HP and Siemens expand partnership to full-colour 3D printing and design

Siemens and Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology provider HP, have expanded their partnership to further innovate additive manufacturing and 3D design.

HP and Siemens’ long-established collaboration will now provide advanced functionality for users of Siemens PLM software and HP MFJ printing technology, increasing the accessibility of full-colour 3D printing and design.

Stephen Nigro, President of 3D Printing, HP Inc. stated:“Adding the full-colour capabilities of HP’s expanded Multi Jet Fusion platform to Siemens’ market-leading design and manufacturing solutions creates an immense new set of possibilities for products and applications.”

Siemens software supports HP

Earlier this year, HP introduced its range of colour 3D printers with the Jet Fusion 300/500 series. Using HP’s voxel-level capabilities, designers can add complex designs to 3D printed parts including features like serial numbers and QR codes, used for product identification.

Siemens and HP colour 3D printed surgical cutting guide with scannable QR code. Image via HP.

Now in the Siemens partnership expansion, users of NX and Solid Edge have access to colour file formats such as 3MF, which allows designers to produce their desired colour parts with ease. The 3MF files are also compatible with HP’s entire 3D printer portfolio, including the industrial-grade HP Jet Fusion 4200/4210.

“It is exciting to deliver the power of our technologies to customers large and small, fundamentally changing the 3D printing end-to-end process, from design to prototyping and ultimately manufacturing,” Nigro adds. “This is another pivotal step not just for our companies, but for the entire global manufacturing ecosystem, as together with Siemens we change the way the world designs and manufactures.”

 New opportunities at an industrial scale

In April 2018, HP launched its Reinventing HP With Multi Jet Fusion program in order to, “lower costs, speed time to market, increase customer satisfaction, and improve sustainability” of its 3D printers.

Siemens, meanwhile, recently invested $27 million in a new additive manufacturing facility in the UK.

In addition to the expanded color functionality, HP and Siemens launched the Additive Manufacturing Network: an online collaborative platform designed to encourage the growth of 3D printing at an industrial level.

This new platform creates on-demand digital inventories of software and tools for anyone to use. Siemens describes it as an accessible “global ecosystem of additive manufacturing expertise”. Customers and partners can also reduce their overall adoption risk of additive manufacturing while creating new business opportunities within the global manufacturing community.

Resource:3dprintingindustry.com