HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing Goes Production-Scale as Forecast 3D Opens 3D Manufacturing Center

Back in March, California-based Forecast 3D announced that it would shortly be receiving two of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers, making the founding partner one of the first companies to offer the much-heralded technology to customers. Fast forward a few months to today, and Forecast 3D is scaling its MJF production up dramatically as it officially opens its new 3D Manufacturing Center, a 21,000-square-foot facility at its Carlsbad headquarters. The highlight of this new manufacturing center is 12 HP Jet Fusion 4200 3D printers.

The new 3D Manufacturing Center and its Jet Fusion 3D printers will allow Forecast 3D to offer large-scale production using 3D printing for the first time. Like other service bureaus, Forecast 3D had mostly been relegated to designing and prototyping using 3D printing, with large-scale production still having to be carried out through traditional processes like injection molding. That changes now – with the addition of MJF technology, Forecast 3D will be able to produce more than 600,000 end-use production parts every week.

[Image: HP]

“We’ve been among the most ardent supporters of Multi Jet Fusion since it launched, and the positive feedback from our clients has been overwhelming,” said Corey Weber, Forecast 3D Co-Founder and CEO. “That’s why we’re so excited that our new 3D Manufacturing Center makes us the first company to offer clients a complete, one-stop HP 3D printing solution, allowing us to meet the growing demand for Multi Jet Fusion production and make 3D printing available to an even broader spectrum of companies.”

While several companies have brought Multi Jet Fusion technology to customers already, Forecast 3D is the first to implement it on such a large scale, allowing the 3D printing world to see for the first time what it’s really capable of. The opening of the 3D Manufacturing Center is something of a turning point for the industry as 3D printing shifts from a prototyping technology to a means of full-scale production – something that many predicted would never happen.

[Image: Forecast 3D]

“MJF gives us the capability to print an incredible amount of high-quality, engineering-grade parts in a very short period of time, which has transformed the way we think about manufacturing,” continued Weber.

“These 12 HP 3D printing units now allow us to handle all kinds of full-production schedules for any type of vertical, and do it with speed, cost-efficiency, and quality that’s just not possible anywhere else. Multi Jet Fusion is shaping the future of manufacturing, and we’re very proud to be a part of it.”

Forecast 3D isn’t the only company to announce accelerated production with MJF this week. Sculpteo will also now be offering Multi Jet Fusion technology to its customers, to the delight of many. The popular service bureau will now be able to 3D print parts 10 times faster than before and offer end-use parts that previously weren’t possible through additive manufacturing.

“In digital manufacturing, speed is crucial,” said Clément Moreau, Co-Founder of Sculpteo. “With HP, Sculpteo continues to innovate to offer a more affordable, fast and precise factory.”

“Nearly forty-percent of companies that order on Sculpteo.com ask for a faster service,” added Sculpteo CEO Marine Coré-Baillais.

Currently, the MJF system allows 3D printing with gray or black polyamide PA-12 Nylon, but many more material options will be available soon as HP and its partners continue to develop the open materials system that has had the industry so excited since it was first announced. Discuss in the MJF forum at 3DPB.com.