HP announces 3D printer, Sprout PC with 3D scanner

Hewlett Packard is on the warpath, with new unveils at a New York event on Wednesday; the multi jet fusion 3D printer and the Sprout. The company says it's trying to break down the barrier between the digital and physical worlds, in a campaign titled 'Blended Reality', and it's pursuing that on two different fronts. 

Meet #SproutbyHP. Re-imagine what you can do. http://t.co/NU1Ed05oMN pic.twitter.com/4ZOPRJO5gg

— HP (@HP) October 29, 2014

The multi jet fusion is a new 3D printing technology designed by HP that they claim can print objects more than 10 times faster than today's 3D printers. No details available yet on what the printer will be priced at, but it's expected to be available for purchase in 2016. 

The other release by HP is a new device they call 'Sprout', that combines a 3D scanner, projector, and multi-touch pad into a single PC. Available on Nov. 9 for US $1,899, Sprout is aimed at digital artists.  The computer will have a 20 inch surface that works as a touch pad, but can also double as a secondary screen thanks to a built in projector at the top of the computer. can scan a 3D object directly into the computer, and can then digitally manipulate that object with compatible software. And although the Sprout is a Windows PC, it does contain custom apps like the inconspicuously titled'Workspace'. 

But the main eyebrow raiser for the new system is the Sprout's inbuilt 14MP 3D camera. Fitted with Intel's RealSense technology, the camera shoots and object in its view from three different angles and then renders it into a 3D model onscreen. And while that render can be exported to other programs or a 3D printer, HP says it's still working to make the process more user-friendly.