HP aims to use its Multi Jet Fusion additive manufacturing technology in its supply chain

HP is planning to use its own supply chain as a testbed and case study for scaling 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology.

HP said it will use its own Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology in its supply chain to lower costs, cut design time and lead times.

And HP's implementation of its own additive manufacturing technology will also serve as a massive case study. HP delivers almost 100 million products annually through its network of factories and manufacturing partners.

HP's program is called Reinventing HP With Multi Jet Fusion is being outlined at the Additive Manufacturing Users Group conference.

Enterprise companies eating their own dog food and highlighting returns to customers is nothing new. What's interesting about HP is that it is deploying additive manufacturing into its already complex supply chain. HP noted the following:

50 percent of the custom plastic parts in the Jet Fusion 4200 can be manufactured with HP's 3D printing technology.

More than 140 parts inside the Jet Fusion 300/500 Series can be produced with 3D printing.

The company is focusing on lowering weight, cost and carbon footprint. For instance, a part in HP's large format printers was redesigned to reduce weight 93 percent and cost by half.

3D printing is being used to reduce part count and assembly time.

Add it up and HP's primary returns will revolve around design time and millions of dollars saved on tooling expenses.

HP also announced that customers are placing repeat orders and upgrading deployments. Forecast 3D, GoProto and Stern were cited as customer references.

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