eBook research on How to Make Money With 3D Printing

Hey guys I am close to halfway through writing an eBook that speaks upon 3D printing and how one would monetize it. I know there is another thread here that is specifically on making money with 3D printing, but I would like to do more writing and contribute something valuable with a well researched book. What kinds of topics and/or areas of focus would be interesting to read for you guys? I would love to gather more information on topics that the community feels needs more data. If you guys were forced to make money with your 3D printers how would you do it?

Right now I have 6 major ways outlined in which one can make money from 3D printing

• CAD designs - sell on shapeways, etc
• 3D print physical products
• Build & Sell 3D printers (and parts)
• Share 3D printers - 3DHubs, makexyz, etc
• Leveraging 3D printing and the internet/software as a business (customization on demand)
• 3D printing related stocks

Any inputs/comments/criticism would be greatly appreciated.

It would be nice to find out more about practical applications of 3D printing. In which domains 3d printed models could be most useful, for example...

None of the above, honestly.
Selling CAD is just pointless. Welcome to files theft, scam and reverse engineering.
And honestly you're a couple of years late if you really want to sell 3d printers or equipment. The amount of kickstarter has just exploded recently and unless you have some serious innovation, you won't go that far.


The only place I've seen making sucessfully cash, is in engineering application where you need to sell idea or offer solution to the client. You provide a prototype showing them that it works.
Typical income/investment varies, but you can get a 30,000$:100$ ratio, which one of my friend did. He works as a consultant and currently teach course in electric engineering.

Actually all of the above can be used to make money - maybe not a lot, but some.
You probably won't makea living at any one aspect - but combine them all and I suspect it's possible.
But like any business you need to put the work in.
There is no miracle aspect of making money - with any business idea. people who make a lliving self employed have to work bloody hard at it. No matter the field of endeavour.
Trust me - I've been self employed for 20 odd years - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. The negatives often outmatch the positives.
But you get used to being your own boss. I doubt I'd be employable by anyone else these days.

One thing that you haven't considered that will definitely become a growth area is the teaching of cad for 3d printing and imparting your own 3d printing knowlege and experience to others.

And I know what the cynics (yes this probably means you richard :-) will say.
'people can do that for themselves or join forums or maker groups.'

Have you met the general public ? I do, every day. And 99% of the population just won't do any of that. BUT they might sign up to an evening class at a local college or education centre for an introduction to 3d printing course. And outside of large cities there aren't any maker groups or centres - certainly not in the uk.
And not everybody will want to spend money before finding out if they'd use a machine.
And most of the population aren't in full time education so won't encounter a 3d printer at school. And most won't see one at work - yet.

So you should definitely add the education and training aspect to your list.

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Originally Posted by car3less

It would be nice to find out more about practical applications of 3D printing. In which domains 3d printed models could be most useful, for example...

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Duly noted. Design oriented industries such as toy, clothing, jewelry, furniture and art would find the most need for 3D printed models and subsequently, are probably the industries that will face intellectual property problems in the future. Digging deeper these industries have their specialized CAD programs for designers such as Zmodeler, Marvelous Designer, GemVision Matrix, Sweet Home 3D and Sculptris, respectively. It wouldn't be difficult to learn the basics of CAD from somewhere simple such as Google Sketchup or Blender, and then learn how to use the program for your chosen niche to create upper echelon quality products.

Product design & prototyping will probably be a bit different and would be drawn with programs like Autodesk Inventor i.e engineering CAD.

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Originally Posted by richardphat

None of the above, honestly.
Selling CAD is just pointless. Welcome to files theft, scam and reverse engineering.
And honestly you're a couple of years late if you really want to sell 3d printers or equipment. The amount of kickstarter has just exploded recently and unless you have some serious innovation, you won't go that far.


The only place I've seen making sucessfully cash, is in engineering application where you need to sell idea or offer solution to the client. You provide a prototype showing them that it works.
Typical income/investment varies, but you can get a 30,000$:100$ ratio, which one of my friend did. He works as a consultant and currently teach course in electric engineering.

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I think there is definitely a market for creating designs for others, especially if you are talented. Function can be copied, but good design will always last. Only a very small fraction of people will go to great lengths to pirate a physical design - sure, this problem is known to people on this board, but the everyday person won't care. Just look at the music and movie industries. There are many pirates, but there are also many profiteers from our new media.. secretly they are Apple, Google, Amazon. In fact, one can argue that the democratization of music and movies in the last 10 years has lead to a massive increase in music producers and filmmakers, both on SoundCloud and YouTube and sites alike. Not to mention the thousands of video and music making software/apps now available. I remember even 5 years ago how difficult it was to find a quality music production program - now they are everywhere.

Every category in this list has great potential for growth. Honestly, I see a HUGE potential in the making & selling 3D printers department. There really hasn't been a dominant consumer 3D printer maker since MakerBot and its been a while since they were relevant. Many 3D printers on kickstarter are flawed in one way or another. This is a great thing as it only means the technology is moving through early adoption. I'm not saying it is easy but I want to highlight the opportunity. A 3D printer with the right combination of materials offered, design, quality and price and a great marketing plan can become THE must-have 3D printer.

Engineering applications and making prototypes has been very successful for me as well.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

Actually all of the above can be used to make money - maybe not a lot, but some.
You probably won't makea living at any one aspect - but combine them all and I suspect it's possible.
But like any business you need to put the work in.
There is no miracle aspect of making money - with any business idea. people who make a lliving self employed have to work bloody hard at it. No matter the field of endeavour.
Trust me - I've been self employed for 20 odd years - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. The negatives often outmatch the positives.
But you get used to being your own boss. I doubt I'd be employable by anyone else these days.

One thing that you haven't considered that will definitely become a growth area is the teaching of cad for 3d printing and imparting your own 3d printing knowlege and experience to others.

And I know what the cynics (yes this probably means you richard :-) will say.
'people can do that for themselves or join forums or maker groups.'

Have you met the general public ? I do, every day. And 99% of the population just won't do any of that. BUT they might sign up to an evening class at a local college or education centre for an introduction to 3d printing course. And outside of large cities there aren't any maker groups or centres - certainly not in the uk.
And not everybody will want to spend money before finding out if they'd use a machine.
And most of the population aren't in full time education so won't encounter a 3d printer at school. And most won't see one at work - yet.

So you should definitely add the education and training aspect to your list.

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The main thing is that the applications of 3D printing 10 years from now probably haven't even been thought up yet. And if they have, why not do it better? With a dose of imagination and persistence, really anything is possible.

Definitely adding education and training to my list. For every person that knows how to use a 3D printer there is going to be someone else asking them how to do the same. Good one!

Actually the opposite aard, I don't believe self learning CAD is a viable option, and I don't believe hoping on forum will help. I do agree that 3D modeling is a precious skill, as it can lead to job else than 3D printing such as animation, game, engineering design,etc.

However, trying to become the rich without putting effort, ahem, I'll just be frank and honest in that case.