TABLE OF CONTENTS
HP has been teasing a 3D printer for the last two years. And at a 3D printing conference in New York last spring, showed a demonstration of a hard plastic chain it had printed on its prototype machine that was able to lift a car.
The production model prints will have that level of durability and reliability, according to Nigro. Half of the parts for the printer itself will even be printed by one of the printers. We are creating a printer that prints itself, Nigro said.
To begin with, HP wanted to focus on machines that could reliably print out plastic products, but it’s launching a material app store where third-party companies will be able to develop materials for the Jet Fusions.
HP will vet and then sell through the store. HP is currently testing printers that could also print integrated circuits (something it’s not alone in doing), and has done that same chain test. But this time with embedded circuits printed in that can show the stress and strain the chain is under.
 © Provided by Quartz The company is looking into being able to print metals on future printers, but don’t expect to see that anytime soon: Metals is a research project for us, Nigro said.
It is also researching printers that can print out multiple materials at once (like Stratasy’s recent printer).
For now, Nigro said, the company wants to focus on machines that could make products that could go right into use. MUST ALSO READ–Engineer growth mobile Application.
Many companies are looking into 3D printing as a method for producing their products, but for the most part, 3D printing’s benefits to date have been just in prototyping:
3D printers allow designers and engineers to rapidly mock up models for products and iterate on their designs until they’re happy.
The printers available so far have either not allowed them to print quickly at scale, or haven’t printed with materials that can stand the test of time.
Nigro said HP’s printers will be cheaper than what’s come before, and in certain cases, could replace traditional manufacturing processes, where molds of products have to be made.
Both printers have a custom printing bed that allows them to print roughly 2,500 1.5-inch plastic gears in about 10 hours Nigro said that in this same time period, a standard desktop printer, like a MakerBot machine, might only print about 20 gears.
MUST ALSO READ–Engineer growth mobile Application.
HP has been working with corporate partners, including BMW, Nike, and Siemens’ all of whom are interested in integrating 3D printing into their production lines to design the printers and will be among the first customers to receive the machines.
Everyone else that wants a machine will have to wait until the end of the year when the printers start shipping.
© Provided by Quartz There’s one way regular consumers can get the benefits of HP’s new printers right away: Shapeways, a company that sells 3D printing services, and 3D-printed objects, will be among HP’s first customers for the Jet Fusion.
Nigro didn’t rule out the possibility of the company one day producing desktop 3D printers, that the average person could pick up on Amazon or Best Buy. We have a roadmap and we’ll get our solutions into smaller environments.
Nigro said though added that at least for the near future, desktop printers are likely only going to be found only in educational settings.
While the supposed next industrial revolution that 3D printing was supposed to have ushered in has not yet materialized.
We are starting to see some of the technology’s potential being realized, whether that’s through machines that can print robots, ones that can print food, or even ones that can print body parts.
Perhaps with the backing of the world’s largest printer company, the industry will start to flourish. MUST ALSO READ—New cars to avoid.
In this brave new world when we all are printing out our dinners and organs, let’s just hope HP’s printers don’t tell us we are out of ink well before we are.
source{ MSN Tech News.
