Can We Talk Tools for the "Maker Market"?

[YoungPadawan]

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?

I think there's something called "Makers Row" that does something like this.

 

[karakoram]

A DIY foundry could be used to cast jewelry like rings, broached , etc. You could get raw material (gold) from old, discarded PCBAs (printed circuit board assemblies).

Regarding the original topic:
Here's an idea given to me by another Maker: he designed a device (a PCBA) based on Arduino, for the IOT. It featured the ability to create a mesh network. He needed to assemble many hundreds of these PCBAs to meet his Indiegogo orders. He was going crazy trying to put these together by hand. They were all SMT components. He saw one of my 3D printers and asked me if they could be used to build a pick-and-place machine and the answer is yes. Programming it would be an investment though, as it has to work with PCB CAD systems.

 

[rollerskates]

"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?

Etsy runs a weekly thread in the "Promos" section of their forums called "Post your custom item requests here". Alchemy was better, but like someone said, it was shut down.

One thing I like, that Tandy leather just came out with in a small version, is a clicker press:

Craftool Pro Clicker Press

For those who don't know what it is, it's like a big cookie cutter machine for leather shapes. For years, I've actually used a scrapbook die cutter called a Bigkick, because their dies can be used with leather, but you have to hand crank everything. I cannot tell you how many thousands of leather shapes I have manually cranked out on that thing. There are other versions out there, but this looks good for small scale desktop use. Would be a huge time saver! And speaking of selling shovels, it would be great for anyone who's looking to sell pre cut leather parts to other makers--that's a huge business.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Etsy runs a weekly thread in the "Promos" section of their forums called "Post your custom item requests here". Alchemy was better, but like someone said, it was shut down.

One thing I like, that Tandy leather just came out with in a small version, is a clicker press:

Craftool Pro Clicker Press

For those who don't know what it is, it's like a big cookie cutter machine for leather shapes. For years, I've actually used a scrapbook die cutter called a Bigkick, because their dies can be used with leather, but you have to hand crank everything. I cannot tell you how many thousands of leather shapes I have manually cranked out on that thing. There are other versions out there, but this looks good for small scale desktop use. Would be a huge time saver! And speaking of selling shovels, it would be great for anyone who's looking to sell pre cut leather parts to other makers--that's a huge business.

That looks super useful. Never considered how much of a pain it might be to cut hand crank leather slices. Sounds like a lot of work.

 

[JunkBoxJoey_JBJ]

...Maker Market...I was hoping we might have some "Makers" among us...What opportunities are there for tools or machines that haven't been scaled down yet?
Glowforge - Laser Engraver
Cricut - Cutting Machine
Carvey - Carving Machine

Ha! My brother searched "What can you do with old (insert appliance here)" last week because he was tired of seeing them on Craigslist and a ton of homemade items came up on DDG. He's making a plan to cut designs in them as a barn project and sell some things now known to me as "Maker Market" items.

Once again, great timing @LexDeVille

 

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[ZF Lee]

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.

 

[ZF Lee]

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]

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

 

[jpanarra]

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

Heres a great resource,

https://makezine.com/comparison/3dprinters/

like @Raitis said prusa mk3 is prob your best choice rn. I went with printrbot and it was a great beginner printer but they went out of business recently.

 

[CareCPA]

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]

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 )

 

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[Lex DeVille]

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.

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.

 

[BlackMagician]

BUMPing the awesome thread.

 

[Lex DeVille]

3D Printers.

I'm printing something I designed on Fusion360 as we speak.

It will be done printing in a few hours. I'll test out the prototype and if there are no issues then i have to figure out my next step.

Manufacturing is the real hurdle isn't it?

China (cheap but a headache) or US (almost prohibitively expensive).

What kind of stuff can you make with Fusion360? Does it just print plastic?

 

[evlttwin]

On another note, if anyone in here knows a reputable anodized aluminum extrusion manufacturer ...gimme a holler.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Awesome thread, looking forward to seeing what's out there. Fascinating as heck! Should be an easy GOLD/NOTABLE thread in no time.

Any vacuum packing machines for canning food?

There's a few out there. Looks like they're mostly manual operation. A few semi-automatic models around $800. They don't have reviews on Amazon though.

Semi-Automatic Can Sealer

 

[evlttwin]

I just bought one. If you do it let me know and I'll send a discount code. They give me a bonus in materials if I share and depending the model you get it's at least $100 off.


View attachment 22756

What do you plan to make on that?

 

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[miraman]

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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[miraman]

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

 

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[Lex DeVille]

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.

 

[MoreVolume]

Top quality thread

 

[Kid]

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.

About Desktop Metal

Learn more about Desktop Metal’s history and meet the team leading the development of the world’s most innovative metal 3D printing systems.

www.desktopmetal.com

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.

 

[PapaGang]

@GradyS Amen.

 

[ItsAJackal]

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

 

[Lex DeVille]

@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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