One of the most anticipated entries of all times for 3D printing industry would be the entry of Hewlett Packard. After conquering the 2D printing industry HP is all set to rock the 3D world. The CEO of the company Meg Whiteman announced that the company would be entering the 3D printing industry by the end of this fiscal year. The fiscal year of HP ends on 31st October. The announcement also clarifies HP’s target segment to start with. HP will be announcing a 3-D printing product aimed at business-related 3-D printing and will not be entering the consumer 3-D printing market.
At present the 3D printing industry is dominated by companies such as 3D Systems and Stratasys. However the entry of HP has created a lot of buzz as the competition will surely heat up. The 3D printer range that HP plans to launch is the Designjet 3D printer series. The printer uses recyclable ABS plastic and it has a built-in network card which allows easy workgroup sharing to the user. The HP Designjet Color 3D printer can make larger models as compared to the HP Designjet 3D printer. Since it has two printing modes it allows the user to print bigger models at a speed that is faster than the HP Designjet 3D printer.
HP will stand to benefit from the fact that a host of core patents for FDM, SLS etc have expired recently. As a consequence HP will not have to spend a lot of money on developing new technology and processes for discovering how the modeling of 3D objects is to be done, and can rather focus on business with its vast distribution network.
With the entry of HP in the 3D printing industry, this industry will get its much deserved momentum. This will boost the innovation in the industry as HP has a lot of money that can be used in the R&D to improve future processes. HP can produce in bulk hence reducing the price per unit of 3D printers, making 3D printers at par with technologies such as computers and mobiles.