HP Metal Jet; HP’s new metal 3D printing technology

Earlier this year the American company HP announced; it will indeed embark on the field of metal additive manufacturing. An announcement confirmed at the IMTS Chicago show. The manufacturer, now one of the largest resellers of professional 3D printers on the market, has presented its HP Metal Jet technology and the deployment of a 3D metal printing service, Metal Jet Production Service, operational from 2019.

The new machine will be based on a powder binding technique inspired by MIM (Metal Injection Molding). HP announces that it should enable 50 times more serial production in terms of productivity compared to other metal powder bonding and sintering solutions. All while reducing costs by two.

A metal piece printed by HP’s machine.

Metal additive manufacturing is booming with 80% of the solutions sold last year, according to the Wohlers Reports 2018. Just look at the number of manufacturers who are launching this niche, with a common desire to lower prices, to make technology more accessible. HP is not an exception. The American manufacturer, behind the Multi Jet Fusion process, has introduced its metal machine which is expected to be available for sale from 2020 in some countries and from 2021 worldwide.