I’d read about this company, EoPlex, last year but don’t recall mentioning anything here. They’ve popped up again (Link) and I figure I’ll go ahead and just post a quick note; what they do is interesting but not, afaik, all that proprietary. From the PR funding announcement on their site (Link) I’ve culled a concise explanation of what this company does:
EoPlex produces components in layers using custom printing equipment and proprietary “inks†that carry ceramic, metallic or polymer materials to millions of locations. This allows the manufacture of components with integrated chambers, channels, sensors, circuits, reactors, energy scavengers, and other features. Many parts are created simultaneously in large panels and the only tooling required is low-cost printing masks.
Interesting, but as stated, I don’t believe this to be all the unique. If you recall, Z-Corp uses inkjet technology as well. This news really just serves as a reminder to me of the big question: when will Hewlett-Packard announce they’re entering the 3D printer market?
via C|Net
Interestingly enough, I think that HP has already entered the 3d printer market (albeit obliquely).
The Z-Corp machines actually use HP print heads.
“The Z-Corp machines actually use HP print heads.”
Yep. And that’s why I didn’t say “if” but “when”. If I’m not mistaken, Z-Corp uses print heads that are not specific to their application; they’re just regular old HP print heads. And that’s how they’ve kept costs down; they leverage those economies of scale. At least that was my understanding when I first read about their connection. If true, then HP hasn’t really entered the market… yet. At least not in my opinion.