3D printing pen or proper desktop 3d printer ?

[shadowhound]

Hey guys so i am new to the world of 3D printing and my friend currently uses a little 3D printing pen and make some cool things and she sells them but i was wondering how well can i do as a small 1 man business ? will i see a return on my initial investment ?, also which is better the 3D pen or a proper 3D desktop printer

so for example if i made little things like keyrings, tiny ornaments and other things it just worry's me it might not sell well

[Ama-fessional Molder]

Spend the money on a printer. A cheap one will be miles ahead of a pen.

[Davo]

I think a pen would actually be better for freehand, artsy stuff.

If you want to make parts with mechanical properties, you'll want a proper printer and a good CAD package.

[curious aardvark]

and don't expect to make any money at all.

You can't sell things like keyrings, too easy to mass produce much cheaper.
You can make money on big arty stuff - particularly with comic and film tie in's for the people who dress up in costumes.
Geoff's the expert on that.

But otherwise - it's difficult verging towards impossible.

I guess if you are artistic then a pen might work, the stuff will look hand made which is a bonus if you are selling at craft fairs.
If like me you can't even draw convincing stick men, then the pen is almost useless (yes I have one) and a proper printer is an essential.

[classone]

Yeah if you are more of a free style artist i would say stick to the pen. With a 3d printer you would have to learn how to use designing software and also design your custom ornaments unless you get pre made designs off the internet.

As an investment to mass produce this things you probably wouldn't make your money back simply because the time it takes to print and also the cost of material. You would be better off just sending your designs to china and getting it mass produced for cheap if thats what you are looking for. They use a molding system which is quick and cheap for mass production although if in the future 3d printers become much quicker at printing then mass producing with 3d printers is likely.

[Ama-fessional Molder]

Yeah if you are more of a free style artist i would say stick to the pen. With a 3d printer you would have to learn how to use designing software and also design your custom ornaments unless you get pre made designs off the internet.

As an investment to mass produce this things you probably wouldn't make your money back simply because the time it takes to print and also the cost of material. You would be better off just sending your designs to china and getting it mass produced for cheap if thats what you are looking for. They use a molding system which is quick and cheap for mass production although if in the future 3d printers become much quicker at printing then mass producing with 3d printers is likely.

Even a chinese mold costs tens of thousands of dollars and at least a month to produce with no revisions, so I wouldn't call it quick and cheap.

[classone]

This is true and generally they ask for a big minimum order quantity which also costs a lot of money but at the end for mass production its cheaper to do it that way than with 3d printers.

[curious aardvark]

Actually the materials cost in 3d printing can be ridiculously low. I turn out trolley tokens for about 0.2 pence each.

It all depends on the material and print settings you use.

[ralphzoontjens]

3D printing has its niches where it works well and is profitable.
For example for low volumes of small products it will be cheaper than investing in an injection mold.
Plus you can manufacture on-demand and customize the end product. The quality can be quite good though it will not come very near to IM quality.
So taking all pros and cons into account you need at least some sort of business plan, and early tests for proof of concept.
It is all about your idea and how you present yourself.
I haven't seen anything promising coming out of 3D printer pens, to me it's more like a nifty toy.
So I would go for an entry-level 3D printer.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Simple answer:

The pen is a toy that can be used to make one up "creations". The low cost entry level printer is a toy that can be used to create multiple copies of a "creation". Like anything else, there is a market for this or that somewhere. If you look at the money you put into either gizmo, it will be a long time before you pay off the device it's self. If you compare it to working for $15 an hour at Walmart, it will be pretty much forever to see any real return.

You do *not* want to know how many times I've been down this road on various craft related business ideas. They always seem to end up with lots of money tied up in a big pile of slow ( == never) moving inventory. Without the inventory, there is nothing to pull in the customer and they spiral down even faster.

Bob