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HP announces new 3D printing technology available for 2016

HP
has made a long-awaited announcement on its 3D printing plans, with its new “Multi Jet
Fusion” technology claimed to be 10 times quicker than fused deposition
modelling, and available in 2016.

Mashable and others report that the company made its announcement on Wednesday in New
York City, along with a new desktop environment.

The enterprise-level printer offering, named HP Multi Jet Fusion, will use thermal
inkjet arrays to lay down a whole surface area using 30,000 tiny nozzles, rather than
just one small deposit.

CNET reports the announcement as claiming the technology, when available, will be 10
times faster than “existing printers”, as well as producing stronger, cheaper
parts.

“As we examined the existing 3D print
market, we saw a great deal of potential but also saw major gaps in the
combination of speed, quality and cost,” said Stephen Nigro, a
senior vice president at HP, in a statement.

It
would initially print in black thermoplastic, but HP wants to develop the
process over other materials including ceramics and metals, as well as in
colours.

Gigaom compared Multi Jet Fusion to Stratasys’s currently available PolyJet printing,
which cures plastic deposited my multiple heads in UV light.

The company did not give an expected price or date for the release, but said beta tests for partners would begin in 2016 followed by a general release that year. Also unmentioned was the predicted price of the machines.

Image: HP

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