HP Innovation Journal Issue 07: Summer 2017 | Page 9

Materials companies can use the MDK to quickly test 3D
powder spreadability and compatibility with HP Jet Fusion
3D printers
HP 3D Open Materials Development Lab
they can test new, powdered raw materials
to use in HP’s 3D printers. HP alone cannot
develop and certify 30,000 plus materials
made by all the materials companies in the
world; but working together in a hands-on,
agile development environment enables HP
to test and certify materials that are com-
patible with our Multi Jet Fusion technology.
It’s a win-win: partners can solve customer
problems using 3D print technology while
HP expands its materials library.
Inaugural Open Lab partners — Arkema,
BASF, Evonik, Lehman & Voss, and
Henkel — are working with HP to co-devel-
op new materials and refine the materials
certification process. Henkel, the latest
partner to join HP’s ecosystem of global
materials leaders, is focusing development
on providing novel powder materials for use
with HP Jet Fusion 3D printers.
BASF is using HP’s 3D Open Materials and
Applications Lab to accelerate the develop­
ment of materials with better mechanical
properties. They have been able to rapidly
iterate multiple versions of their elastomer, a
thermoplastic poly­urethane, adding to their
existing product portfolio.
The opportunities for new materials
development are endless thanks in part to
the mighty HP Voxel. HP Multi Jet Fusion
technology sets the stage for future plat-
forms that could transform color, texture,
Voxel level control properties of an HP 3D-printed part
• Color • Electrical properties
• Texture • Optical properties
• Mechanical
properties • And more…
and mechanical properties at the “voxel”
level —  a 3D unit of measure that’s just
about 50 microns, the width of a human
hair. Manipulating printing materials could
create 3D printed objects with conductivi-
ty, flexibility, embedded data, and translu-
cency — and that’s just the beginning. The
possible combinations and potential appli-
cations are limitless.
HP’s hope is that the Open Materials
Platform will become in a sense an app
store for 3D printing materials, offering
customers a wide array of certified materi-
als to choose from, providing them all the
cost, quality and productivity benefits 3D
printing has to offer.
Evonik became the first partner to an-
nounce a certified material on the platform.
Evonik certified VESTOSINT ® 3D Z2773, a
plastics powder used for food production
equipment components which require flex-
ibility due to limited quantities or unique,
complex designs.
This is just the beginning of what is pos-
sible when HP partners with global materials
leaders. Expanding the development and
lowering the cost of advanced 3D printing
materials and applications is a critical cata-
lyst for the digital reinvention of the global
manufacturing industry.
And we are just getting started! 
Tim Weber is Global Head of 3D
Materials and Advanced Applications
for HP. His organization is responsible
for development and commercializa-
tion of additive manufacturing (3-D
Printed) materials, processes, and
applications.
Issue 7 · Summer 2017 · Innovation Journal 9