Hello Kansas City 3D Hub!
My name is Cody and I am a local software developer with ideas flowing out of my head. I am currently working through an idea of creating a 3D marketplace for designers to sell their designs to the common public. Going through research and exploring the current state of 3D I came across this awesome idea of connecting people to local 3D printers. I was hoping to get feedback from my local community of 3D printers to see if this idea is worth pursuing as much as I believe it is.
What are your thoughts on a marketplace to discover, buy and print 3D things?
Would you be on board with having a direct relationship to a marketplace to allow customers without 3D printers to send recently purchased designs to be printed? Are there limitations from a production or legal standpoint on your end that are not highly visible?
Do any of you actively use 3DPrinterOS? Would there be any interest in streaming designs to your printers to be printed?
I really want to get feedback from the local community and hear any opinions and thoughts!
Thanks!
insta
2
A big problem with autonomous or semi-autonomous printing is going to be the filament in the printer tied with the models themselves. It will be extremely limiting to people to say “you currently can print your part in beige PLA”. The software and equipment is still at the phase where it requires human interaction, for things like model orientation, picking the right plastic, explaining that these machines cannot print certain types of shapes, and so forth.
If the marketplace already vets the models to be printed against certain types of printers, your toolchain can connect to people who meet certain criteria (like, this part requires a high-temperature plastic and the customer wants one of the following colors, and feature size must meet XX microns), then the streaming will work, but that has mostly just moved the people-problem to another spot.
I personally do not use 3DPrinterOS and do not want people sending random things to my printers without my oversight. I have tens of thousands of dollars invested in them and I personally verify every single model’s toolpath before it gets printed.
Hey Bryan,
That’s a great point. I am envisioning, at a very high level, the streaming functionality sending files for print to a queue that would be accessible for printers to access and grant permission to print. Your feedback does bring to light the more technical details of providing a “clean and clear” path for print. It seems as though there would need to be more “match-making” between designers and printers.
My initial thoughts on the marketplace were to bring together designers and the general public (who own 3D printers). After researching and digging deeper I realized the marketplace would also need to bring in available local 3D printers as an option for those in the general public who do not own a 3D printer. It would also allow an opportunity for printers to be involved. My number one task for the project is to ensure the quality of the 3D objects and files, moderate the available items of purchase and really make the marketplace a trusted source for printable 3D objects.
I really appreciate the feedback!
Luis
4
Look at the integration that 3D Hubs did with Thingiverse. Send to 3D Hubs is a button on every thing. Thingiverse is going to be a hard platform to compete with, to be honest. I have tried 3D Printer OS and love it. I need to invest more time into getting it up and running on my printer farm at home and work.
Hey Luis,
I appreciate the feedback! The one issue I currently see across all 3D marketplaces right now is the lack of moderation, it seems like it is the wild west as far the variety of 3D objects available for print. This will make the community less accessible to the general public when all they see are quirky mini-figurines and items that are not practical. I don’t dismiss how cool some of that stuff is. I’m aiming to bring quality options. I also want to understand from a printer side, the pros/cons with what is available. Keep the conversation up!
