HP drives innovation in Asia Pacific and Japan with new Singapore campus

Source: HP Inc. From left: Steve Connor, VP and Head of WW Ink Supplies Manufacturing and Operations, HP; Dion Weisler, President and CEO, HP Inc.; Minister S. Iswaran; and Richard Bailey, HP President, Asia Pacific and Japan. Watch the Instavideo of the lion dance.

HP has launched of its new Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) Campus and a new Smart Manufacturing Applications and Research Center (SMARC) supported by the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB).

The APJ campus unites more than 3,000 employees from 35 nationalities in a single location for the first time including HP sales, operations, research and development (R&D), marketing, supply chain and logistics for the region. The campus is a further demonstration of HP’s commitment to the Asia Pacific region, which is the fastest-growing region for the company. HP Singapore was established more than 47 years ago, and serves as HP’s APJ headquarters. Singapore is also one of HP's largest manufacturing sites globally, employing more than 5,000. 

"HP’s decision to locate the manufacturing of its high-value components in Singapore is a testament to the company’s confidence in our highly educated and skilled workforce, pro-business environment, and our value as a platform to access the region. We value that confidence you have placed in us. I am glad to learn that HP will bring the manufacturing of its latest advanced inkjet printheads, which are key components of HP’s high-end commercial and 3D printers, to the new Singapore campus," said Singapore Minister for Trade & Industry S. Iswaran.

Printhead line at the HP campus.

Connor delivers opening remarks at the launch of the SMARC.

Source: HP. 3D-printed products at the SMARC.

SMARC is a centre of excellence to help digitally transform and reinvent HP’s supplies manufacturing processes by leveraging next-generation digital technologies including additive manufacturing (3D printing), advanced robotics, and large-scale data analytics. HP launched the world’s first production-ready 3D printing system in May 2016.

SMARC’s research will help accelerate product design and speed production, while enhancing productivity, creating new efficiencies, and reducing costs throughout the supplies manufacturing process. Successful developments from the facility will be implemented across HP’s supplies manufacturing lines globally. The company includes components for its printing systems as well as ink and toner under the supplies umbrella.

The facility is located within the Singapore Campus and consists of four labs, each of which studies, designs, trials, and implements solutions to improve HP’s Supplies manufacturing processes and ecosystems. The target is to improve productivity by at least 20%. Successful developments from the facility will be implemented across existing and new manufacturing lines globally.

Steve Connor, VP and Head of WW Ink Supplies Manufacturing and Operations, HP, said, "SMARC will enable digital transformation in the region through technology and process innovation in industrial automation, IoT, additive manufacturing and data analytics."

The team of engineers managing SMARC’s 6,000 sq ft facility currently oversee more than 50 supplies manufacturing lines across the world. Connor noted that HP currently has 72 engineers trained on additive manufacturing; 30 Engineers trained on data analytics, and 20 engineers trained on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). "Our engineers have upskilled themselves and we are already seeing significant progress in productivity, efficiency, flexibility and transforming our skillsets," he said.

The four labs at SMARC are:

Cobots are tested in the MOVE lab. The cobot at the left is a HMK TM5, which has integrated vision sensors. It was undergoing tests with clear plastic components, which would typically be more difficult for machine vision to pick out. The red robot in the background is a SCARA* robot which is intended for the printhead line. The white robots in the foreground are from Franka Emika. The one in the centre holds a goblet of water and can swirl the liquid around without spilling it, and can even pour the water to another goblet; the one on the right is expected to improve predictive maintenance.

A Franka Emika robot swirls water around in a glass.

A Franka Emika robot has the dexterity to pour water into another goblet without spilling any liquid.

MOVE – This lab examines how cobots - robots designed to work in close proximity with humans in a workspace - and autonomous inspection vehicles (AIVs) can be deployed to drive productivity and improve flow control. The cobots ensure precision and repeatability, which improves product quality.

The IoT cloud helps to connect devices that collect factory data with analytics and offers ways to act on insights.

In the SENSE lab, efforts are underway to improve existing manufacturing lines. One project focuses on integrating the IIoT with intelligent software through digital twinning concepts. A live system on the right is equipped with sensors that send information to a digital counterpart that allows different 'layers' of the machine to be viewed in isolation. The data can flag when the equipment is likely to break down and show different measurements while the machine is in operation.

SENSE – This Internet of Things (IoT) lab analyses how factories can be digitised. Digitised factories enable visibility of work in progress and inventory reduction. By analysing data from the supplies manufacturing process at every stage - from the processing of raw materials to actual performance at a customer’s location, engineers are able to determine when maintenance is needed, and respond efficiently.

3D-printed items freshly printed by a HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 printer are cleaned off. 3D-printed parts can replace multiple conventionally-printed parts, incorporate new designs that cannot be created traditionally, or enable lighter components. At HP, parts of the manufacturing line make use of 3D-printed parts, or parts which are printed on demand. 

BUILD – This lab studies how 3D printing can be built into the supplies manufacturing process to enhance efficiency and flexibility. This allows for quicker prototyping and rapid production of components and parts so that they are needed only in smaller quantities, or even manufactured only on-demand. This technology can help reduce inventory costs and shorten production lead times. HP is currently capable of printing products made of metal and coloured thermoplastics directly from CAD files. 

THINK – This data analytics lab harnesses big data generated throughout the supplies manufacturing process to develop predictive maintenance and quality models. Insights generated also help optimise the supply chain, improve production quality and increase efficiency and cost savings.

Connor added that the vision to build the most efficient and flexible manufacturing ecosystem at the frontier of the fourth industrial revolution was launched in August 2016. "This Vision is also in line with the Singapore government’s Smart Nation initiative and supports Singapore’s push for higher productivity and efficiency in manufacturing," he said.

Since then, HP has partnerships with the Economic Development Board, A-Star as well as Nanyang Polytechnic and the National University of Singapore’s Institute of System Science, he said.

Source: HP Inc. Inside HP's offices.

The Singapore campus spans over 450,000 sq ft. It was built with HP’s vision for the office of the future in mind, allowing employees to work wherever and whenever more collaboratively and more sustainably. The campus is also designed and constructed to reduce waste, conserve energy, decrease water consumption and drive innovation. It has received the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore’s Greenmark Platinum award for environmental impact and performance, in part by leveraging natural light and intelligent controls to capture energy savings and create a more sustainable environment. 

“We are extremely committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our region and of our customers. The Singapore campus, that includes collaborative workspaces and mobility solutions as well as the research and prototyping facility, is a reflection of our drive to constantly reinvent the way we work as well as develop new technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency across our global operations,” said Richard Bailey, President, Asia Pacific and Japan, HP Inc.

Source: HP. The CWC features a section showcasing how HP printers can be used with 3D objects.

The campus also includes a new Customer Welcome Center (CWC) that enables customers and partners to explore HP solutions tailored to client needs and specific vertical markets.

3D-printed samples showing a range of different textures at the CWC.

A CWC display showcased customised, 3D-printed shoe soles.

When it was launched in late October in Singapore, the HP Z VR Backpack was billed as the world’s first professional and most secure wearable virtual reality (VR) PC**. A portable wireless commercial VR setup untethers the wearer from the PC that is traditionally required to power the VR application.

A 3D scanner on the left can capture the 3D attributes of an object, making it possible to 3D-print a clone.

Hashtag: #ReinventingwithHP
*SCARA can stand for selective compliance assembly robot arm or selective compliance articulated robot arm.

** Based on wearable VR PCs as of July 20, 2017. Based on backpack VR PCs with Intel vPro, TPM 2.0 and Windows 10 Pro OS as of July 20, 2017. Multicore is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology. Performance and clock frequency will vary depending on application workload and your hardware and software configurations. Intel’s numbering is not a measurement of higher performance. Some functionality of vPRo technology, such as Intel Active management technology and Intel Virtualization technology, requires additional 3rd party software in order to run. Availability of future "virtual appliances" applications for Intel vPro technology is dependent on 3rd party software providers. Compatibility with future "virtual appliances" is yet to be determined.