Investing in 4D Printing – Equities News
Is 3D printing dead?
10 years ago, 3D-printing was the buzzword of the day. Investors piled in… and 3D-printing stocks took off like a rocket.
3D Systems
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DDD – $8.60 0.20 (2.273%) ) — a leading 3D-printing company at the time — soared 1,000% between late 2011 and early 2014.
Stratasys
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SSYS – $14.03 0.31 (2.162%) ) — another poster child of the 3D-printing boom — jumped nearly 7x during the same period.
Back then, people thought 3D printing would democratize manufacturing… and that we’d all have 3D printers inside our homes.
It never happened. And when the industry failed to live up to expectations, the 3D-printing bubble popped…
3D Systems’ sales dropped 93% from January 2014 to January 2016. Stratasys also fell 89% between January 2014 and January 2016.
What if I told you 3D printing wasn’t a flop… the hype was simply a decade too early.
Today, 3D printing is disrupting industries left and right… giving investors a second chance to profit from companies fueling the boom.
3D Printing Has Gotten a Major Upgrade to a newer version
If you’re not familiar with how this tech works, 3D printers allow you to “print” objects similarly to how an inkjet prints on paper.
Starting from scratch, a 3D printer builds objects layer by layer… stacking thin slices of materials (like plastics and metals) from the bottom up.
Early 3D printing technology was great for modeling and prototyping. From architecture to aerospace, these machines allowed industries to quickly move from a drawing board into a prototype.
In 2011, for example, motorcycle manufacturer Ducati reduced the time required to develop a new racing motor by 20 months (or 70%) thanks to prototyping using 3D printing.
But these early models had their limitations…
Almost all early 3D Printers were designed to print in plastic. Great for prototypes… but you can’t make airplane wings, most car parts, or thousands of other high-value items with plastic.
Today, modern 3D printing technology has enabled the use of metals as well as concrete.
Boeing (
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BA – $203.03 0.84 (0.415%) ) — one of the two biggest plane makers in the world — now 3D prints thousands of titanium parts for its 787 Dreamliner. It’s shaved $3 million off the cost of each plane thanks to this technology.
Rolls-Royce (
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RYCEY – $0. 0.01 (0.543%) )’s upcoming 3D-printed UltraFan jet engine will use 25% less fuel than its predecessor.
Just a few weeks ago, at Cape Canaveral in Florida, a rocket measuring 34 meters tall was launched. 85 percent of the rocket’s parts were 3D printed.
“Super-sized” 3D printers can even create full-sized houses in a matter of days…
Here’s one stacking concrete:
Source: ArchDaily
This is disrupting traditional construction in a huge way…
Construction workers are required to be fewer because 3D printing can combine several different trades. Also, it saves time. 3D-printed houses can be constructed in just a few days, instead of weeks or months.
The construction cost is reduced by about 50%.
New designs are being inspired by these new 3D printers. For example, it’s difficult and expensive to build curved walls with standard construction. With 3D printing, it’s a breeze.
New kinds of materials could unlock 4D printing…
Smart Materials: Have you heard of them?
When exposed to different elements, these special materials can fold, expand, or change shape.
You can “program” them to react to touch, light, temperature, electricity, different chemicals, and so on.
4D printing could use smart materials to bring daily objects “to life.”
For example, you could print a power cord that neatly folds into a tiny roll when unplugged and then loosens up again once electricity flows through it… a sun umbrella that perfectly tracks the sun’s direction… or even furniture that assembles itself.
Also, 4D printing has the ability to revolutionize the healthcare industry. Doctors can implant small medical devices which will change their shape as soon as they reach the desired part of your body.
There are virtually no limits to the possibilities.
Here’s how we’ll make money from this disruption…
Currently, 3D printing stocks are on offer. And their businesses are doing great…
Autodesk – (
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ADSK – $189.90 0.31 (0.163%) (for example) makes 3D design tools. It’s a stock I recommended back in 2018 — and it went on to gain 145%. The company’s latest quarterly results showed a record of $5 billion in sales.
And it’s not alone…
3D printing companies Desktop Metal (
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DM – $2.17 0. (0%) Ansys
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ANSS – $311.24 1.46 (0.467%) Nano Dimension (
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NNDM – $2.39 0. (0%) The latest results of ) also showed record sales.
A simple, one-click way to buy each of these companies — and other 3D-printing stocks — is through the 3D Printing ETF (
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PRNT – $22.00 0.13 (0.626%) ).
PRNT currently trades 56% from its all-time highs, giving you a second chance to profit from “phase two” of the 3D-printing megatrend.