When you return you propably need some hype.
How about a 3D-coating robot arm and tilting base plate.
When you return you propably need some hype.
How about a 3D-coating robot arm and tilting base plate.
Some good developments since this happened.
I've received 2 partnership offers from other 3D printing companies already to help us move to the next step. One of them is U.S. based and already makes printers that are very similar in specs to our existing printer layout.
I'm thinking we are too "upmarket" for the average consumer even at the price points we had. Something smaller, simpler, maybe under $600 with most of the same hardware would probably be a better fit, and keep the same database idea. And MAYBE start pitching to well-known companies to have their 3D models offered on our platform sooner rather than later.
Who do you think is the 'average 3D printing consumer'? Probably mostly hobbyists/tinkerers, right? IMHO, those people are far from 'average'!
3D printing(replicator) for sure has a future, but probably still at an infancy stage. Compare to home PCs, it's probably at the Apple IIe stage... might even be prior to that! Assuming you're Steve Jobs and your printer's Apple IIe...
What's Apple IIe's killer app?
Mostly for educational purposes or games, right?
So I think you should gear toward edutainment uses for your printer.
For sure I ain't never going to give you $600 to by an awesome printer just for myself, but I just might buy one for my kid if it has huge educational values... plus I can occasionally print a few things for myself on the side.
Anyway, just my 2cents. Good luck man!
Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; August 14th, 2018 at 01:30 PM.
I agree but I also think a HUGE part of that is that there's currently no big companies offering 3D models for download/use with existing products.
Imagine if Disney/Marvel/Lucas, Ikea, Samsung, Black & Decker, Kitchenaid, Whirlpool, Toyota, and similar companies all started offering 3D models IF they knew the models would print correctly on a reliable platform? There's plenty of usefulness once the larger investment starts to happen, for replacement parts, custom add-ons, etc.
For those companies there's practically no cost involved! They have simultaneously a new marketing platform, a new way to offer replacement parts without keeping inventory, etc.
That's the goal we're reaching toward.
Maybe you should partner with UPS and its stores... so that each store can have one of your fancy printers... and then you partner with other companies that have to constantly deliver 'parts' that can be reproduced by your printers... so that these companies can 'digitally' ship parts. And the casual buyer will simply walk to a UPS store to pick up his stuff without knowing whether if this part came from China or from a 3D printer!
Still, that'll probably need a lot of capital investment...
Out of the companies you threw out, IKEA stands out as the sole company that fits my 'imaginary model' the best. They have parts to ship and they have stores all over the globe! Would it be cheaper for IKEA to just ship some of their smaller plasticy products using traditional ways or could you help IKEA realize savings by buying your printers for each of its stores? If you can put a printer in every IKEA store... then you can probably put a printer in every UPS store later on... then I'll probably have one in my house someday when they become cheap and useful enough!
Now, if your dream comes true, Speedpimp will be out of his truck driving job... well, I suppose Speedpimp can always deliver larger non-plasticy products in his truck!
Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; August 15th, 2018 at 09:14 AM.
you mean like this?
https://pressroom.ups.com/pressroom/...3510444185-310
Wow, my idea was so 2016!
BTW, how is that working out for UPS? How come I've never seen any 3D printers in my local UPS stores? Or I just wasn't paying attention...
Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; August 15th, 2018 at 11:58 AM.
I think it was too early for themOriginally Posted by Crazed_Insanity
Wow, my idea was so 2016!
BTW, how is that working out for UPS? How come I've never seen any 3D printers in my local UPS stores? Or I just wasn't paying attention...
So this digital shipping idea didn't work out?
I guess 3D printing remains as a tool only for home hobbyists or design labs that needs rapid prototyping?
Anyway, I think your library idea is still a good one. Surely average consumers are not CAD jockeys and cannot design their own parts.
Now, besides having a huge library of cool parts, I still think it'd be nice to combine some sort of versatile scanning device so that consumers can scan their own stuffs to print out. With fancy inkjet printers, consumers can print out their own photos. With your own 3D printer at home, average consumers today probably just don't have too many things to print out...
Besides scanning tool, do you think your team can perhaps also create a simple and cheap version of CAD interface? Using VR goggles and allow users to simply gesture to draw up stuffs in 3D space?
Okay, this time I googled myself... looks like they already have that!
https://www.designnews.com/design-ha...83138957556768
So partner with these companies perhaps... to build a more complete ecosystem for you future product...
The more complete your ecosystem, better the chance of success!
So far, I've only been printing out metallic jewelries for my wife. Home printers can't really print out metal parts, right? So I'd just task shapeway.com for my occasional use... Now, if I can just insert my smartphone into some cheap goggles and hold on to some spatial pointing device to draw up my own stuffs, I'd probably be more inclined to buy my own 3D printer.
Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; August 16th, 2018 at 08:51 AM.
For anyone who cares, I just found a Brilliant article that is absolutely BRUTAL about the current industry and points to exactly what I've been trying to do with our project:
https://3dprint.com/222599/the-3d-printing-octagon/
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