HP has its fingers in a lot of pies, but 3D printing technology has been beyond its interests, until now. At least according to some rumors I've read.
Job postings can be remarkably awesome sources of information, even when they're deliberately vague in their verbosity. This is not a case where anything is all that vague.
It so happens that the corporation has posted an opening for a job with a title of “Robotics Scientist for 3D Printing.”
As if that wasn't enough, the description also mentions that HP Labs is researching hybrid 3D printing of glass, as well as other inorganic materials.
So not only is HP looking for people with talents in robotics, but it means to include 3D printed glass components in whatever robots it envisions.
The most important point is that, apparently, HP actually knows how to go about 3D printing stuff out of glass. Despite the fact that even that nifty little see-through 3D printed magnifying lens I covered a while ago was made from a transparent resin, not glass.
Since glass is a silica-based material, and with 90% of earth's crust made of silicate minerals, HP should never run out of resources if it perfects glass-based 3D printing.
Now I just wonder how long until Corning figures out a way to make super-tough glass through similar processes.
