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Can We Talk Tools for the "Maker Market"?

Raitis

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Anyone knows of wrapping machines? The kinds that you use to wrap furniture and goods before you put them in boxes for shipping?

I had to do f*cking ton of plastic-wrapping when helping to move house for family (so that the furniture won't be dirtied during shipping/renovation), but doing it by hand and shifting the furniture about was hard work!

I remember seeing wrapping machines at airports, but they were pretty big and would cost too much to be brought into personal/small biz usage. I would love to see a mini-version of a wrapping machine.

There are those rotating exercise pads which I'm sure could be used for a low tech wrapping application. That is - still requires 1 to 2 people depending on the item's size, but involves significantly less lifting. The film feed and lifting could be automated with a threaded rod.

That said - the use case of wrapping furniture doesn't exactly scream mini-version...
 
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ZF Lee

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There are those rotating exercise pads which I'm sure could be used for a low tech wrapping application. That is - still requires 1 to 2 people depending on the item's size, but involves significantly less lifting. The film feed and lifting could be automated with a threaded rod.

That said - the use case of wrapping furniture doesn't exactly scream mini-version...
By mini-version, I mean machines that aren't as big as half a garage lol, which most factory ones are.

I like the low-tech concept. I think it already exists, but I never find them commonly. Perhaps the large plastic rolls we used WERE really for such a machine.
 

MetalGear

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This is what radio shack was for back in the day, such a big opportunity here in my opinion
 

miraman

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Do you think the 3D print market will be the next saturated market when everybody starts to own one and uses it to make products to sell?
 
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jpanarra

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Looks like Amazon has tabletop kilns for casting precious metals for about $500. Not sure what all you can use something like this for, but I'm pretty sure you could make some really cool stuff (or at least melt some cool stuff).

61wIBwgQ7rL._SL1024_.jpg


Oooooooo... I'm an electroplating chemist and I can probably make some sweet jewelry with that.

That aside,

I've been in the makerspace for at least 4 years now. I have two 3d printers and one of them is the og printrbot and they just went out of business this year. Its a really unpredictable market at the moment but again its an emerging market so alot of people will be cashing in on this.

I've printed tons of parts and such for my quadcopters and its loads of fun to do

Also for the fusion 360, be careful with that because they give you the 'hobby' licences but if they figure out that you're using their product to manufacture and sell something that goes to scale they can come back to bite you pretty hard. I don't know how they'll figure it out but just be warned.
 

jpanarra

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Do you think the 3D print market will be the next saturated market when everybody starts to own one and uses it to make products to sell?

No,

3d printing is still a skill, it has a massive learning curve. Tons of things go wrong with your printer as you're working with it. Fillament gets jammed, the head goes out of alignment, etc.. Its comparable to a CNC machine where you need a skilled machinist to run a machine that can reach production levels.

That being said... ONE OF THE COOLEST things out there in the makerspace that can legit make a production plant is the MPCNC... CHECK THIS OUT

Specifications | V1 Engineering

you get a 3d printer, make another large scale 3d printer for the same price.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeVeyUas5vU
 

Raitis

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Can someone recommend an entry level printer and software for a beginner to get his feet wet?

Prusa mk3 might be the sweet spot in regards of price and reliability right now. Goes in both kit and assembled form.

As for the software, Prusa has their edition of Slic3r for model preparation so starting with that will have the least amount of friction I guess. As for modelling I'd recommend getting the free hobbyist/startup licence of Fusion360.
 

jpanarra

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sinj

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Is there a freelance platform for makers?

The closest thing I found was Etsy, but you can't post a job and let makers come to you (as far as I can tell). Seems like a potential "next big thing" in freelancing. Where can I go to just post what I want and have someone pitch me on their services?

"I need a leather worker to create 50 custom leather shark laser key chains. If that's you, please send past samples and your price."

Is this a thing yet or is this an opportunity?

Hey Lex, I think Tindie is more like the "Maker" marketplace. You can buy and sell over there, but you can't pitch for services.

Etsy in my opinion, it's more like a traditional "handmade stuff" marketplace. An intersection of entrepreneurship with doing handmade stuff trying to pitch it as being better quality.

In my opinion, the people that consider themselves "Makers" are people who are into the Maker culture. I mean people that started to gather in makerspaces, hackerspaces and fatlabs to build stuff. Very related to hacker culture, but not neccesary always entrepreneurial. I think Wikipedia describes it pretty well: Maker culture - Wikipedia

I have friends, for example with EE or CS backgrounds that label themselves as "Makers", for most of them is just a hobby besides their job. I do know one that has his company that designs electronics which you could say he does profit from being a maker.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Didn't see these in the rest of the thread, but here are three tools I'm considering buying now. I'm doing research to find out which ones have affiliate/referral programs.

1. X-Carve CNC - $2,299
I don't think X-Carve has a referral program so that puts it kind of low on my list but it's still a pretty cool little tool that can cut a lot of stuff.

xcarve_configure-2b15c5683fa3f2db8a30e8f576b85c32e9fb5b455b83b662aac17d8bf8880099.jpg




2. Wazer - Waterjet - $7,999
Wazer is on the high-end for maker tools. They replied to my email and said they offer "10%" for referrals, but they didn't specify if that is 10% in cash or 10% toward materials. I'm waiting on an email back about that. Also, you need a 20 amp outlet to use this machine which I don't think I have.

wazer-waterjet-product-shot_1_2048x2048.jpg


3. - Crossfire Pro- Plasma CNC - $2,495
Just found this one this morning. Looks like it can cut metal pretty well. Sent them an email about a referral program. Hopefully they'll get back to me today because the price looks really good. They also have a regular Crossfire version that's under $2k but not sure what it can do.

config-none-min.png
 

Lyinx

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Anyone knows of wrapping machines? The kinds that you use to wrap furniture and goods before you put them in boxes for shipping?

I had to do F*cking ton of plastic-wrapping when helping to move house for family (so that the furniture won't be dirtied during shipping/renovation), but doing it by hand and shifting the furniture about was hard work!

I remember seeing wrapping machines at airports, but they were pretty big and would cost too much to be brought into personal/small biz usage. I would love to see a mini-version of a wrapping machine.
 

CareCPA

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Also, you need a 20 amp outlet to use this machine which I don't think I have.
How old is your house? You likely have some, maybe just not where you want them.
Check the breaker box for 20 amp breakers.
The outlets themselves are the ones that have the weird sideways line in them (radiant® 20A Commerical Spec-Grade Tamper-Resistant Receptacle, White | Legrand)

If you don't have them anywhere else, they can often be found in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry room
 
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Lex DeVille

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How old is your house? You likely have some, maybe just not where you want them.
Check the breaker box for 20 amp breakers.
The outlets themselves are the ones that have the weird sideways line in them (radiant® 20A Commerical Spec-Grade Tamper-Resistant Receptacle, White | Legrand)

If you don't have them anywhere else, they can often be found in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry room

The breaker box says we have several around the house. I didn't see any outlets with the sideways hole though.
 

CareCPA

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The breaker box says we have several around the house. I didn't see any outlets with the sideways hole though.
If it were me, I would trace the circuit to see what is on the 20 amp breaker, then I'd pull the outlets to see if it has the right wiring. If it does, I'd just replace the outlet.
But, I would not advise that most people do this.

I'll stop derailing now :)
 

Lex DeVille

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Facebook targeted me with this one. If they had an affiliate program I would've bought it already. Still might.

Snapmaker - 3D Printer + Laser + CNC (can't cut metal :()
Snapmaker.png
 
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Lex DeVille

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2. Wazer - Waterjet - $7,999
Wazer is on the high-end for maker tools. They replied to my email and said they offer "10%" for referrals, but they didn't specify if that is 10% in cash or 10% toward materials. I'm waiting on an email back about that. Also, you need a 20 amp outlet to use this machine which I don't think I have.

wazer-waterjet-product-shot_1_2048x2048.jpg

An update. Wazer emailed back this morning and confirmed a 10% commission per sale. So at $7,999 that's $799.9 each time someone buys using your affiliate link.

I know I want to buy at least one new maker tool, but I'm not sure which way I'll go. Wazer is cool, but for the price I could buy a Shapeoko, Snapmaker and several other tools from earlier in this thread.

But none of those other tools can do what Wazer can do, and none of them have referral programs as far as I can tell.
 

radioactive73

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Concrete 3d printing or 3d printing buildings in general has been an interest of mine, I think there's huge potential. Some companies have already started prototyping.

 
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Kid

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There is 3d printer that mixes filament with carbon fiber making things lighter and stronger than steel. The problem is that printer costs about $3.5k PER YEAR. No sure if filament is included but i think its not. So additional costs.

This is closes to what i think a future could be where we could really print spare parts for anything including high workload things like bikes.

Technology is there. Economics need to be worked out.
 

Lex DeVille

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@Lex DeVille Just curious, still churning along with your glowforge side business?

Not really. Mostly it just collects referrals. I take one-off custom orders here and there but haven't spent much time making stuff lately.
 
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