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Is 3D Printing the Next Big Thing?

eric/

eric/

Guest
Sep 19, 2011
1,681
20
Ohio, United States
Squilly said:
Thanks for the advice. I don't just look at numbers. I look at their headlines and news, and analyst predictions. When I looked at Ford an hour ago, they were at $14. Analysts said they wouldn't go over $11, granted this was 6 months ago. Look at ZAGG. They're the equivalent of Ford in the technology niche. #1 accessory company worldwide. Doesn't that say something?
DDD - they're going to be huge in a couple of years. I don't want to miss out on them once they turn into Apple (bad analogy, Apple is down $60). Kroger owns the third largest jeweler in the nation, turkey hill, and Kroger markets. They've been expanding for the last six months.
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Idk about ZAGG, so no opinion. Probably not bad. But if they are making plastic accessories, doesn't that sort of compete with DDD and home plastic printing?

I would maybe buy Kroger if I was looking to buy stocks. Reason? I choose to shop there. If a company can get me to spend my money, that's a pretty good sign they are doing things right. though I will say Turkey Hill is the most obnoxious name ever for a gas station

DDD - Lottery pick

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ejb190 said:
My parents own an outdoor equipment shop. On their shelves are all kinds of parts. A lot of these parts are plastic. When the manufacturer makes these parts, they produce 10k, 100k, a million of a specific part, use a bunch of them to manufacture the whole good and put the rest in a warehouse somewhere to be available when someone needs a spare. We order it and it shows up a few days later. When the spares run out, the manufacturer may or may not produce a new run depending on demand.

If we tried to stock, let's say an engine cover for a chain saw. We have carried 50+ different models of saw over the years. That would be a lot of inventory that wouldn't move very fast. But when you need one, you need it.

Now, let's put a 3D printer in our shop. We can now produce that exact same part in the shop. No warehousing. No shipping. No ordering. The manufacturer makes a revision to the part (which happens frequently). No problem. There is no pile of obsolete parts laying around. All they do is update the computer file and the next one off the printer is updated.
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Yeah because companies are going to want to just give you the schematics for their parts and never make them themselves so they don't make money.

ejb190 said:
Yah, I'm kind of excited about where this technology is heading. And if you are looking at investing, The Motley Fool been talking about 3D printing for the last two years.
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The Motley Fool also gives you their best advice to beat 98% of the market for a low monthly price. :rolleyes:

How is everybody going to beat the market? That's a contradiction.
 
Squilly

Squilly

macrumors 68020
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Nov 17, 2012
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eric/ said:
Idk about ZAGG, so no opinion. Probably not bad. But if they are making plastic accessories, doesn't that sort of compete with DDD and home plastic printing?

I would maybe buy Kroger if I was looking to buy stocks. Reason? I choose to shop there. If a company can get me to spend my money, that's a pretty good sign they are doing things right. though I will say Turkey Hill is the most obnoxious name ever for a gas station

DDD - Lottery pick

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Yeah because companies are going to want to just give you the schematics for their parts and never make them themselves so they don't make money.



The Motley Fool also gives you their best advice to beat 98% of the market for a low monthly price. :rolleyes:

How is everybody going to beat the market? That's a contradiction.
Click to expand...
Lottery pick in a bad way? Apple was a lottery pick. Analysts thought they wouldn't go over $25.

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ejb190 said:
My parents own an outdoor equipment shop. On their shelves are all kinds of parts. A lot of these parts are plastic. When the manufacturer makes these parts, they produce 10k, 100k, a million of a specific part, use a bunch of them to manufacture the whole good and put the rest in a warehouse somewhere to be available when someone needs a spare. We order it and it shows up a few days later. When the spares run out, the manufacturer may or may not produce a new run depending on demand.

If we tried to stock, let's say an engine cover for a chain saw. We have carried 50+ different models of saw over the years. That would be a lot of inventory that wouldn't move very fast. But when you need one, you need it.

Now, let's put a 3D printer in our shop. We can now produce that exact same part in the shop. No warehousing. No shipping. No ordering. The manufacturer makes a revision to the part (which happens frequently). No problem. There is no pile of obsolete parts laying around. All they do is update the computer file and the next one off the printer is updated.

Yah, I'm kind of excited about where this technology is heading. And if you are looking at investing, The Motley Fool been talking about 3D printing for the last two years.
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They advertise all over the place. Have they said good things?
 
eric/

eric/

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Sep 19, 2011
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Ohio, United States
Squilly said:
Lottery pick in a bad way? Apple was a lottery pick. Analysts thought they wouldn't go over $25.
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I wouldn't pay attention to analysts, personally as you've just highlighted two cases where they have been wrong.

I say lottery pick in a neutral way. It is what it is. I suppose you could somehow hit it big and that $65 stock could, what, double? Triple?

but what exactly would it take for that company to succeed at that level?
 
Squilly

Squilly

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eric/ said:
I wouldn't pay attention to analysts, personally as you've just highlighted two cases where they have been wrong.

I say lottery pick in a neutral way. It is what it is. I suppose you could somehow hit it big and that $65 stock could, what, double? Triple?

but what exactly would it take for that company to succeed at that level?
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A popular and upcoming niche is what it would take, and that seems to be what is happening.
 
Squilly

Squilly

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eric/ said:
Well, if that's what you think will happen, invest away.
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Put a limit on KR & ZAGG. I'll wait a day on DDD. Previously invested in SIRI and KKR, analysts say it's a strong buy, I'm not seeing any gains.
 
0098386

0098386

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Jan 18, 2005
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A lot of the colleges I talk to are buying up 3D printers (in particular one type that uses jets of water to carve out plastic). There seems to be something in it.

Some local businesses have picked them up too. Glass maker, museum, couple of researchers. It really has just appeared out of nowhere! Might get one for my own company ("print" out 3D characters).
 
twietee

twietee

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Jan 24, 2012
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Dagless said:
A lot of the colleges I talk to are buying up 3D printers (in particular one type that uses jets of water to carve out plastic). There seems to be something in it.

Some local businesses have picked them up too. Glass maker, museum, couple of researchers. It really has just appeared out of nowhere! Might get one for my own company ("print" out 3D characters).
Click to expand...

Same here. If they come down in price a bit, I see almost every architectural studio get at least one. And none ownes one atm. Bad times for our modelmakers?

edit: I wonder if there is such thing as a stock-thread here at MR..could come in handy / sure is interesting to follow. What Stock You Gettin'?
 
Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

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Oct 31, 2009
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And here we go:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/24/3909426/nokia-3d-printing-lumia-820-hands-on

"I really like the fact they've released it, but I think they've gone at it by simply releasing the injection molding version which isn't the best way to do it," says Allen. Part of Nokia's promotion involved MakerBot printing its own shell with an "optimized" version of Nokia's files. Looking more closely at the buttons, Allen and his team rejected the idea that the Makerbot would accurately print the buttons so you could use them in daily use. "The machines that tend to be stronger tend to be lower resolution," explains Allen. "It's all around the button areas, that's the issue."
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Squilly

Squilly

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dukebound85 said:
I remember doing 3D printing over 10 years ago while in HS, and it has been around much longer than that. How is this news? It is NOT a new concept.
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The concept may not be, but look around you. How many 3D printers are out there? 5 years from now, they'll be everywhere.
 
ejb190

ejb190

macrumors 65816
Apr 5, 2002
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Dagless said:
A lot of the colleges I talk to are buying up 3D printers (in particular one type that uses jets of water to carve out plastic). There seems to be something in it.

Some local businesses have picked them up too. Glass maker, museum, couple of researchers. It really has just appeared out of nowhere! Might get one for my own company ("print" out 3D characters).
Click to expand...

The water jet stuff is CNC carving or cutting - old technology. Most traditional systems take a block of raw material and carve out the excess. That is not 3D printing. 3D printing involves laying down thin layers of material and building up until you have a completed item.
 
dukebound85

dukebound85

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Jul 17, 2005
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E

elistan

macrumors 6502a
Jun 30, 2007
997
443
Denver/Boulder, CO
dukebound85 said:
No, it was at a university where I was participated in a engineering summer camp between my junior and senior year of hs back in 2002

We modeled stuff on CAD and printed out 3d models. Was pretty cool
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Ah, that makes sense. If any place is going to have a 3D printer in 2003, a university seems like one of the most likely. 3D printing is new these days not because anybody is trying to claim it's new, but because it's starting to become something that's available to home users. Instead of tens of thousands of dollars, imagine going to Best Buy and picking up a $99 printer that you can use to make, well, anything you can find/make a model of. (Although the charactisics of the medium will have a critical bearing on the usability of these printers, so I'm not sure how prevalent they will become.)
 
Squilly

Squilly

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elistan said:
Ah, that makes sense. If any place is going to have a 3D printer in 2003, a university seems like one of the most likely. 3D printing is new these days not because anybody is trying to claim it's new, but because it's starting to become something that's available to home users. Instead of tens of thousands of dollars, imagine going to Best Buy and picking up a $99 printer that you can use to make, well, anything you can find/make a model of. (Although the charactisics of the medium will have a critical bearing on the usability of these printers, so I'm not sure how prevalent they will become.)
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I really doubt it'll be anywhere near $99 in the years ahead.
 
Q

Qwertylizer

macrumors regular
Apr 18, 2009
153
16
Europe
Well perhaps the point only was that we should imagine what the world would look like if the 99$ 3D printers were everyday devices.

But yeah it's true that isn't realistic at all at the moment or in the near future.
 
mtbdudex

mtbdudex

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Aug 28, 2007
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Look at this article on avsforum http://www.avsforum.com/t/1453832/are-3d-printed-speakers-to-diy-for
3D printing is becoming more popular, affordable and capable. This is exciting news for the DIY crowd - it promises to make advanced speaker and subwoofer building much easier. There are some DIY speaker builders who have talent that is undeniable, but most people don't have the tools or the skills required to create enclosures that compete with high-end commercial offerings. 3D printing promises to change that by eliminating the need for woodworking skills. The potential exists to create radical designs in terms of how the interior cavity is engineered, incorporating ports and bracing that would be difficult or impossible to create with traditional methods.

After doing a bit of digging, I found some interesting examples of how 3D printing is already empowering DIY speaker and subwoofer designers. 2014 is going to be the year of the first-ever 3D printed house. Imagine the possibilities that presents a DIY home theater buff. For now, let's look at what's already possible:
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Shrink

Shrink

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Feb 26, 2011
8,929
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New England, USA
Just a sample of some 3D printing. I bought this from an artist named Joshua Harker, who has just completed a Kickstarter project.
 

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