Topic: Filastruder's impact on the filament market
Wizardtkax - Hello Takax here again. Just wondering if it would be alright to open a new filastruder thread dedicate to the newly forming community that will be getting to know each other better as each kit is put together over the next few months. I'm new here so just thought I'd check before tasking a divergent thread to your universe of soliforum perhaps early birds could disperse samples to regional neighbors. To get some cross qualified testing going. Wondering how this will change the Amazon ebay community, do we have a contingency for niche market competition, is it filastruder vs commercial filament, these are important issues I feel when opening new market destabilizing technology. To be discussed by democratic action of said change agents. Takax over and out.
I don't think home extruders will have too much effect on the commercial market so long as they are just used to make what can already be bought more conveniently. The real value comes in the ability to make filament in custom colors in small quantities rather than buying a full kg of each color you want, and experimenting with different materials if you are able to source them. Getting material in small quantities can be difficult through normal channels since we are turning an industrial process into a home hobby. I think as more people get extruders we are going to see some creative solutions to that problem. I think more varieties of pellets will start showing up on Ebay as people invest in large minimum orders of what they want to use, and subsidize the cost by selling the extra.