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Opportunities in 3D Printing

jpanarra

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Heyy JP Here!

I’ve already shared on here some time ago that I already had a 3d printer. I just picked up a new one and this was way cheaper and way more sophisticated compared to my old printer.

I grabbed a ender 3 pro over on Amazon. I’m super impressed by this machine, its sub 250$ and it took less than 30 minutes for me to assemble and calibrate the levels and have it printing my parts perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GYRQVYV/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

3d printing is the future of small businesses. Even the bigger businesses need to take notice, I have a job in manufacturing and there are so many things ranging from small parts to 5S tools that can be created by 3d printers immediately on the spot.

I thought I’ll list a few things I can share with you that you’ll be able to do with 3d printing

Prototyping and Product Development. -

This one is probably the most obvious one, 3d printing costs are constantly decreasing every year and is a very cost effective alternative to outsourcing product development.

This is a opportunity where you can keep developing tens or hundreds of prototypes and testing different variations and improving the weak spots before launching within a hundred dollar budget as opposed to thousands of dollars.

You can make molds, functional models, or actual working products and have them tested on the market prior to bringing it to a mass manufacturer.


Customizing Products -
A product might already exist but you can always come up with a custom improvement and you’ll be able to customize.

The advantage of having a 3d printer makes it easy to customize attachments or adjustments to already existing product to improve upon it and to sell.

Promotional Goods -
As you all know here promotional goods can be powerful for a company’s marketing strategy. Most of the time when you try to drop in some promotional goods with a product it can be really expensive and it’ll add up costs quickly. 3d printing is getting to the point where it won’t have the same restrictions you face in those costs.

Print Farms -
They are what they sound like. If you invest in a number of printers you can print on demand for clients or for specific products. Then you can start offering commercial 3d printing services for others.


Those are only a few I could think off the top of my head and if you guys can think of more ideas to take advantage of the 3d printer feel free to share!
 
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Xeon

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I'm still waiting for 3D printing to be able to 3D print glass. There's some articles on this but it doesn't seem to be ready for the mainstream yet.
 

Itizn

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This topic is somewhat my forte.

My view:
The truly valuable side of the industry is the compilation of accurate and predictive data. Only select companies are actively pursuing this information in the proper fashion. Data research is integral to the application of the various additive technologies, since at the moment there are races to reach certain benchmarks.

Whoever can apply the proper data with the proper technology will end up dominating this industry.
 

Lex DeVille

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Heyy JP Here!

I’ve already shared on here some time ago that I already had a 3d printer. I just picked up a new one and this was way cheaper and way more sophisticated compared to my old printer.

I grabbed a ender 3 pro over on Amazon. I’m super impressed by this machine, its sub 250$ and it took less than 30 minutes for me to assemble and calibrate the levels and have it printing my parts perfectly.

Comgrow Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer with Removable Build Surface Plate and UL Certified Power Supply 220x220x250mm: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

3d printing is the future of small businesses. Even the bigger businesses need to take notice, I have a job in manufacturing and there are so many things ranging from small parts to 5S tools that can be created by 3d printers immediately on the spot.

I thought I’ll list a few things I can share with you that you’ll be able to do with 3d printing

Prototyping and Product Development. -
This one is probably the most obvious one, 3d printing costs are constantly decreasing every year and is a very cost effective alternative to outsourcing product development.

This is a opportunity where you can keep developing tens or hundreds of prototypes and testing different variations and improving the weak spots before launching within a hundred dollar budget as opposed to thousands of dollars.

You can make molds, functional models, or actual working products and have them tested on the market prior to bringing it to a mass manufacturer.


Customizing Products -
A product might already exist but you can always come up with a custom improvement and you’ll be able to customize.

The advantage of having a 3d printer makes it easy to customize attachments or adjustments to already existing product to improve upon it and to sell.

Promotional Goods -
As you all know here promotional goods can be powerful for a company’s marketing strategy. Most of the time when you try to drop in some promotional goods with a product it can be really expensive and it’ll add up costs quickly. 3d printing is getting to the point where it won’t have the same restrictions you face in those costs.

Print Farms -
They are what they sound like. If you invest in a number of printers you can print on demand for clients or for specific products. Then you can start offering commercial 3d printing services for others.


Those are only a few I could think off the top of my head and if you guys can think of more ideas to take advantage of the 3d printer feel free to share!
How fast does it print items? Is it really useful for promotional items (bulk qty items)? I imagined 3d printers being slow and taking 15-30 minutes for a single print. Would be cool if they could go faster than that, but I haven't done any research. At $250 I'll probably pick one up though. That's a great price.
 
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RazorCut

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How fast does it print items? Is it really useful for promotional items (bulk qty items)? I imagined 3d printers being slow and taking 15-30 minutes for a single print. Would be cool if they could go faster than that, but I haven't done any research. At $250 I'll probably pick one up though. That's a great price.

They are great for prototyping and one off/low volume stuff but not suitable at all for bulk quantities. Get your design perfected and locked down using your personal 3D printer then send it off to a manufacturer for volume duplication is the general route taken.
 

jpanarra

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They are great for prototyping and one off/low volume stuff but not suitable at all for bulk quantities. Get your design perfected and locked down using your personal 3D printer then send it off to a manufacturer for volume duplication is the general route taken.

@RazorCut Is right, if you're looking at the big picture its perfect for prototyping. HOWEVER, it's a good way to use the printer to test the market and you can sell working and viable product.

Also, You can use the 3d printer to create models for molds or molds themselves for concrete, silicone and plastic. Although, for the plastic you'll need the resin printer which is in the ballpark of 3k and print out the High Temp Resin. FormLabs has a great website about applying the 3d printer to industrial means.

(customer_v2)

They're a great compliment for other machines like a CNC, Laser Etch because you can make/print custom improvements, replacements, or even print out a mostly printed low-cost unit.
 

maverick

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AmazingLarry

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Another area where 3d printing can be used is in manufacturing tooling. In certain situations where strength is not critical, it can save a ton of money. 3D printed forms for sheet metal (which obviously don't last as long as a metal form) are also used sometimes if the quantity of parts is low or if a metal form can't be fabricated quick enough.

Definitely a lot of of potential with 3d printing, and it will be interested to see how the technology advances.
 

Tethys

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@jpanarra, any new updates on your 3D printing adventures? :smile:

I just bought a Ender 3Pro as well. I know nothing about 3D printing but I'm interested in playing around with it to see what it can do. I really like building and creating things. As I was researching possible ecommerce product ideas, I kept thinking, "how do I become the supplier"? In a way, that seems to better fulfill the C in CENTS. I agree that the 3D printer makes protopyping and creation more accessible. It's sort of like not just putting legos together, but building your own legos. :cool:
 

Lyinx

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DeletedUser0287

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Heyy JP Here!

I’ve already shared on here some time ago that I already had a 3d printer. I just picked up a new one and this was way cheaper and way more sophisticated compared to my old printer.

I grabbed a ender 3 pro over on Amazon. I’m super impressed by this machine, its sub 250$ and it took less than 30 minutes for me to assemble and calibrate the levels and have it printing my parts perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GYRQVYV/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

3d printing is the future of small businesses. Even the bigger businesses need to take notice, I have a job in manufacturing and there are so many things ranging from small parts to 5S tools that can be created by 3d printers immediately on the spot.

I thought I’ll list a few things I can share with you that you’ll be able to do with 3d printing

Prototyping and Product Development. -
This one is probably the most obvious one, 3d printing costs are constantly decreasing every year and is a very cost effective alternative to outsourcing product development.

This is a opportunity where you can keep developing tens or hundreds of prototypes and testing different variations and improving the weak spots before launching within a hundred dollar budget as opposed to thousands of dollars.

You can make molds, functional models, or actual working products and have them tested on the market prior to bringing it to a mass manufacturer.


Customizing Products -
A product might already exist but you can always come up with a custom improvement and you’ll be able to customize.

The advantage of having a 3d printer makes it easy to customize attachments or adjustments to already existing product to improve upon it and to sell.

Promotional Goods -
As you all know here promotional goods can be powerful for a company’s marketing strategy. Most of the time when you try to drop in some promotional goods with a product it can be really expensive and it’ll add up costs quickly. 3d printing is getting to the point where it won’t have the same restrictions you face in those costs.

Print Farms -
They are what they sound like. If you invest in a number of printers you can print on demand for clients or for specific products. Then you can start offering commercial 3d printing services for others.


Those are only a few I could think off the top of my head and if you guys can think of more ideas to take advantage of the 3d printer feel free to share!

I wish 3D print could produce as same quality of plastic injection molding.

They are great for prototyping and one off/low volume stuff but not suitable at all for bulk quantities. Get your design perfected and locked down using your personal 3D printer then send it off to a manufacturer for volume duplication is the general route taken.

This, anyone know affordable injection molding? Or has anyone actually done plastic injection molding as diy?
 

Pranit Gholap

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@jpanarra, any new updates on your 3D printing adventures? :smile:

I just bought a Ender 3Pro as well. I know nothing about 3D printing but I'm interested in playing around with it to see what it can do. I really like building and creating things. As I was researching possible ecommerce product ideas, I kept thinking, "how do I become the supplier"? In a way, that seems to better fulfill the C in CENTS. I agree that the 3D printer makes protopyping and creation more accessible. It's sort of like not just putting legos together, but building your own legos. :cool:
You should check out a company from California called CARBON, which specialises in this field. They've got innovative solutions. Tell me how it goes.
 
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Pranit Gholap

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Heyy JP Here!

I’ve already shared on here some time ago that I already had a 3d printer. I just picked up a new one and this was way cheaper and way more sophisticated compared to my old printer.

I grabbed a ender 3 pro over on Amazon. I’m super impressed by this machine, its sub 250$ and it took less than 30 minutes for me to assemble and calibrate the levels and have it printing my parts perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GYRQVYV/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

3d printing is the future of small businesses. Even the bigger businesses need to take notice, I have a job in manufacturing and there are so many things ranging from small parts to 5S tools that can be created by 3d printers immediately on the spot.

I thought I’ll list a few things I can share with you that you’ll be able to do with 3d printing

Prototyping and Product Development. -
This one is probably the most obvious one, 3d printing costs are constantly decreasing every year and is a very cost effective alternative to outsourcing product development.

This is a opportunity where you can keep developing tens or hundreds of prototypes and testing different variations and improving the weak spots before launching within a hundred dollar budget as opposed to thousands of dollars.

You can make molds, functional models, or actual working products and have them tested on the market prior to bringing it to a mass manufacturer.


Customizing Products -
A product might already exist but you can always come up with a custom improvement and you’ll be able to customize.

The advantage of having a 3d printer makes it easy to customize attachments or adjustments to already existing product to improve upon it and to sell.

Promotional Goods -
As you all know here promotional goods can be powerful for a company’s marketing strategy. Most of the time when you try to drop in some promotional goods with a product it can be really expensive and it’ll add up costs quickly. 3d printing is getting to the point where it won’t have the same restrictions you face in those costs.

Print Farms -
They are what they sound like. If you invest in a number of printers you can print on demand for clients or for specific products. Then you can start offering commercial 3d printing services for others.


Those are only a few I could think off the top of my head and if you guys can think of more ideas to take advantage of the 3d printer feel free to share!
Can you list any shortcomings of 3D printing which one should expect to face while operating on both large and small scale
 

Itsmeantonios

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How do you like your 3D Printer? I have been considering getting the new Ender 3 v2 when it becomes available to prototype any product ideas I might have.
 

jpanarra

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I'll be honest, I'm still 3d printing things but its more of a hobby at this point. 3d printing is a massive learning curve but there is money to be made with this especially in the prop or small things .
 
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Lyinx

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I wish 3D print could produce as same quality of plastic injection molding.



This, anyone know affordable injection molding? Or has anyone actually done plastic injection molding as diy?
10,000 for a simple mold (for injections) or $100k + for complex ones, I'm sure it could be in the millions for very complex ones.
you can find injection molding companies all over the world, they can suggest someone to make a mold for you (or they might make it for you, depending on the size of the company)

look on youtube to see small scale extruders, some people make them in their homes and play with them. very interesting things can be done with them :)
 

jpanarra

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Right,

The ideal way would be to print things as prototypes, make a few batches to test the market. Once you have a strong proof of concept and some net positive cash flow, that can be put towards a mold for a local manufacturer can make for you at a cheaper cost per unit.

Jason P.
 

Lyinx

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jpanarra

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I have a few printers already, but for other people to want and try to prototype that'll be a good route to go. However you'll still have to wait for the parts to ship and arrive and see if your revisions are what you want.
 

Lyinx

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I have a few printers already, but for other people to want and try to prototype that'll be a good route to go. However you'll still have to wait for the parts to ship and arrive and see if your revisions are what you want.
yeah, that's absolutely the way to go. I'm thinking a resource like 3Dhubs would be nice if your on the road or at an event somewhere and decide you need 100 pcs... you can order and have it at your house within a week, and you don't have to mess around with the printing at the moment :)
 

maverick

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Automated sewing machines will revolutionize the textile industry.
 
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jpanarra

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Automated sewing machines will revolutionize the textile industry.
Elaborate?

"automated" is pretty much generalized so is there a specific machine thats so cheap that you can have it at home... or is it something that can reduce headcount by 90%...
 

maverick

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Elaborate?

"automated" is pretty much generalized so is there a specific machine thats so cheap that you can have it at home... or is it something that can reduce headcount by 90%...


It's effectively using CNC technology for garment manufacturing.

You can move production back from China/Bangladesh/India. Could even print on demand and sell D2C.
 

jpanarra

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It's effectively using CNC technology for garment manufacturing.

You can move production back from China/Bangladesh/India. Could even print on demand and sell D2C.
Very Interesting, Thanks for sharing... They seem like pricy machines tbh but if you have a product in mind. That'll be a good goal to have on a wishlist.
 
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maverick

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Yeah, too early now. Sales are closed until 2022 for that company.

On-demand printing of apparel is coming closer and closer though. Sweatshops will cease to exist in the future.
 

Lyinx

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Very Interesting, Thanks for sharing... They seem like pricy machines tbh but if you have a product in mind. That'll be a good goal to have on a wishlist.
we keep playing with this idea... (of automated sewing machines)

the big machines - $200,000 +
the middle level machines $100,00+
the low level machines $15,000

they all have one problem, you still need to have patterns for each job, and have a person set it in place. I did see one machine that has a fully automated setup... for one job, and each "job" gets placed in the same place so that when the machine goes to get it, it's in the same spot each time.

the biggest differences between $200k and 15K machines? for the 200k, they have huge spools of thread. the cheaper ones use $3k machines with automated hardware on top, so when the thread gets low, someone needs to replace it. 200k machines also have slide-in templates... you can have 4 or 5 people filling templates and sliding it into place. In theory, you could add a barcode and a barcode scanner to each template and it would read it and then execute that job.
 

Lyinx

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZ8JUJjbBI

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SqHKKmRTig

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j9rcvxBwr8

they might all look fancy and stuff, but these are all different.
The first two are specialized machines... the 3rd one can handle any job that you throw at it, as long as you have a template for it. add a barcode scanner and reader to the mix and you would be golden (IMO, of course)
 
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maverick

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZ8JUJjbBI

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SqHKKmRTig

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j9rcvxBwr8

they might all look fancy and stuff, but these are all different.
The first two are specialized machines... the 3rd one can handle any job that you throw at it, as long as you have a template for it. add a barcode scanner and reader to the mix and you would be golden (IMO, of course)
Love the examples. Have you ever set-up a machine to create some type of garment automatically? I'm thinking of a clothing item that perhaps has a design on it, zippers, and sleeves?
 

Lyinx

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Love the examples. Have you ever set-up a machine to create some type of garment automatically? I'm thinking of a clothing item that perhaps has a design on it, zippers, and sleeves?
we're considering it - but haven't moved yet... but with wages going up in the area it does make it look better and better
 

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