In fact while discussing 'press' and news items it is something i think of occasionally with regards to Sigma Labs. We are, after all, voraciously awaiting the next news snippet or PR that may come our way.
As part of my Sigma Labs due diligence over the last few years a few things strike me as i read 'industry' news and whats going on generally in the world of Additive Manufacturing. Firstly most news stories tend to be about the new, the amazing, the creative. Nearly all of this is related to prototypes. It is in the news because it IS news. However that excitement wears thin very quickly as the next new new thing comes along. Model T Fords were not news 2 years after production had started, it was only their first invention, their first sighting that was news. Now for sure not all these prototypes will make production, and most will never be heard of again, however even if they make production their news worthiness would be highly diminished.
Another thing that strikes me is that much of the 3D printing news that virals around the internet is very light on understanding and heavy on headlines. Much of it is regurgitated form company Pr's and more than a few articles are written by the new fad of robot reporting, or story-writing software that the big newswires now use to write earnings reports and snippet updates. When we talk about GE's fuel nozzles you can trawl the internet and read thousands of different articles on it, and yet 95% share little other than it's basic premise and few odd quotes from people involved. Trying to dig deeper and get into the nitty gritty is a lot harder, hence our appetite for Sigma news is harder to satiate.
The deep dark science of metal AM and material physics is boring to all but the most game of people. It doesn't sell stories, it doesn't encourage viral adoption amongst modern day netizens so often craving the latest spark of dramatic global updates or celebrity endorsement.
So Sigma to me is caught in the backwater of what we read about with regards to the new AM revolution. It is not 'new' per se.. the concept has been worked on over the last few years, The headline already broke. It is deepest darkest science at it's best. It doesn't effect the man on the street, it's main role is behind the scenes. Even when it is in full flow most people will probably never hear of PrintRite3D. It his highly specialized, and at the same time exceptionally unique in its importance. It's not sexy, it's not easy to understand and it's even harder to write about. Alongside all this it is cloaked behind secrecy as the biggest, most aggressive adopters of the technology develop their strategy, revealing little about the dark scientific arts behind it.
This doesn't worry me in the slightest. In fact there are many plus points to being a small, growing, vital cog in an industry changing machine. As Zrock insinuates, GE don't talk so much about the need for the in process inspection. As we know they have developed such a system with Sigma Labs who whom they are 'intimately' linked according to Vivek recently.
The conclusion that i come to from all this is that the mass production facilities and technology for Additive Manufacturing are things that take years in back end, behind the scenes preparation. Inspection technologies, amongst many other things have to be verified and tested. While all this is going on the media has been focused more upon the gimmicks and gizmos this new technology is bringing the consumer and the retail industry. However, time is moving rapidly and these production facilities are about to come on line in the very near future. Vivek also said as much recently, AM production is about to hit the stage in a big way. Just because it's not in the headlines doesn't mean it's not happening, its not being built. It is, it's coming, and its going to be big.
Sigmas technology comes into its own with the establishment of these production runs. This is where it saves time, and money. This is where it does the previously impossible. This is where modules like DEFORM are groundbreaking. This is not just any old product Sigma is launching. Years of reading whatever i could on this science i realize just how groundbreaking it is. Of course the scientists at GE and Honeywell already know that. That is why they are still there 3 years on holding hands with Sigma. That is why the most dynamic new OEM maker in Europe, Additive Industries, is incorporating it into their new machine. That is why Materialise, arguably the worlds largest and best placed 3D printing service provider is willing to spend nearly two years integrating Pr3D software with it's own.
Do not under estimate the technology involved here, the importance of it, nor the industries need to adopt it. As for the daily PPS. That will change. The real investors will coincide with the uptick in revenues and the uplist. The ability to get chunks of shares will disappear soon enough, if it hasn't already. The ability to buy institutional size amounts of shares will rocket this stock. Daily trades of 2,000 or 50,000 are small fry of what is to come along with the revenues. PPS at .08 tomorrow or .10 tomorrow really doesn't make a difference. The company has set itself with the best players, done the back end work, proved the technology and set it in place to learn as its being adopted (the data improves with use).
The big picture is most definately happening. And not tomorrow, not tuesday, but this stock will be a rising star over the next 5 years.
