Welcome to the new 150,000 square foot HP 3D Printing Center of Excellence
The R&D facility is one of the largest in the world for digital manufacturing
Today we are here, just outside Barcelona, Spain, where HP is officially inaugurating its new HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence. The new R&D facility is one of the world’s largest and most advanced, leveraging the company next-generation technologies powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The new Center brings together hundreds of the world’s leading additive manufacturing experts in more than 150,000 square feet (about 14,000 square meters) of cutting-edge innovation space – about the size of three football fields – to continue HP’s mission to transform the way the world designs and manufactures.
During the event, senior representatives from key HP partners spoke to journalists and analysts about their plans for developing and implementing HP technology in production. Speakers included Karsten Hauser, Vice President of Additive Manufacturing at Siemens, Volker Hammes, Vice President of BASF New Business, Doug Collins from Avid Product Development, Guido Degen, President Additive Manufacturing at GKN Powder Metallurgy, and Sven Krull, Head of Design for New Manufacturing Technology at Volkswagen Group.
This is certainly good news for global innovation, for the Barcelona area, for HP and for 3D printing in general. HP has made some very significant long term investments when it first officially announced its intention to enter this segment in 2014, and it was not just for show. The company is very serious about the future of digital manufacturing and results are clearly in line with its objectives since it would be impossible to imagine growth to go any faster. In just around five years HP has established itself as a major player in production AM, launched several polymer 3D printers – including a full-color system – and entered the metal 3D printing market. The company built a strong global reseller and partner network.
Now the company can also leverage a 3+ acre facility at HP’s Barcelona campus, dedicated to the development of HP’s industrial 3D printing portfolio. The facility also provides a large-scale factory environment to collaborate with customers and partners on the digital manufacturing technologies revolutionizing their industries.
“HP’s new 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence is one of the largest and most advanced 3D printing and digital manufacturing research and development centers on earth – it truly embodies our mission to transform the world’s biggest industries through sustainable technological innovation,” said Christoph Schell, President of 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing at HP Inc. “We are bringing HP’s substantial resources and peerless industrial 3D printing expertise together with our customers, partners, and community to drive the technologies and skills that will further unleash the benefits of digital manufacturing.”
The new Center of Excellence unites hundreds of 3D printing and digital manufacturing experts in systems engineering, data intelligence, software, materials science, design, and applications in what is believed to be the world’s largest population of additive manufacturing specialists in one location.
Specifically designed for active collaboration across HP engineering and R&D groups, customers, and partners, the new facility integrates flexible and interactive layouts, co-development environments, and fleets of the latest HP plastics and metals 3D production systems to drive more rapid and agile product development and end-to-end solutions for customers. Leaders such as BASF, GKN Metallurgy, Siemens, Volkswagen and others across the automotive, industrial, healthcare, and consumer goods sectors will continue collaborating with HP on new 3D printing and digital manufacturing innovations at the Center.
The 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence design also reflects HP’s commitment to the environment by incorporating a photovoltaic canopy to provide 110kW of power, rainwater reuse for irrigation and sanitary purposes, HVAC and natural light optimization, and eco-friendly construction materials with a goal of achieving a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification. At a company level, HP’s goal is to use 100% renewable energy in its global operations over time, with a target of 60% by 2025.
HP’s investment in the new Barcelona Center creates one of the largest 3D printing and digital manufacturing research and development facilities in the world. It significantly expands HP’s global 3D printing and digital manufacturing footprint and enhances existing innovation locations in Corvallis, Oregon; Palo Alto, California; San Diego, California; Vancouver, Washington; Barcelona, Spain; and Singapore, where HP recently launched a groundbreaking collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) to drive 3D printing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, materials and applications, and cybersecurity innovations.
