HP's Designjet 3D series start shipping to wealthy European prototypers
By Tim Stevens 
posted April 21st 2010 10:39AM
posted April 21st 2010 10:39AM
Stratasys Delivers First Shipment of HP-Branded 3D Printers
Event marks milestone in agreement to develop 3D printers for HP
MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Additive fabrication system maker, Stratasys, Inc., (NASDAQ: SSYS), today announced it has delivered its first shipments of HP-branded 3D printers.
Stratasys and HP co-developed the exclusive 3D printer systems, which are being manufactured by Stratasys as part of a global manufacturing agreement with HP (NYSE: HPQ), as announced in January.
HP launched its Designjet 3D products in Europe today, making it the only major manufacturer of 2D (or paper) printers in the 3D printer market. The products will be available this May in five European markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
"The agreement to develop and manufacture a product to HP's specification is a milestone for us," says Stratasys CEO Scott Crump. "Today, we're taking a big step in realizing the agreement's potential by demonstrating we can deliver."
"There are millions of 3D designers using 2D printers who are ready to bring their designs to life in 3D," says Santiago Morera, HP's vice president and general manager of its Large Format Printing Business. "Stratasys FDM technology is the ideal platform for HP to enter the 3D MCAD printing market and begin to capitalize on this untapped opportunity."
Technology & Use
Product designers, engineers, and architects who design with CAD (computer aided design) use 3D printers as peripheral devices to "print" or produce a tangible 3D model from plastic or other material to verify the form, fit, and function of designs prior to committing them to production or construction. Designers often seek 3D printers that model with production-grade thermoplastic when they want to best-predict performance of their plastic end-product.
Stratasys manufactures 3D printers under the Dimensionbrand, and it makes 3D production systems under the Fortus brand. Both product lines, as well as the HP-branded 3D printers employ Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology, which creates three-dimensional plastic models directly from a CAD file. The patented process creates parts by extruding semi-molten plastic in thin layers to "grow" the part, layer by layer. The process of producing a part layer-by-layer is known generically as "additive fabrication" or "additive manufacturing."
Pioneer & Leader
The term "3D printer" was coined by Stratasys when it introduced its first compact system co-developed with IBM in the mid 1990s. 3D printer is now widely used to describe a segment of additive fabrication machines that generally connotes a compact, low-price unit that is quick and easy to operate. Stratasys was an early pioneer of the additive fabrication industry as well as its 3D printer segment. The company has a seven-year track record as the industry's unit sales leader, and it has an industry market share of 43 percent, as well as a market share of more than 50 percent for the 3D printer segment. The company's ongoing leadership demonstrates customers' long-term satisfaction with its products and FDM technology.
The technology to produce 3D models directly from a digital design has been commercial for more than 20 years, but recent advances in 3D printers have dramatically reduced their cost and improved ease-of-use and reliability. Stratasys introduced its Dimension 3D printer line in 2002, with the first printer priced under $30,000. Early last year, Dimension broke the $15,000 (USD) barrier with its office-friendly uPrint, which fits on a desktop.
HP's Graphic Solutions Business - part of the company's $24 billion Imaging and Printing Group - executed the distribution agreement with Stratasys. HP is a leading provider of Designjet and Scitex large-format printing solutions, Indigo digital solutions for commercial and industrial printing, inkjet high-speed production solutions and specialty printing systems.
Stratasys, Inc., Minneapolis, manufactures additive fabrication machines for prototyping and manufacturing plastic parts under the brands Fortus 3D Production Systems and Dimension 3D Printers. The company operates RedEye On Demand, an online service for part prototyping and production. Stratasys also manufactures 3D printers for HP, sold under the brand Designjet 3D. According to Wohlers Report 2009, Stratasys supplied 43 percent of all additive fabrication systems installed worldwide in 2008, making it the unit market leader for the seventh consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the process known as FDM. The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 280 granted or pending additive fabrication patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business & industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com
Dimension, a brand of 3D printers by Stratasys, offers computer-aided-design (CAD) users a low-cost, networked alternative for building functional 3D models from the desktop. The printers build models layer-by-layer using ABS plastic, one of the most widely used thermoplastics in today's injection-molded products. Dimension 3D printers allow users to evaluate design concepts and test models for form, fit, and function. Online at: www.DimensionPrinting.com
Fortus is a brand of Stratasys, Inc., formerly known as the FDM Group. Fortus offers a line of 3D production systems used for direct digital manufacturing and precision rapid prototyping. Fortus systems create manufactured goods or prototypes from industrial thermoplastics, including ABS, polycarbonate, PPSF, blends, and ULTEM* 9085. Online at: www.Fortus.com
Fortus is a trademark, and Dimension, Stratasys, uPrint, and FDM are registered trademarks of Stratasys, Inc. Designjet 3D and HP are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard.
Attention Editors: If you wish to publish reader contact information, please use: info@stratasys.com, 952-937-3000, 1-866-721-9244, www.Stratasys.com.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements herein that are not historical facts or that include such words as "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "vision," "could," "potential," "planning" or "believes" or similar words constitute forward-looking statements covered by the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.These include statements regarding projected revenue and income in future quarters; the size of the 3D printing market; our objectives for the marketing and sale of our Dimension(R) and uPrint 3D Printers and our FortusTM 3D Production Systems, particularly for use in direct digital manufacturing (DDM);our agreement with HP to expand the distribution and sales of our 3D printers the demand for our proprietary consumables; the expansion of our paid parts service; and our beliefs with respect to the growth in the demand for our products. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect our business include our ability to penetrate the 3D printing market; the success of our distribution agreement with HP; our ability to achieve the growth rates experienced in preceding quarters; our ability to introduce, produce and market new materials, such as ABSplus and ABS-M30, and the market acceptance of these and other materials; the impact of competitive products and pricing; our timely development of new products and materials and market acceptance of those products and materials; the success of our recent R&D initiative to expand the DDM capabilities of our core FDM technology and our distribution agreement with HP; and the success of our RedEyeOnDemandTM and other paid parts services. Actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. These statements represent beliefs and expectations only as of the date they were made. We may elect to update forward-looking statements, but we expressly disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our beliefs and expectations change. In addition to the statements described above, such forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties described more fully in our reports filed or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Event marks milestone in agreement to develop 3D printers for HP
MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Additive fabrication system maker, Stratasys, Inc., (NASDAQ: SSYS), today announced it has delivered its first shipments of HP-branded 3D printers.
Stratasys and HP co-developed the exclusive 3D printer systems, which are being manufactured by Stratasys as part of a global manufacturing agreement with HP (NYSE: HPQ), as announced in January.
HP launched its Designjet 3D products in Europe today, making it the only major manufacturer of 2D (or paper) printers in the 3D printer market. The products will be available this May in five European markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
"The agreement to develop and manufacture a product to HP's specification is a milestone for us," says Stratasys CEO Scott Crump. "Today, we're taking a big step in realizing the agreement's potential by demonstrating we can deliver."
"There are millions of 3D designers using 2D printers who are ready to bring their designs to life in 3D," says Santiago Morera, HP's vice president and general manager of its Large Format Printing Business. "Stratasys FDM technology is the ideal platform for HP to enter the 3D MCAD printing market and begin to capitalize on this untapped opportunity."
Technology & Use
Product designers, engineers, and architects who design with CAD (computer aided design) use 3D printers as peripheral devices to "print" or produce a tangible 3D model from plastic or other material to verify the form, fit, and function of designs prior to committing them to production or construction. Designers often seek 3D printers that model with production-grade thermoplastic when they want to best-predict performance of their plastic end-product.
Stratasys manufactures 3D printers under the Dimensionbrand, and it makes 3D production systems under the Fortus brand. Both product lines, as well as the HP-branded 3D printers employ Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology, which creates three-dimensional plastic models directly from a CAD file. The patented process creates parts by extruding semi-molten plastic in thin layers to "grow" the part, layer by layer. The process of producing a part layer-by-layer is known generically as "additive fabrication" or "additive manufacturing."
Pioneer & Leader
The term "3D printer" was coined by Stratasys when it introduced its first compact system co-developed with IBM in the mid 1990s. 3D printer is now widely used to describe a segment of additive fabrication machines that generally connotes a compact, low-price unit that is quick and easy to operate. Stratasys was an early pioneer of the additive fabrication industry as well as its 3D printer segment. The company has a seven-year track record as the industry's unit sales leader, and it has an industry market share of 43 percent, as well as a market share of more than 50 percent for the 3D printer segment. The company's ongoing leadership demonstrates customers' long-term satisfaction with its products and FDM technology.
The technology to produce 3D models directly from a digital design has been commercial for more than 20 years, but recent advances in 3D printers have dramatically reduced their cost and improved ease-of-use and reliability. Stratasys introduced its Dimension 3D printer line in 2002, with the first printer priced under $30,000. Early last year, Dimension broke the $15,000 (USD) barrier with its office-friendly uPrint, which fits on a desktop.
HP's Graphic Solutions Business - part of the company's $24 billion Imaging and Printing Group - executed the distribution agreement with Stratasys. HP is a leading provider of Designjet and Scitex large-format printing solutions, Indigo digital solutions for commercial and industrial printing, inkjet high-speed production solutions and specialty printing systems.
Stratasys, Inc., Minneapolis, manufactures additive fabrication machines for prototyping and manufacturing plastic parts under the brands Fortus 3D Production Systems and Dimension 3D Printers. The company operates RedEye On Demand, an online service for part prototyping and production. Stratasys also manufactures 3D printers for HP, sold under the brand Designjet 3D. According to Wohlers Report 2009, Stratasys supplied 43 percent of all additive fabrication systems installed worldwide in 2008, making it the unit market leader for the seventh consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the process known as FDM. The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 280 granted or pending additive fabrication patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business & industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com
Dimension, a brand of 3D printers by Stratasys, offers computer-aided-design (CAD) users a low-cost, networked alternative for building functional 3D models from the desktop. The printers build models layer-by-layer using ABS plastic, one of the most widely used thermoplastics in today's injection-molded products. Dimension 3D printers allow users to evaluate design concepts and test models for form, fit, and function. Online at: www.DimensionPrinting.com
Fortus is a brand of Stratasys, Inc., formerly known as the FDM Group. Fortus offers a line of 3D production systems used for direct digital manufacturing and precision rapid prototyping. Fortus systems create manufactured goods or prototypes from industrial thermoplastics, including ABS, polycarbonate, PPSF, blends, and ULTEM* 9085. Online at: www.Fortus.com
Fortus is a trademark, and Dimension, Stratasys, uPrint, and FDM are registered trademarks of Stratasys, Inc. Designjet 3D and HP are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard.
Attention Editors: If you wish to publish reader contact information, please use: info@stratasys.com, 952-937-3000, 1-866-721-9244, www.Stratasys.com.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements herein that are not historical facts or that include such words as "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "vision," "could," "potential," "planning" or "believes" or similar words constitute forward-looking statements covered by the safe harbor protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.These include statements regarding projected revenue and income in future quarters; the size of the 3D printing market; our objectives for the marketing and sale of our Dimension(R) and uPrint 3D Printers and our FortusTM 3D Production Systems, particularly for use in direct digital manufacturing (DDM);our agreement with HP to expand the distribution and sales of our 3D printers the demand for our proprietary consumables; the expansion of our paid parts service; and our beliefs with respect to the growth in the demand for our products. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect our business include our ability to penetrate the 3D printing market; the success of our distribution agreement with HP; our ability to achieve the growth rates experienced in preceding quarters; our ability to introduce, produce and market new materials, such as ABSplus and ABS-M30, and the market acceptance of these and other materials; the impact of competitive products and pricing; our timely development of new products and materials and market acceptance of those products and materials; the success of our recent R&D initiative to expand the DDM capabilities of our core FDM technology and our distribution agreement with HP; and the success of our RedEyeOnDemandTM and other paid parts services. Actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. These statements represent beliefs and expectations only as of the date they were made. We may elect to update forward-looking statements, but we expressly disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our beliefs and expectations change. In addition to the statements described above, such forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties described more fully in our reports filed or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
And I bet the cartridges will now magically stop working after a few months, too.
@CRA1G
For now you should start selling all your assets in order to afford your next 3d cartridge.
@CRA1G : Why is that child playing with the 3D printer?
@One Love It's about to create a 3D representation of peadobear
@One Love
is it a child or female hand?.
In a few years 3d printers will cost less than their cartridges.
@broli
I wish you were right, but right now the market is held by a few select manufacturers, and the costs are still very high and the volumes are very low. Things will improve and get cheaper, but they will remain very expensive.
Polyjet machines blow these crappy FDM machines out of the water BTW.
@dibs oddjob - ah, just throw together a DIY system like the guys at MakerBot supply the parts for, and do it for under $1000... And instead of cartridges that you have to sell your organs on the black market to afford, you just buy ABS filament to feed it! :)
Seriously, though, I've done some parts on a Z-Corp color 3D printer, and they come out pretty sweet... Without the rough texture of the cheaper alternatives. Still expensive as heck though!
@Vrmithrax Or the reprap at http://reprap.org/wiki/Mendel around $520 in parts
@broli - heh, yah the MakerBot guys based everything off reprap standards, it's basically a pretty packaged kit format of the reprap unit, with lots of stuff (like circuit boards) preassembled.
@Vrmithrax Except they make pretty crappy parts and I doubt they can hold up to everyday use. I've used pretty much every RP machine on the market over the last 15 years and I really don't like any of the machines under $20k. They are ok for small parts or if you are just trying to get the general look of a part. The parts tend to have poor dimensions and the laminations are not that great.
SLS and SLA are far superior but they are 6 figure machines. My company has more 6 figure machines than the cheap ones and for good reason.
@fastm3driver - I think you miss the whole point of the MakerBot and reprap systems... They are for garage, hobbyist, do-it-yourselfers who just want to do some light 3D printing or garage prototyping...
If you have a need for 3D printing that actually spawns a 6 figure budget, you would stick with the big stuff. If you are a hobbyist who doesn't happen to have that kind of money (you know, like the vast majority of people in the world) then the reprap system is a great option. They aren't a prime-time high production type of system.
Q:So what happens when you have a multi-page project open and you hit print and then you realize you should have hit "current page only"?
A. You have hours and hours to hit cancel.
amirite? amirite?
@Maurizio This might sound magical but did you know you can "cancel" during printing....yeah I know.
@Maurizio
Uh... It prints plastic 3D models... Not paper. You use a CAD software to print from.
@broli You've never used an HP printer have you?
Why do I feel like the void in the middle should have a little paper cup and coffee being dispensed into it? (I am tired, but that shouldn't be more than half the reason)
@juanvaldez
It comes with instructions to print that up as your first project.
Give one to me! You'll get a 3D I-O-U in return!
This thing looks SO FREEKING COOL!!!
but, what does it do? :)
@uHorndog You can print an another 3D printer from it
:-S
@uHorndog These devices allow smaller companies to fabricate prototypes without the need for a third party. You could print cell phone cases, ashtrays, custom controllers, pretty much anything you can think of granted it can be modeled and made of plastic/resin.
@satish - I wouldn't laugh too hard, the DIY 3-D RepRap system's claim to fame is that it can actually reproduce almost all the parts needed to build another RepRap (minus electronics, metal parts, etc)
Of course HP would never allow this, there's no profit in it. Hell, even if you just busted a gear, I'm sure they'd make you pay through the nose for an "official" part and not let you print your own replacement :-P
does the hand come with it? then it would be worth it
@fusionspill No, but you can just print your own
I wonder if it comes with the USB cable.....
@admlshake
lol printer woes.
The funny thing being that it won't allow you to print in black or white if it has run out of magenta.
Hate bloody cartridges and the atrocious software that most printers are suffering badly from. I wouldn't expect 3D printers to change any that.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/printers
@Andr I don't think color is a huge part of 3d printing. These make 3d objects not 3d pictures. ie a custom case for your N64 boy or other custom design. 3d scanning makes KIRFing easy if your rich enough to buy into the technology.
@RLBurkes
"HP is offering two models, the plain Designjet 3D and the Designjet Color 3D which, wait for it, prints in color."
Oh, you wait and see...what I posted above is going to come true.
I know what a 3D-fucking-printer is ;)
The toner cartridge prices are exactly why they cost $200 delivered.
There's a Philip K. Dick story about one of these things. It doesn't end well...
Please note that the "color" version is only selective color... in other words, you have to pop out the cartridge and either the entire piece is that one color, or stop the print and an entire section of the part is that color color. You can't actually "mix" the colors.
Only much higher end models can truly print in color.
And it also seems strange that HP is simply rebranding Stratasys' printer and charging MORE for it. You would think it would cost the same, or possibly even less because of HP's marketing clout.
@Hazdaz
You've got all the puzzle pieces, you've just put them together slightly incorrectly: It costs more because of HPs marketing clout.
@Hazdaz
It reminds of the the HP-branded iPods.
At that time, the rationale was that HP could help Apple expand their distribution. Maybe that's the benefit to Stratysys - perhaps HP will be pushing the printers to their huge array corporate clients. But corporate clients don't usually buy things from someone when they can get it cheap from someone else. Maybe it just gives HP some negotiating room?
@robjennings But for large corporate clients, easier to deal with the contracts you already have than set a new one up, and also, no large corporate client will pay that list price. They'll get a drastically discounted one.
Can I print paper?
@CanisMinor
EPIC! +9001
I don't know why Engadget sees the need to bash HP, even though its clear that this product isn't for the general consumer... But if its a ROCK from a certain company with a fruit logo, I'm sure Engadget would be drooling all over it.
@PrivateFlank I was WONDERING where the Apple angle was in this story, cheers.
I think I'll print out an entire fleet of Star Trek starships with this thing.
@(Unverified) You'd have to model them first...
yeah right Hp.. I know these as U-print by Dimensionprinting or also Stratasys..
@heng
WRONG.
These are rebadged uPrint machines WITH A HIGHER PRICE.
There has to be a joke about printing a test page here somewhere.
@franktronic - the "print a test page" option is a printout of you using the machine to do a printout of you using the machine to do a printout of you using a machine to do a printout of you.... and THAT is how the world ends in 2012!
Suck on that, Nostradamus!
so what do these print? 3d paper? i don't get it...
3D models you modeled in a CAD or DCC application.
@jawman - It basically lays down tiny layers of material, 1 pass at a time, and the part slowly builds up right before your eyes. The end product is the exact object you had modeled in CAD and told it to print. Not sure on this HP/Stratasys unit, but other 3D prototyping models I've dealt with had a soft plasticy feel to them, and required you spray or dip the model in a solution to seal and harden the piece for more permanency.
mayan clay pots maker