HP had recently announced the new HP Metal Jet at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2018.
HP Metal Jet is a manufacturing technology that will allow mass production of metal parts which is significantly faster and cheaper to make than other 3D printing methods. HP has labeled as being '50x more productive'. Of the new development in 3D technology, HP says that it "will drive the digital transformation of manufacturing with a 3D printing ecosystem..." with the main purpose being to "...deliver end-to-end productivity and economy." The new HP Metal Jet boasts features like being able to produce multiple parts at the same time. Additionally, it can build larger parts in a powder bed 430 x 320 x 200 mm (16.9 x 12.6 x 7.9 in). According to their website, the new Metal Jet technology can ‘precisely place up to 630 million nanogram-sized drops per second of the liquid binding agent onto a powder bed to define a part's cross-section layer by layer.'
Some of the customers who are already placing orders for this new technology include Volkswagen and Wilo, as well as Primo Medical Group and OKAY Industries. A spokesperson for Volkswagen says that some of the biggest benefits with using HP Metal Jet are that it can produce without manufacturing tools beforehand thus it reduces the cycles of part production. Starting next year, HP will begin to allow manufacturers to upload 3D design files, which will then be mass-produced with Parmatech and GKN. However, the printers themselves will not be available until 2021.
Watch the announcement of the new product below.
