3D Printing

HP & Dremel Partner for "End-to-End" 3D Printing Solution

This will most definitely be the year that the 3D printing industry is overtaken by big name companies, as Autodesk, HP, Microsoft, and, now, Dremel team up to conquer the market.  Ahead of the Bay Area Maker Faire, Dremel and HP have announced a partnership that will see HP make it to the 3D printing space much sooner than expected.  Having already released their blended reality 3D scanning and computing system, Sprout, HP has now partnered with the hardware manufacturer to bring 3D models designed on (or scanned into) Sprout into the physical world using the Dremel 3D Idea Builder.

hp sprout 3D scanning for 3D printing
Photo via PC World.

Using a built in 3D scanner, Sprout users have the ability to scan objects into Sprout before modeling them on touch-screen mat and having them 3D printing.  Now, via their partnership with Dremel, the two companies will be partnering on an “end-to-end solution”, long before HP’s MultiJet Fusion 3d printing services are made available next year. Eric Monsef, head of immersion systems at HP, tells Make, “We think consumers wanted the ability to go to a store and buy a single solution, and we thought that Dremel was a great fit. So now, today, a customer can go to a store and buy an end-to-end solution.”

At Maker Faire, attendees will also see Autodesk, HP, and Dremel all working together show off one another’s technologies.  At the Autodesk booth, the Dremel 3D Idea Builder, a re-branded Flashforge Dreamer, will be demoed, while, at the Dremel booth, attendees will get to use Autodesk’s Tinkerplay app.  And, at HP’s booth, users will get to use Sprout to create selfies that can then be etched into wood at the Dremel booth.

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Dremmel is going strong at this year’s Maker Faire, also hosting two separate Idea Builder giveaways.  John Kavanagh, president of Dremel, describes the brand’s presence at Maker Faire, saying, “Every Maker has a story. As a brand, we learn from these end users every day and challenge ourselves to make each project experience more efficient and more rewarding than the last. What better way to shine a spotlight on their work than at ‘The Greatest Show & Tell on Earth.’”

The 3D printing industry is changing rapidly and yesterday’s dominating companies will not be the same as tomorrow’s.  And this partnership, along with all of the others announced in the past year, is indicative of that sea change. Prepare or be square!