Production 3D Printing System Brings Together Industry Leaders

HP unveils a series of partnerships and innovations to complement its new Multi Jet Fusion 5200 3D printer. Together the new partnerships and products make the 5200 the center of a volume printing solution for production 3D manufacturing. 

The printing system counts BASF, Materialise and Siemens as strategic partners, creating what HP calls “a new global community of proven large-scale 3D printed parts providers.” 

The printer is the latest refinement of HP’s work in Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) printing technology, which prints on a line-by-line basis. HP says the method is inspired by its long history of 2D wide format printing, but relies on a variety of innovations for 3D. HP says MJF allows for faster cooling and increased automation of post-processing compared to selective laser sintering (SLS). MJF allows almost 90% of recovered powder to be recycled, compared to around 50% for typical SLS printers. HP says these features  allow for shorter lead times in production, by eliminating the need to have a full print bin to operate at peak efficiency. 

Available with the 5200 are separate units that together make a complete volume production platform. There is the printer, a Build Unit, a Natural Cooling Unit and a Processing station. They can be enhanced further with third-party products designed specifically for the 5200 system from Hovmand (a forklift for the Natural Cooling Unit) and Girbau (a dyeing station).

The 5200 ships with new data intelligence, software and service capabilities, including HP 3D Process Control software and HP 3D Center, a dashboard application for managing print runs. HP says improvements to the 5200 offer increased flexibility, improved uptime, streamlined workflows and simplified fleet management. 

BASF has delivered a new certified thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for the 5200, Ultrasint. This TPU allows for flexible and elastic parts. BASF and HP are working with 3D printing services vendor Sculpteo on new applications for this material. 

HP has assembled a new Digital Manufacturing Network to provide plastic parts at scale using HP printing solutions. Initial members are Forecast 3D, GKN Powder Metallurgy, GoProto, Jabil, Materialise, Parmatech and ZiggZagg NV. HP says these initial network members “possess high levels of advanced additive manufacturing expertise, robust quality management and end-to-end manufacturing processes, and a proven capability for volume job production.” 

There is an innovation alliance with Siemens based on the Siemens Digital Enterprise software portfolio; a materials production alliance with BASF; and a software partnership with Materialise’s Build Processor and Magics 3D Print Suite. Updates to Autodesk Netfabb and a variety of Siemens PLM software applications also complement this new production ecosystem. 

Early adopters of the 5200 production system are Avid Product Development, BASF, Jaguar Land Rover, Kupol, Materialise, Sculpteo, Prodartis and Vestas. A Jaguar Land Rover representative says, “early use of the new HP Jet Fusion 5200 3D printing platform will help us to better understand opportunities to unlock new application areas whilst supporting investigations to advance the productivity, efficiency and reliability of the technology.” 

HP is leading the way with volume 3D printing for manufacturing—a build unit part in the 5200 is created using HP’s MJF technology. 

The HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printing Production System is now available direct from HP.  

More in-depth technical details about the HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printing Production System are available here. 

Watch the HP 5200 video.  

Here are case studies on final parts production using HP 3D printers and services. 

Learn more details on printing materials for MJF technology. 

See why DE’s Editors selected the HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printing Production System as their Pick of the Week. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.