Today we’re super excited to announce a massive step in a partnership that will help revolutionize the way the world looks at product design and digital manufacturing. We have installed the new HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer at our factory in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Why are we excited? Back in 2014 we learned from Hewlett Packard, a company that holds true to a long history of deep innovation, that they were working on a new 3D printer. They told us that the new machine would be built for finished manufacturing (not only prototyping), would deliver great quality, would be 10x faster than existing machines and deliver parts at greatly reduced cost.  We know that better quality, lead times of 1 or 2 days and lower prices are exactly what the market needs.

That is why, in October that same year, we announced a partnership with Hewlett Packard.  This collaboration will enable both Shapeways and HP to work side-by-side to take 3D printing and digital manufacturing to a new level, with the official introduction of their new HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing System.

During the last year and a half, teams at both HP and Shapeways have been working together forging the next milestone, which we are celebrating today; the announcement of this new printer by HP at RAPID and it’s first installation in our Eindhoven factory.

Being the first to take delivery of a prototype on this new platform in our Eindhoven factory, will enable a constant stream of information and feedback between HP and Shapeways.  This work will be focused on making sure the quality, speed, and experience is second to none.  (Seen here with Virginia Palacio from HP with Stefan Rink, our VP of Manufacturing)

In the early stages of testing, we will keep you posted on progress and hope to start using the machine to print your parts soon.

What’s so special about this new platform? Everything. Addressing 340 million 3D pixels or voxels per second, versus one point at a time means that the printer can bring high-quality nylon parts to life up to 10x faster than existing machines, at a much lower cost. This increase in speed could equate to the ability to move from same-week shipping to next day delivery. But that’s not all; Although this revolutionary system is rolling out with one color: Black nylon, over time the range of colors will dramatically increase, enabling the ability to include full-color plastic printing.  Yes, full-color plastic, at a cost potentially lower than current dyed nylons.

Pete