HP's 3D Print Quantum Leap And It's Affect On Gartner Hype Cycle
Solving the big three problems of current 3D printers: “speed, cost and reliability”.
HP the information technology empire with decades of knowledge in 2D printing has made a major breakthrough in 3D Printing that many experts believe will push rivals "out of business" and quickly gain a considerable market share.
The Cutting Edge Technology
As the dominant player in conventional printing, HP is sticking with the method that has made it billions of dollars over the years; the Thermal Inkjet technology. HP has based much of their Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology on intellectual property that they already hold for Thermal Inkjet printing (See HOW HP MULTI JET FUSION WORKS). This is the technology used in a great majority of traditional HP printers. This is the technology that other companies like 3D Systems and Stratasys could only previously have dreamt of utilizing without facing legal prosecution by HP.
The Big Announcement
The announcement came during HP's “Reimagine Possibilities” event; a very suitable event title to the news Steve Nigro announced. The Senior VP of the Inkjet and Graphics Businesses at HP revealed the new inkjet innovation which provides a solution for mobility, cloud, and social media trends.
Onstage Nigro introduced the beast: “A new approach to 3D printing. I’m saying a breakthrough. How do we define a breakthrough? First. Speed. You can print 10x faster than any 3D printing. We are going to show you how we have broken through the limitation of speed, quality and cost." See Hewlett Packard Emerges! Witness the Birth of a 3D Printing Behemoth!
Gartner Hype Cycle
3D printing is evolving rapidly, although many technologies are still five to ten years away from mainstream adoption. Consumer adoption will be outpaced by business and medical applications that have more compelling use in the short term, according to Gartner, Inc.: "Consumer 3D printing is around five to ten years away from mainstream adoption," said Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner. "Today, approximately 40 manufacturers sell the 3D printers most commonly used in businesses, and over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars. However, even this price is too high for mainstream consumers at this time, despite broad awareness of the technology and considerable media interest."
Gartner identified two themes of 3D printing markets based on research within industries ranging from technology providers to end users, government agencies, educational institutions and investment firms. The markets are:
First: The Enterprise 3D Printing Market
This market is very different from the consumer market. The enterprise market is currently employing consumer devices in order to learn about 3D printing's potential benefits with minimal risk and capital investment. Fundamentally, however, the two markets are driven by different uses and requirements and must be evaluated separately.
Second: The Consumer 3D Printing Market
3D printing Is Not One Technology But Seven Different Ones. As Mr. Basiliere mentioned "Hype around home use obfuscates the reality that 3D printing involves a complex ecosystem of software, hardware and materials whose use is not as simple to use as 'hitting print' on a paper printer"
The seven different technologies have pros and cons, and printers work with different build sizes and materials. This means those looking to purchase printers must begin with the end products in mind: "First, determine the material, performance and quality requirements of the finished items; second, determine the best 3D printing technology; and third, select the right 3D printer."
Gartner's Hype Cycle for 3D Printing:
Source: Gartner (July 2014)
How HP's Breakthrough Will Affect Gartner Hype Cycle?
HP's 3D Printing beast proves that the 3D printing market for enterprise is on the fast track to reaching the plateau of productivity in Gartner's Hype Cycle. In addition, I believe HP can adapt its 3D printing technology to the consumer market.
As Eddie Krassenstein described in Why HP’s 3D Printing Technology is Amazing, What the Future Holds, and Where Their Competitors Stand "Most within the industry, predicted that HP would be announcing 3D printing technology directed at industry and large scale corporations. They were right on the mark with these predictions. However, HP has an incredible ability to scale up and down with their technology. Much like their ability to create desktop 2D printers as well as large scale printers used by printing presses, magazines, and other large companies. Remember, their 3D printers will utilize the same HP Thermal Inkjet array technology used by their 2D printers. This ultimately means that it will be possible to scale these machines to reach a lower price point and greater audience, and could perhaps one day lead to HP Multi Jet 3D printers in individual homes."
So the question remains: Will HP enter the consumer 3D printing market and change the curve by scaling its machines to reach the plateau of productivity faster than its peers?