HP's Metal Jet Production Service available as it hits Jet Fusion 3D printing milestone

HP said its Metal Jet Production Service is now available and its HP Jet Fusion 500/300 Series 3D printers are shipping in volume.

The milestone, along with HP touting 10 million parts being produced with HP Multi Jet Fusion, is timed for the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) conference next week. HP is getting a jump on what is likely to be a slew of announcements from 3D printing companies.

HP has been ramping its 3D printing efforts and building its ecosystem to take on rivals like Stratasys and 3D Systems. Those two companies have more time in the market and established accounts with big manufacturers and service bureaus, which make parts for OEMs.

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As additive manufacturing and 3D printing become more mainstream, vendors will win on basics such as distribution, partner relationships and ecosystem as much as innovation.

For HP, the availability of its Metal Jet Production Service announced in September is the most interesting. Additive manufacturing for metal parts is a strong long-term play, but won't be widely available for a few years. HP's metal part production service gives enterprises a way to pilot the technology.

In its release, HP cited a bevy of customers including Daimler Trucks North America, Unlimited Tomorrow and Advantage Engineering.

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