Until now, the language of 3D printing has been lacking in three noteworthy terms: high productivity, low cost of parts, and reliable quality.

With HP’s development of HP Multi Jet Fusion technology and the new HP Jet Fusion 3D printers, the industry vocabulary is expanding – and a new era of manufacturing is under way.

HP’s Jet Fusion 3D 3200/4200 printers represent long-awaited progress in speed, quality, and economics. And the revolutionary HP Open Platform approach to materials development is driving broader adoption of 3D printing.

This compelling new dimension in 3D printing has its origins in HP’s legacy of investment in inkjet printing, jettable materials, precision low-cost mechanics, material science, and imaging. Drawing on this foundation, the key innovation in HP Multi Jet Fusion is a high-speed, synchronous architecture. And the result? The capacity to separate the processes of recoating and printing/fusing during the printing stage – making it possible for each process to be separately optimized for performance, reliability and productivity.

With the resulting breakthrough, HP Jet Fusion 3D printers are delivering high build quality ¹ at up to 10 times the speed ² of traditional 3D printers, and at the lowest cost ³ relative to competitive 3D printing solutions in the marketplace today.

Another leap forward that HP has made in 3D printing technology is the capability of controlling properties – including color in the future – for individual voxels. By specifying the properties of each voxel, you can define your 3D-printed part point by point over the surface and within the volume.

Additionally, HP’s advancements in the development of 3D printing materials are opening opportunities for designers to work with a growing range of materials. Not only is HP developing a family of thermoplastics for future generations of HP 3D printers, the HP Open Platform is enabling partners such as Arkema, BASF, Evonik and others to develop new materials for Jet Fusion 3D printers. By driving toward an open-materials marketplace, HP and its partners are accelerating the adoption of HP Multi Jet Fusion technology across industries and applications.VIDEO

You can look for the full story on HP’s innovations with Multi Jet Fusion technology, including with design and production software, in the technical white paper “HP Multi Jet Fusion technology: A disruptive 3D printing technology for a new era of manufacturing.” As you’ll see, manufacturing will soon be speaking a whole new language.

Download the technical white paper



¹ Based on dimensional accuracy of ±0.2 mm/0.008 inches measured after sand blasting and with the following mechanical properties: Tensile strength at 45-50 MPa (XYZ), Modulus 1600-1900 MPa (XYZ). ASTM standard tests with PA12 material. See http://ift.tt/1rSiNQ6 for more information. Based on the following mechanical properties: Tensile strength at 50, Modulus Z 1900, Modulus XY 1900. ASTM standard tests with HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 material.

² Based on internal testing and simulation, HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solution average printing time is up to 10x faster than average printing time of comparable FDM & SLS printer solutions from $100,000 USD to $300,000 USD on market as of April 2016. Testing variables: Part Quantity -1 full bucket of parts from HP Jet Fusion 3D at 20% of packing density vs same number of parts on above-mentioned competitive devices; Part size: 30g; Layer thickness: 0.1mm/0.004 inches.

Fast Cooling is enabled by HP Jet Fusion 3D Processing Station with Fast Cooling, available in 2017. HP Jet Fusion 3D Processing Station with Fast Cooling accelerates parts cooling time vs recommended manufacturer time of SLS printer solutions from $100,000 USD to $300,000 USD, as tested in April 2016.  FDM not applicable.

³ Based on internal testing and public data, HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solution average printing cost-per-part is half the average cost of comparable FDM & SLS printer solutions from $100,000 USD to $300,000 USD on market as of April 2016. Cost analysis based on: standard solution configuration price, supplies price, and maintenance costs recommended by manufacturer. Cost criteria: printing 1-2 build chambers per day/ 5 days per week over 1 year of 30-gram parts at 10% packing density using HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 material, and the powder reusability ratio recommended by manufacturer.

When I was in high school, I spent most Saturday nights in the gymnasium with my fellow band friends, playing in the pep band for the basketball games. Since we played during halftime, when most spectators get up to go buy more nachos and stretch their legs, the band members were given a break during third quarter to do those things. But because we were music nerds (and I use that term with no small amount of pride), most of us would also purchase those overpriced 16 ounce bottles of pop and drink a little bit, and progressively more as the quarter went on, while also blowing across the tops of our pop bottles to make different pitches…we were pretty cool. There was also the inevitable bottle flipping, and sometimes people even used the empty bottles as improvised drumsticks. But as soon as the quarter was over, everyone would toss the bottles into the recycling bins and head back in to the gym to play the fight song and “Louie Louie.” At the time, there was very little reason to save the empty bottles. But now that 3D printing technology is everywhere you look these days, empty plastic bottles have been given a new lease on life.

These bottles can be used to make printing filament for 3D pens and 3D printers alike, and you can even truss two bottles together with 3D printed parts to make a kite-powered boat. Researchers at Germany’s Hasso-Plattner Institute (HPI), which recently used metamaterials to make both a 3D printed door latch and a 3D printed, PIN-protected door lock, are working on an eco-friendly project to put the bottles to use as building blocks for large objects like a rowboat, chairs, and a domed structure. The research team developed cutting-edge 3D software, called TrussFab, so anyone can build strong structures out of plastic bottles.

Róbert Kovacs, a PhD researcher at HPI’s Human Computer Interaction Lab, told Digital Trends, “Our original motivation came from a desire to increase the capabilities of desktop 3D printers. In particular, we wanted to work out how to create large objects using these machines that normally print much smaller objects. We thought we could do this by creating connectors for joining larger pre-existing objects — and soda bottles seemed to be the perfect choice for that.”

While most people may look at an empty plastic bottle and note how flimsy and weak it is, the research team discovered that when the bottles are pushed or pulled along their main axis, they’re actually pretty strong. HPI’s TrussFab is an integrated end-to-end system, and users are able to design sturdy, large-scale structures, and then determine the proper distribution of plastic bottles to fabricate a strong end product that can hold human weight, like a bridge or chair. Then, TrussFab brings 3D printing into the mix, to manufacture the pieces which connect the bottles in a strong, honeycomb-like formation.

TrussFab thinks of the bottles as beams, and not stackable bricks, and uses them to formulate structurally sound node link structures, known as trusses, that are based on closed triangles. This structural arrangement is actually what prevents deformation, and not the individual bottles themselves, which can break easily. Bottles buckle easily when pushed from the sides, but the connecting trusses turn lateral forces, or bending movements, into compression and tension forces along the length of the edges.

The TrussFab workflow goes like this:

1. Automatic conversion: TrussFab’s converter can create structures by converting an existing 3D model. This converts the model’s volume into a tetrahedral honeycomb structure, so it can bear a lot of weight.
2. Editing: TrussFab’s editor was actually implemented as an extension to SketchUp, and in addition to offering all of the 3D modeling software’s original functionalities, it also helps users create sturdy structures through some added custom functions. For instance, the TrussFab editor offers tools that can create large beams in the form of trusses, tools for tweaking a structure’s shape while keeping the structure intact, and its integrated structural analysis will actually calculate a structure’s internal forces and warn users if it could break.
3. Hub generation: The hub generator will generate 3D models of all hubs after structure design is complete, including 3D printable hubs for spatial structures and laser-cuttable 2D hubs for facades.
4. Fabrication: Once the hub generator produces the 3D model files, TrussFab users send the files for 3D printing.
5. Assembly: TrussFab users can follow the unique IDs embossed into each hub to manually assemble their strong structures.

The team validated the TrussFab system by designing and building tables and chairs, an 8-foot bridge strong enough to carry a person, a functional two-seater boat, and even used 512 plastic bottles to construct a 16.5′ dome. The team plans to make their innovative 3D software available for free soon, so make sure to save your pop bottles!

Kovacs explained, “Our other intention with the project was to encourage recycling. We wanted to make people more aware that the bottles they throw away can be a great source of material, and aren’t just trash. Even the 3D-printed connectors can be produced from recycled materials, which means that the entire structures can be made from plastic bottles in some way.”

The team published a paper on their research project, titled “TrussFab: Fabricating Sturdy Large-Scale Structures on Desktop 3D Printers,” which further details the software and how to use it. Co-authors include Kovacs, Patrick Baudisch, Thomas Bläsius, Maximilian Brehm, Hsiang-Ting Chen, Yannis Kommana, Florian Meinel, Willi Müller, Alexander Popiak, Jonathan Striebel, Anna Seufert, Ludwig Wall, and Sijing You.

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As with any profession that has immediate, real life consequences that are starkly set out in terms of life and death, the more practice that a surgeon can get before actually performing a procedure, the better it is for everybody. The way in which surgeons historically would have gotten the hands on experience necessary to allow them to build their skills would have been by working with human cadavers, animals, and, finally, actual patients.

Clearly, the more practice, the better. Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a lapse in surgical skills that results when long periods of time intervene between opportunities to practice particular, highly advanced surgical techniques. Even for those who have years of surgical experience, there are incidences in which the time between opportunities to perform a particular procedure are long, or the particulars of a case are so strikingly unusual that practice is highly desirable.

Three-dimensional models based on real human cases like these allow hands-on experience for surgeons in training. [Image: Michigan Medicine]

One such procedure that is, by its very nature, difficult is reconstructive cartilage grafting and often only the most experienced surgeons are given the chance to approach such an undertaking. Recently, however, at the

, a medical resident was given the chance to do so. This wasn’t some shady, questionable moment in which more generosity than wisdom caused a decision to be made that risked a patient’s outcome. Instead, it was a procedure undertaken on a 3D printed model based on a real case that would allow the resident, Cher Zhao, to practice before she goes out to professionally practice medicine.

The ability of 3D printers to produce lifelike models for surgical preparation is being adopted by an increasing number of medical training programs. Documentation of ifs effectiveness as a learning tool is emerging from a multitude of sources, most recently in an article published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery by a team or researchers at University of Michigan. In an interview with Science Daily, lead author Dr. David Zopf of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital explained the benefits that 3D printing is bringing to the preparation of the next generation of surgeons:

“3D printing is bringing a whole new meaning to hands-on experience for surgeons in training. Hands-on experience is critical for acquiring and improving surgical skills, especially of new and complex procedures. This is an exciting tool that not only offers trainees exposure to opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have but that also allows them to demonstrate proficiency of skills before being performed on children.”

The particular procedure undertaken by Zhao, along with 18 of her fellow students, as part of her training was in an otolaryngology head and neck surgery dissection course and represented a case of severe tracheobronchomalacia, a condition in which the windpipe periodically collapses, thereby not allowing for the child to breathe normally. These kinds of interventions require the carving of cartilage from the patient’s ribs and grafting it into place, as Dr. Zopf described:

“Airway reconstruction for specialized cases is a technically demanding procedure that often involves carving cartilage to support and expand a reconstructed trachea. Currently, a surgeon in training has scarce opportunity to carve cartilage graft for this type of procedure. We want to see if 3D printing can accelerate and enhance surgical training.”

Illustration of condition of tracheobronchomalacia and splint used in treatment. [Image courtesy of Lumedia]

In addition to creating the model of the patient, Zhao was able to carve the mock cartilage from a material that very closely simulates the texture of human cartilage, giving her the advantage of making the entire procedure as lifelike as possible from start to finish, but without the consequences. It was a lesson that was not lost on Zhao, as evidenced by her response to the classroom exercise:

“You only get one chance to carve a harvested graft from a patient’s rib, so you have to do it perfectly the first time. It takes years of practice to learn the technical skills to do it. This was a very realistic experience and what’s great is you can keep printing dozens of these models at a time so you can practice over and over again.”

The use of 3D printed models gives not only new surgeons practice before performance, but helps experienced surgeons maintain those skills, especially when dealing with particularly rare types of procedures that may not occur with sufficient frequency for their regular practice. While it may seem intuitive that 3D printed models are a benefit to the training of medical students and the ongoing maintenance of skills for practitioners, very little is done on a broad scale in medicine without a significant amount of research done in support. As such, articles such as the one just published by the team at the University of Michigan are slowly, but surely, building the case for the integration of 3D printing into a wide variety of aspects of the practice of medicine.

At the University of Michigan, medical resident Cher Zhao had the opportunity to practice a complex cartilage graft procedure for an infant born with a windpipe malfunction, using 3D printed models. Recognition of the benefits of such practice for students of medicine is growing, as is the understanding that 3D printed models can help already practicing surgeons keep up their surgical skills for procedures that may be few and far between. As part of the growing body of knowledge regarding the use of 3D printed models in medical education, the results of a study involving just such procedures has been published by researchers at UM’s Medical School in a medical journal. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://ift.tt/2oBlcl2

3D printing has revolutionized how we manufacture things today, from the smallest nanostructures to the tallest buildings. One institution that always seems to be right in the thick of the latest 3D printing innovations is MIT, and its materials science and design Mediated Matter group, which focuses on nature-inspired design and design-inspired nature. The research group has worked to develop a glass 3D printer and even helped outfit Icelandic singer Björk with a stunning 3D printed mask for a tour. But recently, the group took on a much larger project: creating a large, autonomous robot that constructed an igloo-like building half the diameter of the dome in the US Capitol, in less than a day.

It’s called the Digital Construction Platform (DCP), an experimental enabling technology for large-scale digital manufacturing, and is made up of a large, hydraulic arm on top of motorized treads. The team conducted a lot of research before landing on the mobile, easily customizable mechanical arm: robotic arm systems are quicker to set up, promise greater task flexibility and expandable workspaces, and can be more easily implemented with current construction methods. In order to manufacture more complex shapes, the decision was also made to have the DCP print buildings by layers.

The DCP, which also carries batteries and solar panels, has a wide reach, and also features a smaller electric arm on the end, designed for fine movements and armed with multiple positioning and stability control sensors. The smaller arm also has a suite of tools for printing, digging, and welding, which can be easily switched out when necessary, and the combined reach of both arms is over 10 meters.

DCP end effector tools

Architect Matthias Kohler, who was not involved with the DCP but studies autonomous construction at ETH Zurich, said, “It’s an impressive project.”

The use of autonomous 3D printing in construction boosts efficiency and building strength, since it only puts material down where it’s needed, and it’s also safer, faster, and more precise than manual construction methods, in addition to making logistics and planning much easier. The Mediated Matter scientists who worked on the DCP published a paper about their work, titled “Toward site-specific and self-sufficient robotic fabrication on architectural scales,” in the Science Robotics journal; co-authors include MIT mechanical engineer and project lead Steven J. Keating, Mediated Matter Group’s Julian C. Leland and Levi Cai, and the group’s leader Neri Oxman, whose work we’ve long admired.

The paper’s abstract reads, “Contemporary construction techniques are slow, labor-intensive, dangerous, expensive, and constrained to primarily rectilinear forms, often resulting in homogenous structures built using materials sourced from centralized factories. To begin to address these issues, we present the Digital Construction Platform (DCP), an automated construction system capable of customized on-site fabrication of architectural-scale structures using real-time environmental data for process control. The system consists of a compound arm system composed of hydraulic and electric robotic arms carried on a tracked mobile platform. An additive manufacturing technique for constructing insulated formwork with gradient properties from dynamic mixing was developed and implemented with the DCP. As a case study, a 14.6-m-diameter, 3.7-m-tall open dome formwork structure was successfully additively manufactured on site with a fabrication time under 13.5 hours. The DCP system was characterized and evaluated in comparison with traditional construction techniques and existing large-scale digital construction research projects. Benefits in safety, quality, customization, speed, cost, and functionality were identified and reported upon. Early exploratory steps toward self-sufficiency—including photovoltaic charging and the sourcing and use of local materials—are discussed along with proposed future applications for autonomous construction.”

The team programmed the DCP to drive out of a warehouse, and use their new 3D printing method, called print-in-lace, to construct an open-top dome structure as a test print. An electronic tip creates the structure’s outline by spraying a line of expanding foam, and the robot uses the foam to build up, layer by layer, a hollow wall used as insulation, though it can be filled later with concrete and covered in plaster. The robot also added a bench to a wall, in order to demonstrate its horizontal printing abilities. The researchers reported in their paper that the dome structure, at 13.5 hours, is the fastest building ever to be 3D printed by a mobile robot; it’s also the largest, measuring 14.6 meters across.

The team put lasers on the end of the arm that could sense the position of the electronic tip, and instead of keeping the entire arm stable, the lasers were able to counteract any unwanted movement in the rest of the arm. This has never before been used in a construction robot, and it allowed the DCP to not only have a huge range of motion and reach, but remain lightweight as well.

The DCP is able to build small structures from compressed earth, sand, metal chains, and even ice, which is first deposited as water. It can also dig, print walls with color and stiffness variation, and sense environmental cues such as radiation, making it a good possibility for repairing nuclear reactors in the future. Keating hopes that one day, the DCP can be sent up to Mars and design and build structures based on local weather and ground conditions, and collect its own materials and energy. He says that one of the great things about combining robots and 3D printing is the freedom to design nearly anything.

Keating said, “Instead of making a square building, you can make a Dr. Seuss–looking building for the same cost.”

For now, the DCP still needs a little assistance: dew settled on the dome at one point during the printing process, and caused a layer of foam to slide off before it had completely adhered to the structure; Keating was able to fix the problem by switching out the printing tip for a chainsaw and backtrack. But as the print-in-place method uses standard materials, it can be used with traditional construction techniques, which will help with eventual code certification.

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Many active in the 3D printing industry today did not necessarily foresee the career path that would lead them to additive manufacturing, including for those working with some of the biggest names in today’s industry. EnvisionTEC has been on a growth trajectory for some time now as it celebrates its 15th anniversary, regularly rolling out new product introductions in the form of both 3D printers and materials for fields as varied as dentistry, jewelry, and industrial Robotic Additive Manufacturing with a partner. With applications so varied, great focus is needed among those behind the products — and for EnvisionTEC, service and applications technician Lauren Umbarger is a key member of that team.

Umbarger, who entered the industry first as a user, has now found a home in 3D printing. Her experiences have brought her into contact with a broad range of technologies and personalities, and she is now sharing her thoughts with us as we continue to put the Spotlight on Women in the 3D printing world.

Can you tell us briefly about your educational/professional background, and how you came to work in the 3D printing industry?

“I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Metals from Ball State University. I’ve always been interested in jewelry and working with my hands so it seemed a natural choice. In college, we got a 3D printer in my third year (2006) and I found it very fascinating. It was my first time seeing any technology like that and I wanted to know everything about it. I took an animation course as it was the closest thing we had to a CAD (Computer Aided Design) class just so I could try to understand how to make things to print on the school’s printer.

After graduation, I got a job in Chicago working for a jewelry manufacturing company. I initially applied to work as a bench jeweler but ended up managing their CAM (Computer Aided Machines) department.

I encountered several different kinds of printers there and really fell in love with the technology.”

Do you feel an arts-focused background uniquely prepared you for some 3D printing applications?

“Being an art major, and an artist in general, I am constantly pushed to see things in different ways and find unique solutions to problems.

I use this out-of-the-box thinking every day in trying to solve problems and assist customers, whether it be in training or repairs.

Being a 3D artist, I’m always wanting to work with my hands and take things apart to see what makes them work. I feel like it’s very akin to being an engineer but without the math.”

What about EnvisionTEC was appealing to you in joining this industry?

“When I began working with 3D printers exclusively, I worked with many brands. Out of all the machines I worked with, the EnvisionTEC machines were always the most dependable and highest quality. The design of the machines made sense and they were easy to work on. I wasn’t having to replace jets or spend hours calibrating. I also had wonderful experiences with their support team and the front office staff while being a customer, to the point where I actually became friends with a few of them. I decided then that working in the industry and helping people was my life calling.”

What have you observed over the last five or so years as the 3D printing industry has grown and changed?

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is all the new companies coming in making consumer-grade printers. I’m so intrigued by the design and efforts of the companies making kit and low cost printers. I’m also amazed at how much the size has changed on the units over the past 11 years of knowing 3D printers existed. A unit that used to be the size of a large filing cabinet can now fit comfortably on your desk.

Lastly, I’m so impressed by how much 3D printing has moved into the medical field. 3D printed prosthetics, growing bone and flesh; it’s incredible. If you had asked me five or ten years ago if I thought we would be at this stage today, with helping people restore normal function to their lives, or even saving lives, I would have told you no. I think that is the one I hear the most about from friends and family, how 3D printing has saved and changed lives. It’s incredibly rewarding, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

From working initially with customers in the jewelry industry, you’ve branched out into a broader range of applications; what have been some of your favorite parts about working in 3D printing, and with EnvisionTEC’s customers?

“Honestly, I love our customers. I don’t even think of most of them as customers; they are friends. I get to hear about their lives and see the amazing things they do with our printers every day. I get to help the world through them, and it’s pretty amazing. I’ve recently started becoming more involved in the dental and hearing aid industries. I’m always fascinated by seeing what all can be done and is being developed. Being someone who had orthodontic work in my youth, it’s awesome to see the change in progress they’ve made in teeth alignment.

I think that is the thing I love most about my job; as much as I teach our customers how to use the new technology, I’m constantly learning about how the technology is improving the world. There is never a boring day in this industry!”

As an experienced 3D printing technician, do you feel your overall experience has been in any notable ways substantively different from those of men in similar positions?

“I have definitely had some interesting experiences in the field that some of my coworkers have not. When a woman gets on the phone or shows up, sometimes customers or outside people don’t realize I am the technician who will help them. I think my best advice in my years of service is to have confidence in yourself and to understand that your knowledge really is key to commanding attention and respect in any situation. It takes a strong drive and sense of self to work in what are predominantly seen as male fields. My coworkers are also just wonderful and always stand up for me, as I stand up for them, which has made a huge difference in my success.”

What do you see as being key to growth in the 3D printing industry as it matures?

“Accessibility. I think the more accessible the technology becomes we will see large growth. Humanity as a whole is so creative and much like a river, in that it finds a way to flow and create. The more people have access to this technology, the more creative and diverse solutions we are going to see come through.”

What do you see as the biggest challenges to diversity in the 3D printing industry?

“As with most technological and engineering based fields, it’s historically been hard to be a female. I feel that 3D printing isn’t as difficult to be a woman professional in because there are so many avenues to work in (and perhaps that’s just because I work for a very open minded company), but there will always be professionals in the world who have a hard time taking a woman as seriously as a man in this type of work. I think that stigma is the hardest thing to overcome.”

The biggest benefits to a more diverse workforce?

“Diversity can only bring benefit. The more people involved, the better a product will be because you will see it from that many more points of view. It will bring to the table new uses or drawbacks that would never have been though of before. Everyone has come into their field and their path with a unique set of experiences and ways of thinking.

Men and women do think and process in different ways which leads to new or different solutions to common issues. Working together, we also find new uses for the technology to help improve more lives and businesses.”

What advice would you have for a young woman looking to start a career in tech today?

“Be passionate and confident and take pride in your work. You will run into people who won’t take you seriously, but be serious anyway. Don’t get discouraged! Life is funny and you may find it taking you down paths you never dreamed possible; let it. You are every bit as smart as your male counterparts and you deserve to be where you are.

There is so much you have to offer, and you may have to work twice as hard to get it, but it’s worth it. As much as we may inspire you, you inspire us to keep creating.”

Umbarger’s experiences and advice show her to be a knowledgeable member of the 3D printing community, as she puts her varied skills to use with a leading name in the industry. Confidence in skills and a certain open-minded approach to life and business will take someone far, and provide great benefit as this fast-growing industry continues to broaden its horizons in terms of both technology and participation.

If you are interested in sharing your story, or know a woman we should get in touch with for this new series, please reach out any time. Send us an email or connect on Twitter. We’re looking forward to sharing more stories about women in 3D printing. Find all the features in this series here.