3D Printing DebunkedThe lack of technical expertise has clouded analysts' and retail investors' judgment to a degree where the mechanical and physical, as well as industrial and commercial reality matters no longer.The euphemism "3D printing" suggests that depositing material on material is as easy as ink on paper. Quite the contrary is true.3D printing stocks DDD, ONVO, SSYS, VJET, XONE, etc. have been and will remain trading vehicles, rather than sound long term New Nike Tr Fit Shoes Black Red investments for the foreseeable future.I work Nike Air Max at the crossroads of design, engineering and research, and have used 3D printing (formerly known as rapid prototyping, which is what it really is) for the better part of two decades. I read the Wohlers Report and attended the Euromold. Therefore, I am neither "against" 3D printing in general nor "against" equipment vendors in particular. However, what most uninformed futurologists so conveniently ignore is that the intersection of creation, production and consumption is far more complex than it is made out to Nike Shox NZ be, and that it is by no means clear where and by whom substantial and sustainable value will be created.This article is the second of a three part mini series, debunking the 2015 Nike Free 5.0 most common mythologies surrounding additive fabrication. The first article addressed Consumers, the last articles will address Technologies.2nd myth: 3DP will revolutionise industrial production of goodsJournalists of quality New Nike Free 5.0 V4 Shoes Grey Black magazines and newspapers, as well as analysts of well known investment banks, have jumped onto the additive fabrication bandwagon, claiming that 3D printing will revolutionise production of goods, with 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD), Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS) and ExOne (NASDAQ:XONE) eventually putting a "factory in everybody's home", like an inkjet printer. If true, that would mean that products Nike Air Max 2014 as diverse as corduroy trousers, hospital beds, storage shelves, lawn mowers, TV sets, cosmetics bottles, etc. would eventually jump off the build plate of 3D printers small and large at an economy of scale that would have to be more effective than what can be achieved by Nike Free Womens the multitudinous production processes available today, themselves also advancing at a rapid pace, New Nike Tr Fit Shoes Grey Green which is conveniently overlooked.A side robot injection moulding machine from Kuka AG (OTC:KUKAY) or Sumitomo can produce an entire performance plastics car bumper, including metal in mould decoration, with perfect surface finish in only 42 seconds, a part that would take many days to produce on a large Voxeljet (NYSE:VJET) machine (at far inferior quality). The parts for a Buzz Lightyear toy figurine, the token example from the first article, could be injection moulded at Chinese Miriat Products Co. Ltd in seconds, an entire set of parts per tool in a single shot, perfectly finished, coloured and ready to be snapped together; from only 5.000 to up to a massive 1.000.000 of them per month, starting from as low as US $0.68 1.28 (quantity FOB price). With rapid tooling, in part advanced by additive manufacturing (laser sintered with an ultra fast EOS or envisionTEC machine, for example), small batch production of 100 off is already a reality.That said, let's now debunk Carbon Grey Blue Salomon S-LAB 5XT Wings the "revolution of production" in more detail, taking some of the most warped storytelling of a typical cheerleader article (TechRepublic) to the acid test:Aircraft engine myth: "GE Aviation wants to produce 100,000 additive parts by 2020." Apart from the six year time frame and FAA approval, let's put things Nike Air Jordan 4 Suede Shoes Navyan 4 into perspective: A single Rolls Royce TRENT 1000 jet engine that powers the Boeing 787 consists of 18.000 parts. A single GE/Pratt Whitney GP7200 jet engine that powers the Airbus A380 consists of 26.000 parts. This is without washers, bolts, etc. An annular jet engine combustor contains 24 fuel injection nozzles 0.11% of the average total part count of a jet engine. Rolls Royce, GE and Pratt produce 3.000 jet engines annually. Reality check: The additive fabrication of small non moving parts such as fuel injection nozzles will hardly be a volume driver for 3D Systems and other players in that field. A Boeing 787 contains 46 additively fabricated production parts of lesser importance: air condition ducting and hinges. It takes several years of prototyping and testing to have a new part to be approved of its airworthiness by the EASA/PMA/FAA. CEO Mark Parker Buy ??Weatherman?? Nike Air Foamposite One Premium White/Modern Blue-Flash Yellow-Green For Sale Cheap has previously stated that 3D printing technology has been a big boost for the company recently. As anyone who ever designed sports footwear (I did) knows, cleats are often individualised on a team and per player basis and wear off (which is why originally they were replaceable). For a niche custom component, additive fabrication makes indeed sense time, volume and cost are no issue. However, rapid prototyping is common practice with sports, leisure and dress shoe brands in the design process in general and outsole tooling development in particular since two decades. The decorative "foodstuffs" that have been served at various hype fests so far are nothing but ornamental squiggles resembling oddball micro architectures with a gooey texture and consistency. The torturing Nike Air Jordan 3 Basketball Shoes Black White Red of natural and wholesome ingredients for the sake of novelty value can only go so far, just as molecular cuisine and space foods remain confined to be served in the diners of Absurdistan, where time and Nike Air Jordan 11 Galaxy Shoes Black Blue money are unknown categories. Made viscous with additives and stabilisers, chocolates, and sweets make for a nice wedding cake gimmick; mainstream adoption will be low, as long as our improving dental Nike Air Jordan 11 Kobe Shoes White Yellow Blackan hygiene lets people want to enjoy a good bite well into their old age. Remember the Segway and how it would change personal inner city transport forever?Last, but not least, investors should carefully watch Gartner's Emergent Technology Hype Cycle Curve to see what lies ahead of them, when investing in science fiction: Please beware of the Peak of Inflated Expectations and the Trough of Disillusionment. Many fields of business got trapped right there, to never fully emerge.(Emergent Technology Hype Cycle Curve, source Gartner Inc. 2010)(Emergent Technology Hype Cycle Curve, source Gartner Inc. 2013)Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions Air Jordan Outlet within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.