Tech Giant joining the 3D Printing Game

The internet is still buzzing about HP's recent announcement that they will be entering the 3D Printing arena in June. Although HP's specific game plan remains unclear, Martin Fink, CTO and director of HP Labs, says "HP is currently exploring the many possibilities of 3D printing and the company will play an important role in its development." 

Originally on March 19, HP's Meg Whitman announced that they would be entering the market in June, but they have since revised their projection, that it would in fact make the announcement by the end of their fiscal year (which ends in October).

HP Labs

While everyone's expectation was that HP would first enter the consumer market, HP foresees consumers utilizing print service providers, such as Fedex Offices. It appears that HP will enter the 3D Printing market as an enterprise solution, providing 3D Printers to the print service providers of the world. HP claims to have already solved several major obstacles of 3D printing, including the biggest hurdle, painfully slow printing speeds.

While 3D Printing is still at it's earliest stages, it is hard to ignore a $2.2 billion dollar industry, which is expected to exceed 10 billion in 20211. Until now the 3D Printing market has been mostly comprised of smaller players. Now with the tech giant throwing their hat in the ring, it could change the game entirely and bring 3D printing to a whole new level. You can bet, all eyes are going to be on HP in October!

See the entire Q&A with Martin Fink: What is HP Doing in 3D Printing? 

 

1. Data: (published in Wall Street Journal June 2013, from Wohlers Report 2013, Wohlers Associates)