making money from 3d printing?

[barto]

you might be able to offer your 3D printer as a service to print others designs. theres a few places locally that have makerbots where you could get your files printed but if i owned one, i would offer it as a service too to help pay for the printer.

[4Unow]

you might be able to offer your 3D printer as a service to print others designs. theres a few places locally that have makerbots where you could get your files printed but if i owned one, i would offer it as a service too to help pay for the printer.

3DHubs might be a good site to try out. They allow you to let others in your area use your 3D printer to print out their designs. You of course charge for this service. It's a way to utilize your printers to make a few bucks.

[cipher0]

IanJohnson, again, it is cool that you can use 3d printed parts for some equipment you sell, like jimc. But you make it sound like parts for professional or hobbyist equipment is the only thing that are made of plastic and can be sold. At this point im just repeating myself. Sure, for those kind of stuff the finishing of the plastic might not be a worry for the buyer, but everything else which you can make with plastic (and btw you're not really limited to plastic because you can make molds) is something which needs to look good (as in smooth and high res), doesn't it? If not, please tell me what aren't. because that's why I started this thread.
But please don't give another example of using a 3d printer for an existing job. I already understand that's a good option, but if you have a job like that where you could make use of your 3d printer.

[papabur]

I profited 200$ last week from prototyping business card stands...its easier then you might imagine...just got to be creative.

[LambdaFF]

Have you thought about printing miniatures for architects, replicas for museums and/or highly personalized decoration stuff for small local businesses ?

[aWsomeABE]

Have you thought about printing miniatures for architects, replicas for museums and/or highly personalized decoration stuff for small local businesses ?

Do you really think FDM printers are capable right now of making prints that are high enough quality to sell to others? I personally think it has a ways to go before architects, museums, and local businesses will be outsourcing to FDM printers.

[cipher0]

I'm not trying to argue with you either, I just don't see how someone representing Hyrel3D would think a suggestion like using even the thinnest layer height possible would help print phone cases and everything else mentioned above at good enough quality for selling. I know you replied suggesting to use thinner layers if I don't want ugly lines, but you're next suggestion (which is the same suggestion) quotes me saying people won't buy something looking so "unfinished".

And yes I know a layer height like that would cause a very long print. Which btw is another reason your suggestion to use thinner layers isn't a good one in my opinion, but since it's not that big of a deal if you're printing a mold I decided not to mention it.

As for your photos, thanks for posting them. I didn't know Hyrel could go lower than 50 microns. Looking at the image of the 25 print, I don't see lines, which is very good. But then again I see other impurities on the surface (not talking about the part which you say has been fixed). I'm sure others will agree they see them as well and they wouldn't buy a figurine, phone case, etc looking like that.
Maybe it's just the image compression, filament quality or something else though. So please post better pictures when you can. Right now you haven't convinced me that the print can be "high enough quality to sell to others" as someone else said above, just proven that lines can be eliminated for the naked eye at lower layer height prints.

Actually, if Hyrel or similar company sells some printed samples so people can see and feel the print quality themselves I'd buy that.

[Davo]

Thanks, I'm working on printed samples to send out to people now. I'll shoot one to you when they're done.

[Feign]

As an alternate to Davo's suggestion. If you don't like the lines, do some postprocessing. A careful acetone vapor bath or even just sanding and painting a piece after it's printed can absolutely make it consumer grade.

I think you've gotten yourself into the mindset that if you can't sell something directly out of your printer, then it's not worth the time. If you're asking for an affordable desktop 3D printer that makes money all by itself, then you'll be dissapointed. If you look at it as a tool among multiple tools in a craft, then yes it can be a very powerful tool for making you money.

[cipher0]

Thanks, I'm working on printed samples to send out to people now. I'll shoot one to you when they're done.

Okay, thanks.

As an alternate to Davo's suggestion. If you don't like the lines, do some postprocessing. A careful acetone vapor bath or even just sanding and painting a piece after it's printed can absolutely make it consumer grade.

I've talked about acetone "vapor baths", dipping in liquid acetone as well as sandpapering and why they aren't really great in this thread already.

^ Right..

We're still a few years away from "mass manufacturing from our desktops" but the technology is all there.

Who said mass manufacturing? My arguments apply even to unique phone cases, miniature sculptures, etc.

You can always send off the model to shapeways, sculpteo, etc or even overseas to China, Thailand, etc to be mass fabricated. There is always a way..

I don't need a 3d printer and 3d printing myself to make money like that though, which this thread is about.