Materialise Expands Innovative Work with HP to Advance Industrial‐scale 3D Printing

Today at the RAPID+TCT Conference, Materialise and HP Inc. announced an expansion of innovative work to pave the way towards industrial-scale 3D printing, including integration of Materialise’s industry-leading software with HP’s breakthrough Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions, and an important certification validating the HP Jet Fusion 580/380 solutions as fully compatible with Materialise Mimics in Print software for use in healthcare.

“Recent advances in technology have created new excitement and growing awareness for 3D printing as a relevant complementary manufacturing technology that will help to transform the factory floor,” said Fried Vancraen, Founder and CEO of Materialise. “Triggered by potential design optimizations and the ability to scale and achieve mass-customization, manufacturers recognize the economic advantages and are preparing for full-scale 3D printing production runs. Together Materialise and HP are innovating to eliminate limitations surrounding 3D printing and creating a more open market model that offers manufacturers more choice, more control and lower cost, ultimately leading to increased adoption.”

“We value the long-standing collaboration we’ve had with Materialise since entering the 3D printing industry in 2016, and recognize the shared vision to help accelerate the journey to digital manufacturing for our customers,” said Christoph Schell, President, HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing. “Combining our innovative approaches to software, data intelligence, and 3D printing will lead to the design and production of entirely new classes of applications across the world’s leading industries including automotive, industrial, healthcare, and consumer goods.”

Materialise and HP are working together on a number of innovative initiatives to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing, including:

• Integration of a new version of the Materialise Build Processor to support the full range of printers in the HP Jet Fusion 3D printing portfolio, including the newly announced HP Jet Fusion 5200 and HP’s Jet Fusion 500/300 Series of 3D printing solutions. Materialise’s Build Processor provides a seamless connection between the Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite and HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions, enabling advanced data preparation, improved operation management and production monitoring.  In combination with Materialise Streamics software, it allows users to store relevant build-data for improved traceability. The new Materialise Build Processor for the HP Jet Fusion portfolio will be available in the second half of the year.
• Free access to the Materialise Magics Essentials software for a period of six months for any customer purchasing an HP Jet Fusion 500/300 Series 3D printer. Customers can take advantage of the free trial to leverage the advanced color and texture handling of Materialise’s data preparation software, in combination with the full spectrum color capabilities of the HP Jet Fusion 500/300 Series. With Materialise Magics Essentials software, users can import an impressive number of file formats, including color and texture information, easily apply textures or colors on marked areas, and retain native color information and textures during model repair.
• Certification of HP Jet Fusion 580/380 3D printing solutions as part of Materialise’s program to test and validate 3D printing technology as being fully compatible with the latest version of Materialise Mimics and Mimics inPrint software. This certification allows medical professionals to use the HP Jet Fusion 580/380 3D printers, in combination with Mimics software technology, to print robust full-color anatomical models for diagnostic and surgical planning processes, delivering broad benefits for patient-specific care. This includes cardiac, orthopedic and cranio maxillofacial models complete with vascular structure that have been historically difficult to 3D print.

“Materialise and HP are working to address potential challenges for healthcare providers by ensuring their 3D operations are fully compatible and able to meet quality standards for developing and printing patient-specific 3D anatomical models,” said Lee Dockstader, Director of Vertical Market Development, HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing. “Leading hospitals are adopting integrated 3D printing services as part of their medical practices as they recognize the added value it brings to personalized patient care.  This joint effort supports the creation of point-of-care 3D printing facilities in hospitals, a critical step forward for advancing 3D printing in healthcare.”

“I am proud of our leadership to move 3D printing forward for the healthcare industry,” said Bryan Crutchfield, Vice President and General Manager of Materialise North America. “Materialise was the first company in the world to receive FDA clearance for software intended for 3D printing anatomical models for diagnostic and surgical planning purposes and introduced a program for manufacturers to have their printers tested and validated. Adding HP to the list of certified 3D printing technologies extends our certification program to four certified printer manufacturers.”

About Materialise

Materialise incorporates nearly three decades of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which together form the backbone of the 3D printing industry. Materialise’s open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in Belgium, with branches worldwide, Materialise combines the largest group of software developers in the industry with one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the world. 

HPE partners with Tottenham Hotspur to create unrivaled fan experience at new stadium

Managing Director for UK&I Marc Waters explains how HPE technology built into the fabric of the stadium will transform fan experience

Whichever football team you support it is hard not to be excited about Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium. It has got the whole of the sports world talking. Some commentators have already suggested that it is the best stadium in the world. That can be debated. It is unquestionably a stadium full of Hewlett Packard Enterprise technology being used to create a differentiated experience. And of this we are incredibly proud.

The challenge to design, plan, implement and integrate in an evolving environment was relished by our services teams. And once again delivery teams in HPE Pointnext (including more than a few Spurs fans in their ranks) stepped up with innovation and unwavering commitment. The collaboration with the Tottenham Hotspur technology team has been exceptional and vital. And with two test events complete, now is the moment we have been waiting for. So I am extremely excited to be attending the first competitive fixture at the stadium versus Crystal Palace. Come on You Spurs.

The ambition from Tottenham Hotspur could not have been greater. To build the most technologically advanced stadium in the world with an unrivaled fan experience. Working together with a diverse set of partners they have achieved it. Aside from the lack of queues and incredible bottom filling pints of beer (oh yes), one of the first advances the fans will notice is the quality and availability of the free stadium Wi-Fi. Having been at Wembley recently to see Portsmouth win the EFL Trophy, I can confirm it can be challenging to get signal due to the sheer size of the crowd. At the new Spurs stadium we have installed HPE Aruba technology with 1,641 Wi-Fi Access Points to provide 100% Wi-Fi coverage. This delivers high density Wi-Fi coverage in the Bowl seating area thanks to an innovative “Pico cell” architecture with the Wi-Fi Access Points mounted under the seats to enable high performance connectivity to all 62,062 fans.

At the heart of the stadium operation, HPE is a strategic technology partner enabling the secure connectivity which is vital. This includes the Core Wired Network infrastructure that enables the stadium's critical services, such as CCTV, Building Management Systems, audio visual, ticketing and much more… to function. Technology is the essential foundation for the fan experience, providing a fully immersive environment that is at the heart of the stadium’s vision. Big screen displays, audio, responsive retail outlets, digital signage, turnstile access systems and so on, are all connected via the network.

We all know refreshments are an important element of sport and the stadium has 65 food and drink outlets, including its own microbrewery and Michelin-starred cuisine. This gives options and incentive to spend more time in the stadium. We have installed 700 HPE Bluetooth beacons that work in conjunction with the ‘Official Spurs App’ to provide location services. Essentially helping fans navigate to bars, restaurants, retail outlets and other interesting features quickly. Plus making it simple to connect and meet friends.  I plan to give this a dry run on Wednesday and will absolutely be navigating to the Beavertown microbrewery for a pint.

The beacon technology also helps the stadium management to optimize the fan experience by capturing real time occupancy data. So if the 65m-long Goal Line Bar in the South Stand – reportedly Europe’s longest – is overwhelmed with fans, operations staff will be able to clock it and deploy additional staff. Also, if staff notice the queue for one toilet is far larger than others, they can use the intelligent signage displays at the stadium and notifications in the app to direct fans to alternatives. Reduced queues give a much better fan experience.

Using data captured and analyzed real time at the edge like this is a game changer for the efficient running of sports and entertainment events. We deployed similar technology at the Ryder Cup in Paris last year and saw amazing results. Planning for future Ryder Cups is significantly advanced based on the crowd data and resulting insights. As well as providing the Tottenham Hotspur operations team with crowd data in real time, data will also be analyzed in detail after every match. For example, by tracking historic movement data, the club can identify peak times and locations, so they can adjust staffing levels to meet demand. The effectiveness of retail outlets versus footfall can be better understood and revenue opportunities optimized through planning and proactive notifications based on known interests.

On a personal level I have enjoyed every moment of the last two and a half years working with my friends at Tottenham Hotspur. The vision and direction from the highest levels within the club to build digital technology into the fabric of the stadium by design was groundbreaking. Incorporating IT infrastructure from the ground up is a real first for the UK football scene and future proofs the stadium for a whole set of new technology projects that build on the digital foundation. And yes we have some pretty cool plans for next season and beyond for you to look forward to.

Finally, a big thank you once again to the HPE Pointnext services team who have been there since day one, are still there now and have shown so much adaptability and commitment. People make companies. Partnerships build innovation. And technology transforms experiences. All of that is happening right here right now. And it has been a privilege to be a part of it.