HP Jet Fusion 5000 Series 3D Printers

The processing station aids in unpacking of builds, reclaiming and recycling material, and loading build units with powder. This system creates a smooth and clean workflow, which is essential for many organizations. Without the processing station, the working environment will have more loose powder, and users will need to wear additional PPE when working with the powdered material.

To run multiple materials with an MJF 3D printer, purchase a dedicated processing station and set of two build units per material. The 5200 and 5600 printers can run multiple materials with a simple cleaning as long as there is a dedicated processing station and set of build units for each material.

PA12 is undoubtedly the most common printed material because of its high strength, fast print speeds and low part cost.

Yes, there are different versions of each machine. These offer less expensive operating costs through material and consumable price breaks in exchange for a slightly higher hardware cost. For example, the 5200 has three variants: 5200, 5210, and 5210 PRO. The 5210 and 5210PRO will have cheaper individual part costs through discounts on raw powder and agents. The 5210 PRO offers bulk material ordering, significantly reducing the powder per kilogram cost.

In addition to the printer, build unit and processing station, you will need a media blast cabinet and a dedicated HEPA vacuum. Hawk Ridge Systems will provide turn-key quotes that include these items, as well as any starter materials and consumables.

• PA 12 thermoplastic for strong, low-cost parts
• PA 11 thermoplastic for ductile, impact-resistant parts
• PA 12 GB for stiff, dimensionally stable parts
• TPU and TPA for flexible, functional parts
• PP for chemical resistant, weldable parts

Ventilation and facility exhaust is optional, though it is recommended to improve the comfort level of the print room as well as reduce the overall heat dissipation in the room.

The post-processing station has multiple functions including:

• Loading and automatically mixing recycled powders with fresh material
• Unloading printed builds for initial de-powdering and cleaning of parts
• Cooling the build using fast cooling for expedited part retrieval

HP machines come with free nesting software called Smart Stream Build Manager. This software is sufficient to send jobs to the machine for print. It is very common for customers to purchase a 3rd party nesting software, such as Materialise Magics, for a much higher degree of nesting capability. Those focused on production typically opt for this 3rd party solution. Those focused on smaller volumes of prototypes typically stick with the free HP software.

Since HP Jet Fusion is a powder-based printing system, no support structure is generated; the powder is self-supporting. However, it is necessary to remove excess powder from the part exterior and interior through post-processing. This is commonly done by bead blasting parts.

Dimensional accuracy can vary depending on the material and printer. Here are some dimensional accuracy specification examples:

• A part 80mm in length printed out of PA 12 on the HP 5200: XY±.28mm ; Z±0.47mm.
• With Process Control Software, the 5200’s accuracy can improve to: XY±0.18 ; Z±0.30 for a part < 80mm.
• A part 80mm in length printed out of PA 12 on the HP 4200: XY±.31mm ; Z±1.12mm.

There are no performance differences between the 5200 series of printers. The differences between each model are cheaper consumables and materials with the 5210PRO providing the lowest part cost. The 5210PRO, for instance, can accept much larger material containers which significantly reduces the price per kg of material.