3DPRINTUK invests in HP Multi Jet Fusion technology

The British company 3DPRINTUK is expanding its production capacities in the area of the additive manufacturing process HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). With an investment of two million pounds, three additional HP 5210 PRO systems will be added to the existing fleet, increasing production capacity by 60 percent. The aim is to reduce the cost of additive manufacturing, further improve quality and enable faster delivery times.

Nick Allen, CEO of 3DPRINTUK, outlined the company’s vision for growth: “We’re thrilled to launch stage one of our MJF expansion plan. Guided by our three core values, reducing manufacturing costs, enhancing quality, and delivering fast lead times, we are taking bold steps to decentralise manufacturing and create opportunities for our customers where they didn’t exist before.”

Customers benefit from reduced production costs thanks to the expansion. Discounts of up to 50 percent are now possible for certain geometries and order quantities. The average price for MJF production will fall by around 20 percent, while larger quantities will benefit from additional discounts. This development makes the use of additive manufacturing in series production more economical and improves competitiveness compared to traditional processes such as injection molding.

Nick Allen, CEO, explained the strategic significance of this investment: “With this capacity boost, we’re enabling customers to scale their production within the AM ecosystem for longer. The expanded machine fleet allows us to offer lower prices, faster lead times, and greater flexibility, making AM a viable alternative to traditional manufacturing at higher volumes.”

Alongside the capacity expansion, 3DPRINTUK is introducing an internal calibration system to ensure the consistently high quality of the components produced. This system analyzes extensive data sets in order to precisely coordinate machines with one another. The measure is intended to prevent scaling at the expense of production quality.

Nick Allen explained:“Expansion often comes at the expense of quality, with rapidly growing manufacturers focusing on quantity over consistency. This can lead to variability in part quality and reduced repeatability. At 3DPRINTUK, we’ve tackled this challenge head-on to ensure that scaling up never means compromising on the quality our customers expect.”

The investment is intended to strengthen 3DPRINTUK’s position as a provider of scalable, locally produced additive manufacturing solutions. The announced second expansion phase, which is set to follow in early 2025, will include further measures to optimize production capacities. The development shows that 3D printing is becoming increasingly important as an alternative to conventional manufacturing processes for series production.

Alan Sampson, Group CEO of TriMech, commented: “Increasing MJF capacity by 60%, 3DPRINTUK now boasts the largest MJF manufacturing facility in the UK – taking a leadership position in production-ready additive manufacturing. This is a major step towards making AM a mainstream solution for mass production – further closing the gap between injection moulding and production-ready additive manufacturing.”