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HP wants to drive the "next industrial revolution" and spark a change in the way products are manufactured with its new 3D printers.
The company's first 3D printers will ship later this year, said Cathie Lesjak, chief financial officer for HP, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference this week.
HP first announced 3D printers in 2014, and is now preparing for the big launch. HP is looking to hire materials experts, mechanical engineers, managers and sales people for its push into 3D printing.
HP has a rich history in printing and is entering a 3D printing market that, over the past 20-plus years, has been marred by support and technology problems. HP wants to make 3D printing quicker, cheaper and faster for businesses.
3D printing PCB
"We're really not terribly interested in consumer 3D [printing], we're interested in commercial," Lesjak said.
The technology offers several advantages for businesses. Instead of using multiple machines to make a product, businesses will be able to use a single 3D printer to make parts, Lesjak said.
Companies will be able to cut manufacturing costs by making products in-house. With the ability to print parts when needed, companies don't have to worry about holding excess inventory, she said.
The HP printer will support advanced inks and materials. It will also use design rules and precision production methods typically applied to integrated circuit manufacturing.
HP's 3D printing technology has its basis in the company's PageWide commercial printing technology. PageWide uses special inks for faster document printing, and will likely expand to include new ink and material for 3D printing.
The excitement around 3D printing peaked in 2014, but has since died down. The stock prices of companies like Stratasys - which owns MakerBot - and 3D Systems have plummeted as those companies focused on the consumer market. That recent history is one reason why HP wants to focus exclusively on the commercial market, Lesjak said.
A Swedish and a German company join the fold to make industrial components. On Tuesday, General Electric announced that it would spend $1.4 billion (~£1 billion) to acquire two European 3D printing companies—Arcam AB from Sweden and SLM Solutions Group from Germany. According to the Associated Press, GE spent $1.5 billion (~£1.1 billion) on 3D printing investments since 2010, meaning the acquisitions will double what the company has invested in the last five years.
In a press release, GE noted that Arcam “invented the electron beam melting machine for metal-based additive manufacturing and also produces advanced metal powders.” SLM Solutions, on the other hand, “produces laser machines for metal-based additive manufacturing.” Both companies have histories of doing business in the aerospace and healthcare industries, and SLM Solutions also has customers in the energy and automotive industries.
3D printing parts for GE
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, GE’s CEO of Aviation David Joyce said that GE’s jet engine business has been the primary outlet for so-called additive manufacturing at the company, but it plans to use 3D printing more frequently in its power turbine and medical equipment businesses.
“GE said it expected to purchase about 1,000 new 3-D printing machines over the next decade,” the WSJ notes. “By bringing the two firms in-house, GE says it could cut costs by $3 billion to $5 billion across the company, since the technology could reduce design and material costs.” Eventually, GE could potentially become a supplier of industrial 3D printing machines and materials with these acquisitions.
3D printing is favored in certain kinds of industrial production—it can be used to create parts that are much lighter than molded or cast parts. At the same time, it can also take longer for a 3D printer to make parts than a more traditional process would take, meaning that many companies employ 3D printing at a prototyping stage but dispense with it for production-ready items. GE has said it hopes to make 3D printing faster by at least two to three times over the next few years, according to the WSJ.
Our Garmin Vivosmart HR+ review broke the record for an all-time high score for fitness trackers and for good reason: it's all singing, all dancing and packed with tech, although that still might not make it the perfect choice for everyone.
The Vivosmart HR+ offers a great mix of activity, heart rate and GPS tracking, which makes it a no-brainer for those thinking about a Fitbit, but non-plussed by the idea of taking a phone along for a run.
While the band is still a little chunky for some and the screen is nowhere near as attractive as the Blaze, it offers up around a week of battery life, is devilishly good when it comes to notifications and it's water resistant to about 50m – although the lack of a swimming mode is a bitter disappointment.
Run stats are a little light – if you want more than pace, distance or basic HR data then you'll need to head into proper GPS running watch territory.
Fitbit raised the bar with the Charge 2, in spite of the device falling slightly short of its own expectations. As well the usual steps and sleep tracking – all logged within Fitbit's superb app – the Charge 2 tracks heart rate continuously, monitors resting heart rate and now rates VO2 Max, a scientific gauge of fitness. New breathing training to combat stress adds to a stellar line-up of wellness features – so why isn't it topping the table?
Teething issues with screen responsiveness, a fiddly interface and flaky heart rate tracking during very intense workouts make for an experience that falls short for the more active user. It will accurately track runs, but you need to take your phone out with you.
However, if general wellbeing is more important to you than getting sweaty at the gym, the Charge 2 is one of the strongest devices on the market.
We talked and Jawbone listened. After receiving mediocre reviews for the Jawbone UP3, the San Francisco company went live with new firmware addressing a number of the key concerns – and automatic sleep tracking is now on offer. That's great news because the UP3 is incredibly in-depth when it comes to tracking your zzzz's. By monitoring a user's bpm, respiration rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response, it can give you your REM, light and deep sleep stats.
( Jawbone UP3 是全世界最流行的健身睡眠追踪器，它提供 心跳監視、睡眠追踪、記步器等功能 )
Feature check: Heart rate (resting and passive), steps, sleep.
