Jellypipe, the international 3-D printing on-line ‘ecosystem’, has just extended its reach from continental Europe to the UK and Ireland, with the appointment of Incremental Engineering — based in Hook, Hampshire — for the production of high-quality nylon parts using Hewlett Packard’s Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) technology.

Jerry Sutton, Incremental’s technical director, said: “As a 3-D printing service provider, we work more as a traditional machine shop instead of relying purely on an on-line ordering system.

“We work collaboratively where we can, gathering as much information from our customers as possible in order to set up and fine tune builds for specific applications, and thereby providing consistently good and reliable results.

“The ‘sweet spot’ applications for us are those that replace short run injection moulded and machined parts. Typically, we are working with SMEs that are seeking to add the benefits of 3-D printing into their workflow, looking at it as a complementary technology for rapid prototyping or production of finished end-use parts using Nylon PA12.”

Incremental Engineering’s service opens up all the advantages of 3-D printing for its customers, as well as users of the ‘Jellypipe platform’.

Mr Sutton added: “3-D printing requires no costly and time-consuming tool fabrication, and set up costs are minimal. In addition, changes and design iterations are simple and don’t require new or adapted hard tooling, which all means that delivery times are substantially shorter than when using traditional manufacturing processes — in the order of days instead of weeks.

“Moreover, 3-D printing has no minimum order quantity, while the manufacture of parts on demand means that they can be made more quickly to order from a digital inventory.”

Users of Jellypipe can easily access a huge resource of knowledge, advice and consultation, to ensure that the correct materials, 3-D printing technology and finishing are selected.

They then receive quotes from the extensive network of 3-D printing service providers based on speed of delivery or lowest cost, which now includes the expertise and knowledge of Incremental Engineering.