Is Thingiverse's Business Model a Bad One?

[KDog]

Jeff, really? The sale took place not even a year ago. Everything that they have right now came as a result of being a part of the open source community. Maybe if they put out something truly new and amazing a few years from now I'll believe that it was a result of closed source. They still won't get my money but I'll at least let you have that argument then. Even now their "patents" are arguably coming from the open-source community.

[American 3D Printing]

Jeff, really? The sale took place not even a year ago. Everything that they have right now came as a result of being a part of the open source community. Maybe if they put out something truly new and amazing a few years from now I'll believe that it was a result of closed source. They still won't get my money but I'll at least let you have that argument then. Even now their "patents" are arguably coming from the open-source community.

Yes, really.

Note that I didn't assert that the 4th gen equipment and software are the result of the sale, but certainly any objective observation will conclude that (1) the Rep 2's build quality and speed is unmatched in class, and (2) they are closed source and have been from 4th gen on. I do not believe that everything they have right now is a result of being part of the open source community, in fact they clearly have surpassed it once they went closed. I not a proponent of either open or closed - I am source-agnostic, both hardware and software. I just want the best quality, fastest builds at the best price, and of course with high reliability.

Back on-topic, there may come a day when Thingiverse will be a hybrid of pay-for-designs and free designs, or perhaps we'll have to endure the kinds of commercials we have to on Youtube and Hulu?

[KDog]

Ok, yes, back on target. I'm actually surprised that the youtube model is not yet in place. Very good way for them to keep thingiverse working for them and allowing popular designers to make a bit on advertising for there work.

[JamesTuthill]

Ok, yes, back on target. I'm actually surprised that the youtube model is not yet in place. Very good way for them to keep thingiverse working for them and allowing popular designers to make a bit on advertising for there work.

What do you mean by Youtube model? How would such a system work? Would ads be displayed on each photo of a design?

[Geoff]

but the bones are ONLY in X3G format, which of course means you can only print them on a Makerbot.

Hi Jeff, the Replicator 2, Flashforge 3D, Duplicator 4 and basically any of those similarly cloned machines will read X3G just fine. They also use Makerware and trick it into thinking it's a makerbot.

[ChiloquinRuss]

I believe the missing piece of the puzzle is 3d objects posted that are modifiable after posting. That I would pay for and have in the past for my cnc machines. Paying and downloading 24 versions of minions has little appeal to me. Downloading a modifiable minion may! Russ

[Roxy]

I believe the missing piece of the puzzle is 3d objects posted that are modifiable after posting. That I would pay for and have in the past for my cnc machines. Paying and downloading 24 versions of minions has little appeal to me. Downloading a modifiable minion may! Russ

Agreed!!! I end up reverse engineering a lot of cool designs just so I can have the source so I can make changes.

[Geoff]

Agreed!!! I end up reverse engineering a lot of cool designs just so I can have the source so I can make changes.

It's pretty cool some of the stuff you can customize on thingiverse, like the music box, I still am yet to print the whole thing out.

It's a bit of a pain, but something like a minion you sort of can make editable yourself. With a bit of time and patience in Blender you can rig the thing with a simple skeleton and pose it however you wish. Of course removing goggles and other parts of the geometry is back to actually 3D modelling, but just getting a figure to animate or be able to move the position of its head, arms legs etc is really not difficult after a few youtube videos.

[SimianSteam]

Ugh. Capitalism, how I loathe you.

It's too early to start locking down designs. There's simply not enough out there, and it would stifle a growing industry. Eventually more and more "Premium" models will show up, and if they warrant the cost they'll sell. I'm not at all averse to designers making money off their work. I'm the guy that tosses a buck in the "Buy me a coffee" account when I download something that's really useful to me, but I'm probably in the minority. If you require payment then less people will want to get into 3D printing. I don't care if it's $100 or .01, as soon as money gets involved interest drops off FAST.

It's going to be really interesting to see how this market evolves over the next decade. The internet changed the way Media is distributed, and 3D printers are going to go way beyond that. I'm just happy to be getting in the game.

[awerby]

There's a difference between asking for a little money for the work we do and "locking down designs". Designers shouldn't have to rely on charity, or beg for tips - if I work hard making something that's useful to others, then just like anybody else who does useful work that helps a lot of people, it should do more for me than buy an occasional coffee.

You say you "loathe" capitalism, but a business model which has people giving away their labor for the benefit of a large private corporation is a capitalist's wet dream. Why is it so important that more people get into 3D printing, if all the benefit goes to the capitalists?

Andrew Werby
Juxtamorph.com