Political power grows out of the nozzle of a 3-D Printer.
Posted on 11/26/2013 8:58:41 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Hewlett-Packard will enter the growing 3D printer market next year and will do it organically, not by acquisition, CEO Meg Whitman told analysts on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call Tuesday night.
Whitman made the remarks, which echo statements she made last month, in answer to an analyst’s question about HP’s plans for this market. 3D printers can manufacture everything from toys to automotive parts.
Many of us have wondered why HP, which has been a power in conventional inkjet and laser printing for decades, has let this market lie fallow – except for a past partnership with Stratasys, a 3D print pioneer. Stratasys solidified its leadership position by buying MakerBot, and its low-cost line of printers, in June for $403 million.
But HP, which has been known to buy lots and lots of companies, will go it alone in this arena which Whitman characterized as an “acorn” that could grow into a booming opportunity for the IT giant.
Why not just pull the same trick the last chick did and buy some POC from Texas that wasn’t one bit accretive to your business?
. Many of us have wondered why HP, which has been a power in conventional inkjet and laser printing for decades, has let this market lie fallow
***because there’s no profit in it. Unless you’re printing guns.
Political power grows out of the nozzle of a 3-D Printer.
And specialized parts for machines and machine tools, which is currently being done.
That's what the poster emphasized on your thread Sunday. 3-D printing for mass production of consumer goods is a different matter.
I don’t see how HP is going to be able to mark up a 1Kg box of 3D resin to cost more than a 1Kg of caviar to match their pricing strategy vis-a-vis cost of HP ink cartridges and champagne.
Why is this picture posted every time on a thread on this subject?
Good move.
I was reading recently that they have 3D printers creating large amounts of DNA molecules from scratch.
It is part of the 3-D Printer Ping List. Ping lists are part of FreeRepublic.
Nah. If HP gets involved in 3D printing, they will change the face of the industry. They will create a profit by selling 3D printers in mass-market opportunities: pharmacies will print their own pill bottles; hospitals will print their own disposable, plastic everything, and on and on and on. It won’t be all medical use - that’s just what first comes to mind.
When HP finally got involved in MicroComputers (after turning down Steve Wozniak for the Apple I), the price for a Micro was ~$2500, whereas a minicomputer was 10X that. The opportunity was obvious.
Printing pill bottles would cost about $20/bottle at the current technology, whereas it costs about 3-4cents just to buy them. Where is the profit?
As I said, they will create profit through mass-market sales. The cost of 3D printers will come down substantially over time. New inventions are expensive and few can afford them. Then technology improves and becomes smaller, better, faster, more efficient, etc. Eventually, everyone and their dog has what was once a new invention: cameras, automobiles, televisions, computers, printers, etc. That’s how technology evolves.
Most consumer goods cannot be profitably made on a ‘home’ machine. However the tech is a godsend for low volume production, one off and rapid prototyping. 3D printing can recreate a long-out-of-production plastic automotive part for just a few bucks whereas to set up to make even a short run of them can easily run into the tens of thousands.
No mistake, it's a good move.
Current 3-D printer technology is really very primitive and there are much better ways to implement the technology in a faster, more economical fashion.
Printers like Strataysys and maker bot are highly refined implementations of obsolete technology based on astronomically priced hardware and expensive raw materials that has no really wide spread economically viable commercial value.
HP is going in another direction
Need a new liver? Just print one: 3D printer makes working human liver
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3089546/posts
Ken Okuyama Design Kode9: Enzo designer’s lightweight sports car (Straight from the 3D printer)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3095123/posts
World’s First 3D Printed Metal Gun Successfully Fires 600+ Rounds
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3091568/posts
3D Printers That Build Entire Houses: Aims To Print 2,500 Square-Foot-Homes In 20 Hours [Video]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3089269/posts
Urbee 2, the 3D-Printed Car that will drive across the country
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3087893/posts
If you have another graphic you would prefer, I'm open to suggestions.
The part is a prototype camcorder:
Yes, and if you are shipboard in the middle of the ocean (or in deep space) and a widget breaks, it could be very handy to have a printer as part of your machine shop.
Yes, a signature graphic is part of the look and feel of many ping lists, besides providing some sense of branding, it also makes that class of pings stand out from the endless purely text pings. As visual creatures this helps us quickly sort through them and find the ones that are on topic.
Yesterday I spoke with a chemical engineer running a small shop for a large firm. They are dedicated consultants to a large chemical company. They have a 3 D printer to make prototypes. It is not heavily used but when it is used it is very worthwhile.
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