Here's one of the class acts of the serious-metalworking-side of the technology, Arcam:
We first mentioned the company in September 2012. The stock was at $10.28 and traded by appointment only. It closed Friday at $113.26
From Business Insider:
CREDIT SUISSE: 3D Printing Is Going To Be Way Bigger Than What The 3D Printing Companies Are Saying
Three-dimensional printing was recently named by Goldman Sachs as one of eight technologies that are going to creatively destroy how we do business.In a new note, a Credit Suisse team led by Julian Mitchell dives into the sector, coming up with some projected growth figures and pinpointing which markets will be doing most of the driving."Most corporate guidance defaults to the assumptions of industry consultants who estimate that the 3D printing market will grow at ~20% annually. We challenge this assumption and attempt to quantify the addressable market by investigating the opportunities within key verticals such as aerospace, automotive, health care, and consumer. We conclude that these four markets alone (which comprise ~ 50% of the AM market today) represent sufficient opportunity to sustain 20-30% annual revenue growth, bolstered by the technology’s transition from prototyping to end use parts and expansion into metals."
Here's the chart:
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse's massive 180-page report goes into painstaking detail into how 3D printing will change the world. But here are some highlights:
Health care is already knee-deep in 3D printing. Mitchell and co. say more than 90% of all hearing-aid shells today are produced through the process.As it turns out, dental applications probably contain the most potential within health care, thanks to the more than 14,000 dental labs in the U.S. The C.S. team envisions market penetration to improve to 18% from 12% in the sector by 2016.Personalized hip and knee replacements could also see gains. The team projects a market of up to $1.8 billion, though they note that the niche has yet to totally catch fire.And GE has been producing a previously expensive part of ultrasound machines can be printed on 3D machines (they can also use it to make wind and gas turbine parts).“It’s really fundamentally changing the way we think about the company,” Mitchell and co. quote Mark Little, GE’s chief technology officer, as saying.Projections for 3D printing's expansion into aerospace match those in health care — the team sees a 30% compound annual growth rate for each. Airplane engines will lead the way...MORE
