# DDD 3d printing- revolution or hype?



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

What are thoughts on the 3d printing technology and its potential? I'm looking at companies like DDD as a possible growth industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Long term, it will be significant. It might take longer than people expect in the short run. High value customization will happen first for things like medical devices.

In-home will probably not be a practical solution for a long time, so I expect 3d printing would be a local service or something you order from the net and receive the next day (better equipment utilization, more sophisticated printers far outweigh some transportation and handling cost).

What I find really interesting is the possibility of using 3D printing to print tissues for transplant. 

As far as investing--it's hard to say.


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## AnimeEd (Jul 22, 2012)

I hear a lot of people say that 3D printing will be the "next big thing". I don't really buy it. Although I have the skills to model anything and have access to 3D printing services, I have never found a need to use it. I just sat for a few minutes thinking about what I would print with a 3D printer and I cannot think of anything other than novelty items such as keychain and gifts....What would you print? I'm looking around on my desk and there is simply nothing which would benefit from being printed.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Apparently the sky could almost be the limit as far as what you eventually will be able to print- jewellery, household items, eyeglasses, toys, even food items. Imagine if you broke some old, hard-to-find part for something or wanted to make a custom-designed... well, almost anything. Plastics, metal, inks, and god knows what else can be used for materials- and there are now cheap home units like the Cube. One can also make prototypes for ideas or inventions that used to require mold-making. It's also interesting because as an additive process, there is no waste of materials unlike most conventional manufacturing where material is subtracted to make items (aside from injection-molding). The possible potential is to be a massive revolution once a critical mass of people get into it- almost like the replicator on Star Trek. Well, we'll see I guess. I just found out about it two weeks ago via an article on the possibility of printing a working gun- not a comforting idea, but holy crow, what a world! All kinds of industries could be impacted- medical, transportation, retail, materials manufacturing and research, etc. The idea held by some is that it could be incredibly game-changing as we cannot yet imagine the scope of what might be possible- who knew what vacuum tubes and punchcards would lead to in the computer world? Or that the lightbulb would lead to television and digital cameras? If nothing else, it's interesting to imagine the scenarios.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

They are working on printing skin, ears, blood vessels, and ultimately lungs/kidneys for transplant. That's pretty cool!


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## AnimeEd (Jul 22, 2012)

The technology is not there yet for anything other than plastic. Metal is possible but I don't think it will be something that will be in every house because they require sintering. indexx, I'm going to pick apart your examples a little if you don't mind.

Printed gun - The printed plastic is quite weak compared with plastic injected parts so I would never fire a gun printed on a 3D printer (would you even use one made on an injection machine?)

Plastic jewellery - Plastic jewellery? I don't see the appeal. Yes you can make impossible to manufacture shapes on the machine but it will still be plastic. Also the printed nature of the parts means that they have a layer effect on the surface. Also not appealing.

Printed household items - I don't think you will print anything found in the kitchen, not heat resistant and does not wash very well.

Printed Eyeglasses - The frame yes but you will still need to do post-processing on it in order for it to look nice (layering effect). We are very very far from being able to print lens which are comparable to the ones are are using right now. I can see it happening if we are able to use polycarbonate to print with optical clarify but you will still need to polish the surface in post and it will not be scratch resistant.

Printed Toys - yes but they will be easy to break unless they are design with very thick walls to withstand abuse. They probably shouldn't have moving parts either.... Also not going to better than what you can get at the dollar store.

Printed Food - why?


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## ddkay (Nov 20, 2010)

Hype


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

There is a lot of hype, but some of it is real.

The aerospace and medical devices sectors are excited about 3d printing. Aeropsace because weight is at a premium, and 3D printing allows you to shed weight in parts without losing strength (example of hinges that can have 50-70% of the material removed without sacrificing strength), or because 3D printing is cheaper than machining parts out of large blanks, especially for titanium parts (titanium scraps are hard to reuse).

Medical devices: ultrasound sensors are more easily and cheaply made using 3D printing. Also, implants like hip joints can be custom made (based on scans) and made porous so the bone tissue integrates better with the implant and is stronger.


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## AnimeEd (Jul 22, 2012)

I can see growth in medical devices. Aerospace is tricky, they will need to figure how to print it so that the final material has the same material properties as a homogenous piece. They will also need to figure out new ways to inspect and maintain the new material. The chief failure mode in aerospace is probably fatigue. At every printing surface there exist a potential for a flaw or imperfection which may result in fatigue failure. From the website, I do not see DDD targeting these industries.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I haven't heard of problems with laser sintering of metal powders like titanium. I've heard that plastic makes for fragile parts with many flaws.


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

I think it is both hype and a technological breakthrough.

The breakthrough part is the industrial and medical aspect of it.

The hype part is that people are going to have this in their homes the same way that they have photocopiers now. I just don't think it will have all that much use for the average individual. My guess is it will cost a lot more to make things at home then it does to produce them industrially and this will remain the case for a few decades yet. I can envision within a decade having 3D printing stores that will produce some specialty orders for people kind of like they used to have those photocopy and printing stores back in the 90s.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

AnimeEd said:


> The technology is not there yet for anything other than plastic. Metal is possible but I don't think it will be something that will be in every house because they require sintering. indexx, I'm going to pick apart your examples a little if you don't mind.
> 
> Printed gun - The printed plastic is quite weak compared with plastic injected parts so I would never fire a gun printed on a 3D printer (would you even use one made on an injection machine?)
> 
> ...


Printed food- because it's fun. I think you can currently use chocolate in one printer, so you could make say a chocolate head for your kid's birthday or something. I saw someone who made some kind of snack in the shape of a space shuttle. Not that I'd want to do this kind of thing, but someone will.

Of course, much of this is conjecture at this time, but that's the point of this thread.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Hype.
There are benefits, but the materials you can 3D print for the forseable future are limited.

Think of a good knife. It is a specific steel, forged and manipulated to get the grain in the right orientation, then buffed, ground and honed.
A 3D printer won't do any of that and definitely not for the $20 or so you can pick one up for at Loblaws.

I thought glasses was funny, the lenses requrie very specific materials, polished to a precise geometry, much finer than a printer, which is then coated with various coatings. heck getting a decent frame is likely going to be a challenge.


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## explorer416 (Jun 11, 2010)

Okay, so despite the "hype", I have 100 shares of this in my TFSA. It's my only USD position in my TFSA. I know that the TFSA is not the right place to hold anything in USD that pays out a dividend (those things should go in my RRSP because then the tax on the dividends would be exempt), but I only had this in there to "expand" my TFSA capacity. This has worked for the most part - I'm up ~70% or so on my 100 shares.

Then this news came out yesterday: http://www.streetinsider.com/Dividends/3D+Systems+(DDD)+Approves+Three-for-Two+Split/8062355.html

Basically, DDD has declared a three-for-two split of the company's common stock in the nature of a 50% stock dividend. On February 22, 2013, each stockholder of record at the close of business on February 15, 2013 will receive one additional share for every two shares held on the record date. In lieu of fractional shares, shareholders will receive a cash payment based on the closing market price of DDD stock on the record date. Trading is expected to begin on a split-adjusted basis on February 25, 2013.

My question is: Is it correct to assume that since I will receive additional stock (and not $$ as I have an even number of shares) as a dividend, I will not be subject to some sort of dividend tax? Is this how splits are normally issued - as a dividend? It's my first time going through a split. Are there any tax implications to this since it is in my TFSA?


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## explorer416 (Jun 11, 2010)

I ended up just moving this position from my TFSA to my RRSP at Questrade. It's considered a withdrawal from my TFSA so I'll have to remember to add that CAD$ equivalent to my TFSA contribution next year. Now I can just deal with the dividend/split in my RRSP account, and not worry about any tax implications in my TFSA.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

There would be no tax implication in your TFSA (Tax Free Account)... In your RRSP, although yes there is no immediate implication you will pay tax upon withdrawal.


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