<![CDATA[SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/topic/1601/turn-your-3d-printer-in-to-a-tireless-moneymaking-machine/ Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:03:25 +0000 PunBB <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103556/#p103556 also see tons of silly files on Thingiverse for nonsense items that either take more money/time to print than worth or trying to 3D print something like a tool or part thats normally diecast of stronger to be able to do task intended and would just blow apart if trying to use an ABS or PLA version 3d Printed with seams every layer.

I tell people b4 asking to get it 3D printed ask themselves 'would I pay at least $20 for one of these widgets?" their answer is likely what they should decide about the item. even if a small item can be done for less most items are bigger or multi parts and cost much more. had a guy wanted me to print him some ABS copies of PVC pipe fittings that sell for 69 cents each at Home depot. I was like ARE YOU CRAZY DUDE? another emailed a single jpeg of a wedding cake topper off a buddies cake and asked if I could make a copy from that picture for less that it sells for when mass produced at supply stores. these are true requests with my hand up I swear. LMAO. thats why I dont push my 3D printing much anymore. I'm too old to tolerate stupidity like this anymore. for my health as well as theirs ;^)

]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2015 08:03:25 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103556/#p103556 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103555/#p103555 these sites think you should be happy doing prints for a couple pennies more than your cost of materials and power usage and zero time/labor or reimbursement for printer ware and tare to your investment buying printer etc. and thats only if you use cheapest printer and filament. but do ultra high quality fine detailed prints with proper support and post print finish. then deliver print all within a couple days and wait couple weeks to see if ya get paid. I say let em pay Shapeways prices 1st and see what it costs. they sell nothing under $40 even tiny prints and they just use designers file in the half million dollar powder printers (3 week waiting list) after client pays. not many "clients" understand whats involved in 3D printing at all. so they are not likely to be real happy or give you 5 of 5 star ratings due to not knowing what to compare to. I had 2 of my 4 3dhub jobs that did know and where ecstatic but the others seemed to have way to high of expectations of end results. 1st thing people need to understand is if you can buy the item retail (especially cheap dollar store widgets) then dont mess with 3D printing one. any 3D printer owners wont waste their efforts on such junk. I got way better things to do with mine already that sells.

]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:57:11 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103555/#p103555 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103554/#p103554 IanJohnson wrote:

Do you also fix the customer's STLs and make sure they are printable in advance?

NOPE! clients if your even able to see what the job is b4 accepting its likely just a picture of something they saw and want you to design and print it for less than they could buy it for. I tried all the sites. 3dhubs was best but even they are way slow at getting advertising and site help going after years of doing it. joined 2 years ago and had total of 4 small jobs since then. but thats 4 more than all the others combined. so NAH! not gonna make boat loads of money this way. just a few nuisance requests. most have poor payment methods too both security and ability to collect in the USA. some due to where main site is based and laws against trade through them. and site owners dont care long as they get what they want. which has nothing to do with your services being profitable. they also just want to do survey stats etc. I have closed my 3dhub same as the other 13 in my area and ignor any emails from the other 2 posted here since you cant leave them once joined.

]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:38:08 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103554/#p103554 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103553/#p103553 trentC wrote:

http://www.makexyz.com/
Seems reliable, and does the same thing.


NOT! just goofy clients wasting time with fake, impossible or unknown print jobs. and no real site help or screening of scammers on either end

]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:26:04 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103553/#p103553 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103507/#p103507 Well, my buddy and I just worked on a site similar to this in the US, but we DO NOT charge any fees! Service Providers are free to charge what ever they want and free to collaborate with clients. We don't facilitate any of the transactions, so it's up to you to work things out. We're a very small shop here in CA and just got tired of sites charging us 15% for each job (3D Hubs), or sites with the "phony" list of clients, pretending they're interested in getting something printed.

Our goal is to drive potential clients to our site and be able to search for Service Providers. Service Providers then can sign up with us for FREE and without any FEES, and etc. You deal with the client with however you like.

If you're interested and provide services in the U.S, sign up on our site.

www.american3ders.com

We're just starting out, so we're working hard on advertising and etc to drive more people and hopefully get you all matched up with clients and get you all hired.... smile Good luck and thanks for the interest.

]]> Thu, 13 Aug 2015 18:19:50 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103507/#p103507 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/103157/#p103157 http://www.makexyz.com/
Seems reliable, and does the same thing.

]]> Fri, 07 Aug 2015 14:15:10 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/103157/#p103157 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/89230/#p89230 dont think this site is ready to operate yet. had lots of issues including not being able to relogin, method of payment, job selection, UN-reasonable turnaround times, long delay for payment after shipping print etc. I just dont think I am interested. even less coordinated than the maker site. 3dhubs is best so far and they too have tweaking needed. but at least I have been able to completes some jobs fully with them. the others are not secure enough to work through as customers dont even have to register or prove they are who they claim. just order anything. some even post a jpg of an item and ask how much to print one LOL. I wont waste my time on nonsense pretend customers. maybe its just me being from the Show me state. ;^P

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2015 05:00:41 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/89230/#p89230 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/18077/#p18077 From their website:
"It is important that the surface of each file represents a manifold (watertight) volume, and does not have any openings. Such openings can cause artifacts in the resulting print. It is the responsibility of the buyer to make sure their designs accurately represent a build volume."
It seems that there is no guarantee of a perfect file. I figure I have to fix about half of what I download anyway. The typical designer probably does not know the technical aspects of printing and probably does not know to do this.
Whatever the case may be, I would like to hear from someone who has done this, either as the guy with the printer or the guy without the printer.

]]> Sat, 30 Mar 2013 04:05:33 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/18077/#p18077 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/15232/#p15232 That's a good question

]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:40:55 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/15232/#p15232 <![CDATA[Re: Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/15184/#p15184 Do you also fix the customer's STLs and make sure they are printable in advance?

]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:38:27 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/15184/#p15184 <![CDATA[Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine!]]> https://www.soliforum.com/post/15180/#p15180 Have you invested thousands of dollars building a 3D printer and dozens of hours painstakingly calibrating it? After you printed a few objects for fun, did you find it sitting dormant much of the time? Are you ready to let your creation start making money?

If so, become an official Print a Thing supplier. Print a Thing is a crowd-sourced 3d printing revolution. The system gathers orders, combines them onto easy-to-print beds, and sends them to you to print, allowing you to stick to what you're passionate about – 3d printing. We pay for your services, and you can even choose your rate.

Turn your 3d printer in to a tireless, money-making machine! To join the revolution, email me at: [my first name]@printathing.com.

Sincerely,
Andy Doucette
Founder of printathing.com

]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:35:42 +0000 https://www.soliforum.com/post/15180/#p15180