We basically have to sell ourselves outright. No one knows what we do, they go Oooo cool 3d printing, then walk away. We have to grab them bring them back and say no this will help you
Skip to main content
I’m seeing a great reaction when I show them toys and small figurines then pull out a useful customized dog brush I printed. I then go on to talk about how the printers can pay for themselves now through their usefulness.
3D printers themselves are cool tech for sure. There’s no problem with the product. However, the issue is what to do with them. We’re comfortable in this forum because we know what’s involved. But look at the massive failures of Home Depot and others who have tried to introduce 3D printing to the masses.
There’s a gap. A big one.
How does Joe Consumer get what’s in his head onto a 3D printer? Sure, there are millions of models on Thingiverse. But what about those people who want something that’s not on Thingiverse? They have no idea where to start. There are tools to help these people. Free applications like OnShape or Sketchup are a great start but even there it takes aptitude to get going. Some folks just don’t have what it takes to think spatially.
So, what about those people? The 'uge market that is untapped? Perhaps someday 3D scanners will be sophisticated enough to take something that’s scanned and make an accurate 3D model that won’t require any touch-up. There are things like that now, but really only for organic shapes (like people). What if you want to scan a broken knob and have it accurately reproduced? Today that means you either scan it in and use the scanned model as a guide to trace around it or you get out the calipers and measure.
Retail tried over the last year or two to get consumers interested. They took the bait initially, but those printers now sit idle in some corner for the most part. The vision, of course, is Star Trek-style replicators that respond to voice commands. That’s coming. No doubt about it. But it’s a long way off. In the meantime, I think guys like Dreamspace 3D Printing, Voodoo, my company (Proto-Plastik) and a host of others are going to fill the gap by providing a Kinko’s style boutique service (maybe you don’t know what Kinko’s was ;))
My advice would be to build a service center where folks can go to get 3D printed services: parts, training, printers, etc.
As more people find out about us we are getting more and more business from people bringing in parts to be fixed (not 3D printers) and showing that we are able to re-make parts that they can’t find (ranging from antique phones to lawn equipment) or have to order from overseas and wait… Right now we have seen a major up tick in custom parts and repairs/upgrades for everything from cars to house hold items. One of our advantages is our Large format 3D printer that we developed and sell since some of what we have come in is a lot of little items that need to be made fast or large items for a customer (especially when you are talking car parts). Right now in our shop we have 7 printers that are running most all of the time.
Price alone doesn’t mean something is ready for retail or better yet the retail masses. Think about what the cost of hand and power tools is today? That hasn’t created a glut of electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and craftsman has it? The public’s obsession with purchasing and having the latest tech is just about their own consumption not them being tinkerers or creators.
All that being said could the printers and tinkerers of the world use a new “Radio Shack”? The “Print Shack”? I’d probably get all my filament and upgrades there.
Well said… Personally I am unconvinced that average Joe will have one of these in his house in a few years. Even if you make a perfect machine that can run with no errors and in a timely manner, it all starts with a 3d design. I think it’s going to develop into a trade running parallel with machinist and tool maker… I believe they will be industrial machines
The barrier is as you identified it … the real opportunity however is in selling curriculum and teaching… the public will experiment with the printers in maker spaces before they buy …
I teach a printing class at a makerspace in CT, trust me there is no money in it. How do you sell a class that no one has any idea what they are paying to learn. Then you need to sell it at a price to make your time worth it. I do it because I love this stuff, not for the money
Very nice. Have you looked into the hangprinter project? I want to do something similar in terms of focusing on providing sizable prints but for decor, event displays, etc. v. Car parts.
I think its a great idea, but if even computer shops wont stock parts or consumables its going to be difficult to get off the ground, i live near 2 cities in scotland and have to mail irder everything i need due to lack of stockists or knowledge
possible yes