Alex Moñino, Senior Vice President and General Manager of HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions, recently outlined HP’s shift from prototyping towards high-volume production with 3D printing. The company’s focus on Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology and targets for reducing total cost of ownership reflect its strategy of expanding additive manufacturing into mainstream industrial production.
His comments came amid leadership changes within HP’s 3D printing business, including Guayente Sanmartin’s appointment as Global Head and General Manager of the HP 3D Multi Jet Fusion Business in June 2021.
HP’s Additive Journey from Concept to Scale
Moñino, an engineer who had spent 29 years at HP, played a key role in establishing the company’s additive manufacturing business. He co-founded the division alongside Ramon Pastor, who focused on advancing HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. Their business plan for 3D printing received company approval in 2013, at a time when the emerging market was attracting considerable attention.
HP’s entry into 3D printing emerged from an unexpected shift in its large-format division. Mechanical engineers, once reliant on 2D drawings of their designs, increasingly began working with 3D software. This initially reduced demand for traditional prints, but the engineers soon returned to printing—this time using 3D printers to create prototypes.
Recognising this evolving need, HP initially explored an OEM arrangement with Stratasys to gauge market interest before deciding to invest heavily in its proprietary Multi Jet Fusion technology. Moñino describes the additive manufacturing unit as operating with significant autonomy, akin to an independent company with HP as its shareholder.
This structure allows the division to maintain its own sales and marketing teams while benefiting from HP’s extensive procurement and manufacturing capabilities, offering a unique blend of agility and corporate backing.
Operational Independence Fuels Growth
HP’s operating model gives its additive manufacturing division substantial independence while retaining access to the resources of a global technology company. As Moñino explained, this structure enables focused decision-making and faster responses to market demands in the rapidly evolving additive manufacturing sector. However, the division still benefits immensely from HP’s established infrastructure, including access to global supply chains and manufacturing expertise.
The model also gives HP Additive Manufacturing access to established materials-sourcing and manufacturing capabilities that can be difficult for smaller independent firms to develop. This provides a foundation for scaling the business while allowing the division to retain a relatively entrepreneurial operating model.
Shifting Focus: From Prototyping to Full Production
While prototyping remains an important application, Moñino argues that significant growth in additive manufacturing will come from production applications. Early adoption saw significant use of 3D printing for tooling, jigs, and fixtures. This segment continues to grow, while production of end-use parts is emerging as an increasingly important application.
HP sees opportunities in areas including orthotics, prosthetics, drones, robotics, humanoid systems and automotive applications. Moving forward, Moñino expects the majority of HP’s additive manufacturing revenue to derive from end-use part manufacturing rather than prototyping or tooling within five to ten years. The shift reflects a broader industry trend towards using additive manufacturing in the production of finished goods and components.
The Economic Imperative: Driving Down Costs
A persistent challenge in additive manufacturing has been its cost competitiveness relative to traditional processes such as injection moulding. Moñino argues against evaluating 3D printing solely by comparing its production cost with that of alternative manufacturing methods. This comprehensive view considers the entire product lifecycle, encompassing design changes, supply chain risks, and real-time delivery requirements, which often reveal additive’s true value.
HP has set a target of reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of its additive manufacturing solutions by half every two to three years, according to Moñino. The company expects these cost reductions to substantially expand the range of production applications that can be economically served by 3D printing.
HP says it has consistently met this objective, citing improvements in productivity, materials and design flexibility. For further insights into integrating AI into manufacturing processes, see AI security manufacturing.
Ensuring Quality and Embracing Standardisation
Quality and reliability are paramount for additive manufacturing to achieve widespread industrial adoption. HP leverages its corporate heritage of high standards to ensure both product quality and process consistency. This includes process development and the use of automated and AI-based systems to detect, compensate for and manage process variations, helping maintain consistent output and dimensional accuracy.
One example is ADDMAN, which operates 35 HP printers in San Diego and requires consistent performance across machines for production work.
Standardisation, while crucial for industry maturity, is still evolving due to the diverse applications and materials within 3D printing. Moñino highlighted how external pressures, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrated that industry standards could be developed rapidly when there was an urgent need. HP often collaborates closely with its customers to achieve specific standardisation and certification requirements, recognising that customer demand drives much of this development.
Tackling Design Inertia: The Biggest Competitor
Moñino identifies design inertia, rather than competition alone, as one of the main barriers to wider additive manufacturing adoption. He cited a tractor manufacturer that competes with John Deere, where one model incorporated more than 100 3D-printed parts in its cab while another used only three. The difference stemmed from distinct engineering teams, highlighting a lack of awareness or conservatism in one group.
To combat this, HP launched initiatives like the #MadeWithHPMJF hashtag and designed user-friendly machines such as the MJF 1200. The machine is designed to give design engineers direct access to MJF technology without requiring a dedicated operator, simplifying the process of producing parts on demand.
This ease of use is critical for educating younger engineers and expanding the design environment for additive applications.
Strategic Leadership and Global Ambitions
The comments also provide context for leadership changes that took place within HP’s 3D printing business from 2021 onwards. Guayente Sanmartin was appointed Global Head and General Manager of HP’s 3D Multi Jet Fusion Business in June 2021, succeeding Ramon Pastor.
Pastor subsequently moved to lead HP’s metals additive manufacturing business. He will retire in early 2025 after 32 years with the company, having been a key architect of HP’s additive manufacturing strategy since 2015.
Didier Deltort was also appointed President of the entire HP Personalization & 3D Printing business, declaring that additive manufacturing “is going to reinvent the entire industry.”
This sentiment resonates across HP, with Arvind Rangarajan, Global Head of Product and Strategy, emphasising the move from additive as a “novelty” to a dependable production technology that designers consider on par with traditional manufacturing methods. At the time, Rangarajan said HP was targeting double-digit growth across key segments and progress towards economically viable, production-scale additive manufacturing by 2025.
HP’s European Hub for Additive Innovation
HP’s 3D printing division finds its global headquarters at the Sant Cugat del Vallès campus in Barcelona. The facility serves as a major research and development centre for HP’s 3D printing activities. HP says engineers at the campus generated more than 600 3D-printing inventions between 2011 and 2022, resulting in more than 2,000 patent applications.
The campus employs more than 2,500 people representing up to 65 nationalities.
The site supports HP’s research and development activities in additive manufacturing, including the development of new materials, processes and applications. It reinforces HP’s commitment to leading the industry in technological breakthroughs and practical applications, attracting talent from across the globe. You can learn more about how digital tools are changing factories at Digital Manufacturing AI.
Drone Manufacturing Accelerates with Additive
Drone production is one application where HP is using additive manufacturing at production scale. The division is now manufacturing full airframes and long fixed wings for drones on an industrial scale. HP says the process can produce a large drone airframe every 12 to 24 hours.
For smaller aircraft components, HP says throughput can reach thousands of parts per day, potentially resulting in more than 500,000 parts annually. Gino Balistreri, Global Head of Unmanned Systems for HP Additive Manufacturing, stated that “There’s really no other way to do this right now. The drone market is expanding too fast for traditional manufacturing to keep up.”
The example illustrates the potential of additive manufacturing to combine rapid production with design flexibility, reducing or eliminating the need for dedicated moulds and, depending on the geometry and process, support structures.
Competition and the Future of Additive Manufacturing
While design inertia is Moñino’s primary concern, he acknowledges the growing competitive pressure, particularly from Chinese companies. He observed that some Chinese additive manufacturing companies have made significant advances in production quality, innovation and speed. Moñino said some customers that had initially adopted lower-cost Chinese systems later returned to HP after encountering performance or other operational issues.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the rapid development of China’s additive manufacturing ecosystem is increasing competitive pressure across the global market.
HP’s strategy focuses on reducing costs, improving process consistency and encouraging engineers to consider additive manufacturing during the design process. The company aims to expand additive manufacturing beyond prototyping and tooling into economically viable series production across multiple industries.
HP’s strategy reflects the broader effort to expand additive manufacturing from prototyping into production applications. Its approach combines MJF technology, an independent operating structure and cost-reduction targets aimed at increasing the economic viability of industrial additive manufacturing.
Greater awareness among engineers and wider consideration of additive manufacturing during product design could help accelerate its adoption in industrial applications. For broader trends in manufacturing, including skills development, consider the insights from the Manufacturing Leaders Summit.
