Metal 3D printing brought to mass production by GKN Powder Metallurgy and HP

Metallurgical engineering experts GKN Powder Metallurgy has partnered with HP Inc to become the first manufacturer to deploy their new HP Metal Jet. GKN plans to install this ground-breaking binder jetting technology into its factories to produce functional metal parts for major industrial and automotive manufacturers, including Volkswagen.

Paradigm shift for metallurgical engineering

Together with HP, GKN Powder Metallurgy is working toward a vision of driving the global industrialisation of additive manufacturing. The HP Metal Jet launch represents a paradigm shift in 3D printing for all markets – especially the metallurgy industry – as the new printer increases users’ productivity up to 50 fold, compared to other 3D printing methods, at nearly half the cost of other binder jetting systems.

The technology will enable GKN Powder Metallurgy to transform future product thinking and traditional metallurgical engineering on behalf of its customers by reducing the time-to-market for mass-produced parts from months to weeks, lowering development costs, and providing greater design and manufacturing flexibility.

Metal parts produced within 24 hours

“Our vision for additive manufacturing in the enterprise moves beyond prototypes and small-series production and into mass production, said Peter Oberparleiter, CEO of GKN Powder Metallurgy. “We see a future where every modern digital company will have a cutting-edge 3D printer in their facilities, enabled by GKN technology, design and support, to produce metal parts in 24 hours. This strategic partnership with HP is the tipping point to accelerate that vision.“

“Powder production and metal part processing are part of our DNA, and we have a long history of collaborating with customers and industrialising solutions that bring great benefits to the entire industry. As we join forces with HP, we want our customers to challenge us to break design barriers and accelerate the adoption of binder jetting technology as it is a wonderful complement to our existing Additive Manufacturing technology offerings,” he added.

GKN Powder Metallurgy leverages metallurgy industry expertise

As the world’s largest producer of metal parts, GKN Powder Metallurgy is uniquely positioned to advance the development of the binder jetting industry. By integrating the HP Metal Jet into the workflow across its plants worldwide, GKN Powder Metallurgy will leverage its metallurgy industry expertise to engineer new powders based on customer needs and help them design parts they did not realise were possible.

“HP is proud to partner with GKN Powder Metallurgy to bring the power of 3D mass production to the largest industries on earth, such as the auto and industrial sectors,” said Stephen Nigro, President of 3D Printing at HP Inc. “The combination of HP’s breakthrough Metal Jet technology and GKN’s engineering and manufacturing leadership, promises to enable the production of millions of high-quality, low-cost 3D-printed final parts.”

GKN Powder Metallurgy will build on its foundation of sintering 13 million metal parts per day and continue on the path to Industry 4.0, since binder jetting is a highly digital process and GKN Powder Metallurgy has already digitised its factory floors. They will be the only partner using the HP Metal Jet within the automotive and industrial market until the machine becomes generally available in 2020.

For more information, visit www.gkn.com/hp.