3D Printing up to 10 times faster: Sculpteo welcomes HP Multi Jet Fusion technology!

Posted By Hilmiyati Kusnadi on Jul 4, 2017 | 0 comments

Providing you with the best 3D printing service is our main goal. Here’s why we’re always looking for new innovative technologies and materials to enrich your experience. This time, HP chose us as one of their first French partners to work with their 3D printing technology: HP Multi Jet Fusion! This major innovation allows us to 3D print your plastic parts up to 10 times faster than with other technologies.

The HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology

Created for production, the HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology is designed to answer your needs. With it, you can either 3D print prototypes and finished products, in small to medium quantities.

How does it work? A printer head deposits selectively some drops of fusing agent and of detailing agent on a powder bed, then an infrared light heats these parts to allow fusion. The detailing agent is used to obtain fine details and a smooth surface.

One of the major innovations of this process is that it needs less heat to fuse the material. As a result, the cooling time is faster than with the SLS technology. Moreover, the building box can be removed from the 3D printer, so it can cool outside of the printer, and another production batch can be launched right away.

This process produces 3D printed parts up to 10 times faster than other 3D printing techniques!

HP Black Plastic, the first material available for this 3D printing technology

For now, this 3D printing process is only available for one material: HP Black Plastic. But get ready, more 3D printing materials should be unveiled in the next months!

HP Black Plastic is a 3D printing material developed by HP, created from a polyamide powder. It has a good elasticity and a high impact resistance. Moreover, it’s highly resistant to chemicals, like hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols, detergents, fuels, aldehydes, mineral bases and salts, detergents, fats, and oils. This 3D printing material is great either for beginners and experimented professionals due to its low cost and high precision.

This polyamide is highly resistant to scratches and abrasion. HP’s Black Plastic is also stable to weather, UV stabilized and light stabilized.

For now, the only finishing option available on Sculpteo’s online 3D printing service is to keep the raw material. Surface is already relatively smooth, allowing the making of high-quality 3D printed parts.

Towards a massive 3D printing revolution

Actually, this innovation can be related to a major 3D printing trend. Additive manufacturing is being used more and more for production, and not just for prototyping anymore. Demand for final products created using 3D printing keeps increasing over the years since it’s a fast manufacturing process. In our 2017 study, The State of 3D Printing, we found out that 34% of our respondents use 3D printing for prototyping, and 23% for proof of concept, but actually 22% of them use it for production.

Of course, there are major challenges coming up with this change. New materials need to be created, with a great aspect and a high resistance. HP Black Plastic was developed with this objective. Moreover, 3D printing processes need to be faster and should allow a larger scale production. Here again, HP Jet Fusion technology was thought to answer this need.