces high quality parts at an affordable rate.

“Building on our experience of more than 500,000 Multi Jet Fusion-produced parts, we are now scaling our 3D printing business to the next level. Today we are expanding our solutions availability through new resellers and service bureau partners, opening new experiential facilities for customers and partners, and widening our open 3D printing materials ecosystem,” said Stephen Nigro, President of 3D Printing, HP Inc. “We are honored that industry-leading companies such as BMW, Jabil, Johnson & Johnson, Nike and dozens more are looking to the innovations and economics delivered by HP and our partners to help reinvent their businesses for the digital manufacturing revolution.”

Though the opening day of RAPID+TCT 2017 was the official unveiling of HP’s global reseller plan – the HP Partner First 3D Printing Specialization programme – it already has 30 hand-selected, trained and certified, partners. Initially focused on North America and Europe, it will enable HP’s 3D printing technologies to be delivered quickly to customers. Certified HP 3D printing reseller partners will boast best in-class expertise and knowledge of the HP Multi Jet Fusion system, as well as industry-leading response time and customer service.

With the likes of Forecast 3D, Materialise, Proto Labs and Shapeways all installing HP 3D printing systems, and beginning to deliver production quality parts, HP has announced its intentions to further expand deployments with service bureaus and design engineering firms in North America and Europe. HP wants to enable a new class of on-demand, industrial-grade 3D production parts and services.

Meanwhile, in collaboration with a number of partners, HP is set to open more than a dozen 3D Printing Reference and Experience Centres across North America and Europe. These facilities will afford companies the opportunity to engage with HP’s Jet Fusion 3D printing systems in production-level scenarios. Testing and qualification of new 3D printing use-cases will be enabled in controlled environments, providing customers a simpler path to advance from prototyping to full scale 3D production. Centres will be opened in a range of locations, including Corvallis, Oregon; and San Diego, California in the States, and Leonberg, Germany; Eindhoven, The Netherlands; and Birmingham, UK in Europe.

Finally, it was announced that Henkel, the global supplier of high-performance adhesives, is the latest company to join HP’s ecosystem of global materials, following the likes of BASF, Arkema and Evonik.

HP’s Open Materials and Applications Lab is seeking to expand the availability of new materials and address a broader set of applications, all the while increasing speed and lowering costs. Henkel plans to work alongside HP in Corvallis, Oregon to expand its product range. In particular, the company is focusing on providing novel powder material for use with HP Jet Fusion 3D printers.

“The partnership between HP and Henkel is backed by strong market leadership, a legacy of innovation, and an aligned commitment to additive manufacturing,” said Michael Todd, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Innovation and New Business Development, Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “With our broad material portfolio and customer base across diverse industries, Henkel is able to champion custom 3D solutions through various functional applications. This, combined with HP’s vision for open materials innovation, enables us to develop materials and applications once thought impossible.”

HP is inviting attendees of RAPID+TCT to visit Booth #2517 to learn more about its Jet Fusion 3D printing technology.