Tech

HP's new 3-D printer could change manufacturing

HP unveils first 3-D commercial printer
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HP unveils first 3-D commercial printer

HP unveiled its first 3-D printer on Tuesday, saying it's 10 times faster and half the cost of the competition. The company is accepting orders for two versions of the printer, the HP Jet Fusion 3D 3200 and the HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200. The starting price for the Jet Fusion line is $130,000.

The 3-D printing sector is a $500 billion industry, but HP is looking at the bigger picture, going after the $12 trillion manufacturing industry.

"We think this is the cusp of the next Industrial Revolution. We have the opportunity to democratize manufacturing in a way that really hasn't changed since the assembly line 100 years ago. It enables organizations to bring their manufacturing much closer to where their customers take place with breakthrough economics. What we are doing here is the first commercial short-run productions systems," HP's chief executive, Dion Weisler, said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."

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"When you solve the problems of speed, quality and cost with the breakthrough economics, it really does create an inflection point where digital manufacturing makes much more sense than traditional manufacturing," he said.

HP's 3-D printers have already caught the attention of several companies, including Nike, BMW, Siemens and Materialise.

In the future, HP is looking to expand a customer's ability to control the design, allowing for changes in color, shape, translucency and flexibility, Weisler said.