HP unveils Designjet 3D printer; make desk-side prototypes

Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced that it is now shipping its first-ever 3D printer.

The printers, which allow users or businesses to manufacture solid plastic prototype models using 3D computer aided design drawings from a desktop computer, were developed in a partnership with additive fabrication system maker Stratasys.

The printers use fused deposition modeling technology, which creates three-dimensional plastic models directly from a CAD file.

Who would want such a printer? Product designers, engineers and architects.

Want to know more about how it works? Check out the full story on SmartPlanet's Smart Takes blog.