STRATASYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSYS)
STRATASYS is a manufacturer of three-dimensional printers as well as rapid prototyping systems for office-based RP and direct digital manufacturing markets. This company also offers rapid prototyping and production part manufacturing services through its centers that reside in North America, Europe and Australia. Some of the industries that its printers are used in are aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business and industrial equipment, education, architecture and consumer products markets. One of the company’s past products is the uPrint Plus, which was introduced in January 2010. The Company sold its interest in Quickparts.com, Inc in February 2011, and acquired Solidscape, Inc in May of 2011.
In December of 2012, STRATASYS merged with Objet to create a $3 Billion firm. With the addition of Objet, the company will be able to add injket-style 3-D printers to its roster. These printers are faster, offer finer detail and smoother surfaces, and incorporate softer materials. Objet has helped them to broaden their product base and their geographic footprint, and the increased size of the firm will allow for more avenues of revenue generation and improved access to business partners.
3D Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: DDD)
3D Systems Corp. is a holding company that operates through its subsidiaries in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The Company provides three-dimensional content-to-print solutions that include 3D printers as well as the print materials and on-demand custom parts services for their professional and consumer base. Another feature that 3D Systems provides is creative content development and design productivity tools. Some of its primary print engines include stereolithography(SLA), multi – jet modeling(MJM), selective laser sintering(SLS, film transfer imaging(FTI), selective laser melting(SLM) printers, and plastic jet printers(PJP).
3D Systems Corp. acquired the shares of Kemo Modelmakerij B.V. On October 4, 2011, and completed the acquisition of Z Corporation and Vidar systems Corporation on January 3, 2012. They also acquired My Robot Nation (MRN) and Paramount Industries in April 2012.
ExOne Co( XONE: NASDAQ)
ExOne is a relatively recent company to enter the 3D printing business. The company started as a spin-off of Extrude Hone Corporation, which was a global supplier and developer of precision nontraditional machining processes and automated systems, with a track record of more than 40 years in operation. It prints three dimensional parts and materials, makes 3D printing machines and creates casting molds from silica sand and ceramics from five production centers in the US, Germany and Japan. ExOne’s biggest customers are Ford, BMW, Boeing, Caterpillar and the KSB Group.
It was formed in 2005 and is filed to go public in 2013. The company supports the use of traditional industrial strength materials, ranging from metals to ceramics to glass. ExOne’s full range of offerings also includes services and equipment for fabrication on a “micro” scale, enabling machining of small features with precision and speed. Some of ExOne’s products include the S-Max, S-Print, M-Print, M-Flex, M-lab and Orion(Laser Micro-machining) systems.
Hewlett-Packard Company(NYSE: HPQ)
Hewlett-Packard is a provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services. Their customer base includes individual consumers, small – medium sized businesses, large enterprises, and government. The operations are organized into seven different segments, which are: the Personal Systems Group, Services, the Imaging and Printing Group, Storage and Networking, Enterprise Servers, HP Financial Services, HP software and Corporate Investments. HPQ is currently not as big of a contender in 3D printing as 3D Systems and Stratasys, but it already has a long-standing presence in printing technology and is trying to break into the 3D printing industry more substantially.
EXA Corporation(EXA)
Exa Corporation develops, sells and supports simulation software as well as services for various vehicle manufacturers. PowerFLOW software solution suite is offered for simulation of complex fluid flow problems. Their software can streamline and accelerate simulation model preparation processes, and can create, edit and compile a complete PowerFLOW simulation case, which controls the construction of the simulation grid. The software can also perform direct modification or morphing of digital model surfaces, and can predict surface temperatures and heat fluxes generated by thermal radiation and conduction.
The company sells its products and project services mostly through direct sales force in the U.S, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Korea. They also have distributors in China, India and Brazil. EXA Corporation was founded in 1991, and its headquarters now reside in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Organovo Holdings, Inc. (ONVO.PK)
Organovo was founded in 2007 and develops NovoGen three-dimensional human tissue printing technology that is used for creating tissue on demand to support research and surgical applications. The NovoGen 3D printing technology is a platform that can work across various tissue and cell types, making it very useful for changing demands in the medical industry. Organovo also serves physicians and researches who are involved in the fields of cardiovascular medicine, transplant medicine and medical research. Organovo is based in San Diego, California.