HP launches full color Jet Fusion 300 & 500 3D printers, teams with Dassault Systemes

Feb 5, 2018 | By Benedict

Printing giant HP has introduced a new full color 3D printer series, Jet Fusion 300 / 500, with prices starting at around $50,000. The company has also announced a new collaboration with Dassault Systèmes.

HP’s new Jet Fusion 300 / 500 3D printing solution for functional prototyping and short run production

New HP color 3D printer series: Jet Fusion 300 / 500

Accurate, affordable color 3D printing is the end goal for many manufacturers, many of whom spend countless hours coloring their 3D prints after they’ve left the print bed. A better solution—but one that is currently costly, difficult, and exclusive to a select range of additive manufacturing systems—is simply 3D printing objects in full color.

Stratasys has long been at the forefront of full color 3D printing, while a few FDM 3D printer companies have come up with more affordable solutions to the coloration problem. Today, another option has been added.

As hinted at in its Q4 announcement in November, printing giant HP has now entered the color 3D printing game, by announcing a new series of Jet Fusion 3D printers: Jet Fusion 300 / 500. Prices start in the $50,000s, which HP says is generous enough to get small or medium-size product developers using the new additive manufacturing tech.

HP’s new Jet Fusion 300 / 500 3D printers produce engineering-grade, functional parts in full color, black or white

So are these new 3D printers something to get excited about? Quite possibly, yes. HP is saying its new Jet Fusion printers are the first machines in the 3D printing industry that “enable manufacturers to produce engineering-grade, functional parts in full color” with voxel-level control and ultra-fast printing speeds. The printers could be a massive boost, HP says, for those in healthcare, automotive, consumer goods, or other industries.

Included with the new Jet Fusion color 3D printers is what HP’s calls “the world’s first integrated and automated materials delivery system,” which allows for simple, hands-off printing for increased efficiency, while the 300 / 500 series also supports the three leading color file formats: OBJ, VRML, and 3MF.

The first models in the 300 / 500 range are:

HP Jet Fusion 340 (Black and White) / 380 (Color): smaller part sizes or fewer parts per build
HP Jet Fusion 540 (Black and White) / 580 (Color): bigger build size for larger parts or heavier production demands

These new 3D printers are being launched with a new material, HP 3D High Reusability CB PA 12, which promises mechanical properties similar to the HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 material. More will follow through HP’s Open Platform for materials.

HP Multi Jet Fusion technology features voxel-level control and is changing the way the world designs and manufactures

(Image: Invent Medical and NACAR)

“HP is committed to democratizing 3D design and manufacturing, unleashing new possibilities for millions of innovators around the world,” said Stephen Nigro, President of 3D Printing at HP. “No matter your industry, no matter your design complexity, no matter what colors fit your business needs—black, white, or the full color spectrum—the new HP Jet Fusion 300 / 500 series gives you the freedom to create brilliant new parts liberated from the constraints of traditional production methods.”

The HP Jet Fusion 300 / 500 3D printers are available for order now and will begin shipping in the second half of 2018.

HP collab with Dassault Systèmes

In what is turning out to be a busy week for HP, the printing company has also used the annual SOLIDWORKS World conference to announce a partnership with Dassault Systèmes. The companies will optimize Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS 3D design and engineering applications to take advantage of the voxel-level capabilities of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions.

As part of the deal, HP and Dassault Systèmes will align their future technology roadmaps, including upcoming releases in the SOLIDWORKS portfolio and the aforementioned HP Jet Fusion 300 / 500 color 3D printers. Part of this alignment will involve a focus on the 3MF 3D printing standard, supported by companies like Microsoft, Autodesk, SLM Solutions, and Shapeways.

“The $12 trillion manufacturing market is being digitally transformed, and HP and Dassault Systèmes share a vision to change the way the world designs and manufactures,” Nigro said of the partnership. “We are honored to bring the HP Multi Jet Fusion platform together with SOLIDWORKS’ leading design platform and millions of users worldwide to give creators the the tools to build the next great innovations.”

Posted in 3D Printer

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