HP 3D Printing Announcement

[curious aardvark]

so they print a large plastic link - Well whoop de do I can do that :-)

The virtual/augmented reality model copier is quite neat though.

And a multijet powder and resin machine that cheap will make a real dent in the rapid prototype for small businesses. Assuming a decent build volume.

[Geoff]

Whatever it is, I won't be able to afford it :/

[jimc]

whatever it ends up being, one thing is for sure and that is the materials and a cartridges or whatever it takes is going to cost an arm and a leg. btw that car in the video might be 3000lbs not 10k lbs. i want to see the 10k lb test like they claim.

[JRDM]

I agree on STLs - unless you want a single color. Even multiple STLs to define an object by color is clumsy.

I hope they support AMF. I'd think that should be enough. There are other formats, 3D Systems seems to offer .obj + texture map. I hope they don't offer yet another file format.

[Drone]

I see HP entering the 3D printing market as a huge win. They might be too expensive for some here and they might be too expensive for consumables for some here, we don't know yet but I agree it is a very real possibility. They might also be lacking in quality. But the exposure to the masses by a huge corporation entering this market will certainly have positive effects for 3D printing in general. And if they manage to be profitable in this market it will only guarantee other large players enter the market. I just don't see a downside. While I may not see their offerings as the printer I choose in the future, anything that brings awareness to the masses about 3D printing will surely help 3D printing become mainstream tech instead of the geek oddity it is now.

[Solstie]

I think this is a big win. The more players the better. Even if the initial printers are too expensive it will force innovation from competitors. More new technologies should speed up the technology trickle-down to consumer level products.

[My Thing in 3D]

I missed the pricetag, did they give an estimated cost anywhere?

[curious aardvark]

I think they'll be aiming at the lower end of the price range. And it should also be full colour as well.

Not sure if the polyjet stuff needs postprocessing or not. I know some powder based systems do. That would put home users off.

[Feign]

Polyjet generally uses a lemonine-soluble or water-soluble support material (and a lot of it, Polyjet cannot bridge or overhang at all as an intrinsic limitation of the technology). Aside from soaking the part to dissolve the support material, there's no post-processing. Also, the parts tend to have a deathgrip on the print bed, so you likely want to just soak the tray with the parts, maybe even putting a layer of soluble support at the bottom of the part to keep the bed fresh. Old Stratasys machines had print beds that were pretty much single-use (they were not however, priced like a disposable part).

[Hugues]

I think they'll be aiming at the lower end of the price range. And it should also be full colour as well.

Not sure if the polyjet stuff needs postprocessing or not. I know some powder based systems do. That would put home users off.

i just read, but can't find the link, that it will be priced at around 100'000 usd, ouch. Is this the lower end of the price range for you ? LOL.
Anyway, good to see some new technology hitting the market. But damn, i did not realise how huge is this printer, i thought it was table top.