HP Launches New 3D Printing Tech for Metal Parts

HP (NYSE:HPQ) on Monday (September 10) announced the launch of HP Metal Jet, a new 3D printing technology for the high volume manufacturing of metal parts.

According to the company, the new technology is capable of manufacturing production grade metal parts at lower cost of production as compared to other methods while offering up to 50 times more productivity.

Further, HP said that its HP Metal Jet is already being deployed by GKN Powder Metallurgy and Parmatech for the factory production. The companies have additionally managed to rope in high profile customers including Volkswagen (ETR:VOW3), Wilo, Prio Medical Group and Okay Industries.

“We are in the midst of a digital industrial revolution that is transforming the [US]$12 trillion manufacturing industry,” Dion Weisler, CEO of HP, said in the release. “The implications are huge – the auto, industrial, and medical sectors alone produce billions of metal parts each year.”

Meanwhile, the company which produces three billion components for various industries — including automobiles, and GKN Powder — is expecting to use HP Metal Jets in the upcoming year for manufacturing components for its customers.

“We’re at the tipping point of an exciting new era from which there will be no return: the future of mass production with 3D printing,” Peter Oberparleiter, CEO of GKN Powder Metallurgy, said the release. “HP’s new Metal Jet technology enables us to expand our business by taking on new opportunities that were previously cost prohibitive.”

Meanwhile, Volkswagen said it has a multi-year plan to use the latest technology unveiled by HP to produce several key automotive components. HP’s Metal Jet is also set to play a crucial role in Volkswagen’s electric vehicles where lightweight parts are key to success.

Volkswagen said that a single car can often have 6,000 to 8,000 parts and by using the latest technology from HP, the company can produce these parts without having to build manufacturing tools.

“By reducing the cycle time for the production of parts, we can realize a higher volume of mass production very quickly,” Martin Goede, Head of Technology Planning and Development at Volkswagen, said in a release.

HP also said that customers who seek to receive industrial grade parts using the Metal Jet can upload their designs in the first half of 2019 and that they would be manufactured and produced by GKN Powder Metallurgy and Parmatech.

Further, the company clarified HP Metal Jet will be offered to early consumers at a price of US$399,000 with shipping slated to begin in 2020. Broader availability is projected to begin in 2021.

Following the announcement, shares of HP were down 0.24 percent to close the trading on Monday at US$24.65. On TipRanks, shares of HP have a “Moderate Buy” ranking with an analyst target price of US$28.17 which translates to a 14.28 percent upside from the current price.

The stock has a “Buy” ranking on TradingView with 12 verticals in favor, 10 in neutral and four against.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bala Yogesh, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.