對于惠普而言，2015年可謂忙碌的一年。截止11月份，它還是一家具有傳奇色彩的硅谷計算機公司。現在，惠普已一分為二：銷售數據中心，商業計算設備與服務的惠普企業（Hewlett-Packard Enterprise），以及銷售打印機和個人電腦的惠普公司（HP Inc. ）。

由梅格?惠特曼領導的惠普企業的未來前景，吸引了許多人的注意，外界普遍認為惠普企業更有野心。但最近，由戴恩?維斯勒領導的惠普公司卻頻頻傳出大動作。其中之一便是惠普的傳統優勢所在：打印業務。這一次，惠普公司的重點是3D打印。

增材制造，也就是我們常說的3D打印，是指使用塑料、樹脂或粉末金屬，逐層組合出物品的過程。3D打印行業發展迅速，通過縮短產品開發生命周期，降低裝配線成本，這種技術有可能顛覆制造流程。正是出于這些原因，《財富》美國500強的許多公司，如福特和通用電氣等，均在各自的3D打印部門投入數百萬美元。

然而，今天的大型3D打印機運行速度緩慢，價格昂貴，難以使用。福特增材制造研究團隊負責人艾倫?李表示：“我們一直在努力研究如何突破原型設計，其中一個巨大的挑戰依舊是速度。”

下面我們來看看惠普的3D打印。這個新部門計劃在2016年啟動3D打印機產品線，并且保證，惠普將生產比Stratasys和3D Systems等市場領導者更好的產品。惠普3D打印部門總裁史蒂芬?尼格羅稱：“3D打印機所激起的熱情是確實存在的。但還有大量問題亟待解決。”

惠普3D打印機采用了一種名為Multi Jet Fusion的工藝。這項技術使用熱噴墨陣列和化學制劑，可制造更可靠、更精確的零件。惠普打印機可以使用各種材料制造出不同顏色的物品，更為關鍵的是，其速度要比市面上的商業3D打印機快10倍。

因此，惠普的3D打印業務有巨大的機遇。《沃勒斯報告》預測，到2020年，3D打印產品與服務的全球市場將從2015年的55億美元，增長到212億美元。不過，惠普的當務之急是停止虧損：第四季度，惠普的打印業務收入下降14%，2016年的收益預期為每股1.59美元至1.69美元，低于此前的預測。

惠普面臨的挑戰可謂異常嚴峻。但尼格羅卻對公司未來充滿信心：“我們將成為3D打印領域的領導者。”尼格羅于1982年加入惠普，參與開發了第一款彩色噴墨打印機。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

審校：任文科

It has been a busy year for Hewlett-Packard. What was once a single, storied Silicon Valley computing company is, as of November, now two: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise HPE -1.81% , which sells gear and services for data centers and commercial computing, and HP Inc. HPQ 0.33% , which sells printers and personal computers.

There has been much focus on the future of HP Enterprise, led by Meg Whitman and considered the more ambitious of the pair. But big bets are happening at Dion Weisler–led HP Inc.? One of them is on a historic Hewlett-Packard strength: printing. Only this time, it’s in three dimensions.

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is the process by which objects are assembled layer by layer out of plastic, resin, or powdered metal. It’s a fast-growing industry that has the potential to upend the manufacturing process by shortening the product-development life cycle and cutting costs on the assembly line. Fortune500 companies like Ford F -1.06% and General Electric GE -0.59% have invested millions of dollars in their own 3D-printing divisions for these reasons.

But today’s large 3D printers are slow, expensive, and difficult to use. “We have been trying to understand how we can move beyond prototyping,” says Ellen Lee, leader of Ford’s additive manufacturing research team. “One of the big challenges that remains is speed.”

Enter HP 3D Printing. The new division plans to launch a line of 3D printers in 2016 that promises to top competing machines from market leaders like Stratasys and 3D Systems. “All of the excitement about the market is real,” says Stephen Nigro, president of HP 3D Printing. “But there are a lot of problems to overcome.”

HP’s 3D printers use what the company calls a Multi Jet Fusion process. The technology uses a thermal inkjet array and chemical agents to produce what it says are more reliable and precise parts. Objects can be made from a variety of materials in an array of colors and, crucially, at speeds 10 times faster than what’s available from today’s commercial 3D printers.

The opportunity is huge. The global market for 3D-printing products and services will grow from $5.5 billion this year to $21.2 billion in 2020, predicts the Wohlers Report. But first HP must stop bleeding: Fourth-quarter printing revenue fell 14%, and its 2016 earnings forecast, at $1.59 to $1.69 per share, missed estimates.

It’s an uphill climb. But Nigro, who started at HP in 1982 as part of the team that developed the first color inkjet printer, is optimistic: “We plan to be the leader in 3D printing.”