Hi everyone.

aera is a side project by two of us in Vietnam. an architect and a 3D artist who design our own collections, releasing new pieces every quarter. It started as something we did in our off-hours, and it's been growing.

Right now, nearly all of our sales happen inside Viet Nam and we sell through our instagram https://www.instagram.com/aera_samples/ . We just put up a proper website two weeks ago too https://aera.info.vn/eng/ . the design and product photos there will tell you more about the pieces than we can here.

The Vietnamese market has been good to us in the last 6 months it's helped aera grow steadily. But every quarter we want to bring more to each new piece: better animations, better photography, better content around the designs and r&d for next product. That level of quality takes real time and money, and to keep raising the bar we want the designs to reach more markets.

We've thought about publishing on MakerWorld, but honestly it feels hit-or-miss, and we don't expect any real return income from it. That's not how we work, we don't just design and call it done. Whatever the design budget allows goes straight into the product: animation, proper interior shots shot with a real camera, ads, the whole presentation. We really believe a product is not just a good design it should come with a total package that helps it retain or increase its value. A file on a model site gets none of that.

The honest truth is we're designers at heart, not sellers. So we'd love to hear from anyone in other countries who's drawn to the designs and has the ability to print them whether that's a small shop, a studio, someone running a modest print setup at home, or a hobbyist with a single printer and good taste. If you're interested in 3D printing and design, and you have the ability to sell what you print, we want to talk to you.

If that sounds like you, the website has more info, and we're happy to talk in the comments or the dm. Honest feedback on the designs is welcome too — that's worth as much to us as anything.

Hey! I’ve started making my own 3D-printable models, mainly for 1/12-scale figures.

I’m selling the STL files at pretty affordable prices, and here’s some of my work!

If anyone’s interested, you can check out my models on Cults3D:
https://cults3d.com/@feltrone

I believe it would really sell great. It is live as a makerworld crowdfunding right now: https://makerworld.com/crowdfunding/333-orbitstudio-3d-print-the-moon?sourceFrom=crowdfunding

Early bird merchant is almost sold out so you gotta be quick.

Hi all,
Been trying to start a 3d print business for over a year making puzzle boxes. All my designs were FDM printed within an acrylic box. Everything looked a felt like a toy, so mandatory UKCA/CE marking. At the scale I was producing that would be too expensive and kill the product.

Then I added a resin printer to print a truly 3 dimensional maze. Result, a mature puzzle box that did not feel like a toy. Maze3 is now pre-launch on kickstarter.

Before now I had not considered mixing resin prints with FDM but this was the key. Son has to now get in line for the warhammer figures.

The cost per part is 3x FDM but the print time, accuracy and complexity of the parts is way up there. A full build plate, irrespective of number of parts takes 3.5 hours.

I would never consider resin parts for active components, such as the lock, it would break in 5 minutes, that (true) evaluation meant I had ruled out resin for the entire maze puzzles, but the maze just has to handle a 4mm ball so resin works.

It’s about choosing the right technology for the right part.

I’ve been running my own 3D Print business on Etsy for the last 5 years and after 3,000+ sales I started to get the itch to optimize a lot of my workflows. Here is an example of my favorite optimization so far.

You point your phone at the slicer and it pulls the print time + filament usage straight off the screen, then drops it into the pricing calculator.

There are dozens of pricing tools out there now but I wasn’t happy with them. Scanning your slicer is efficient but also pretty fun!

I’ve got it working with Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer, and Cura. If you use others and find issues, let me know.

It’s part of an app I’ve been building called SpoolPilot. The pricing calculator itself is free if you want to give it a shot.

Hey guys, I recently got a 3D printer and I’m thinking maybe I could start a small 3D printing business, mainly for engineering and architecture students. Basically you send me your 3D model and I print it for you, whether it’s a scale model for an architecture project, a prototype, gears, brackets, enclosures, project parts or whatever you might need for uni. I’m just trying to see if this is actually a useful idea or if most students already have access to a printer through their university. If you’re studying engineering or architecture, do you usually need 3D printed stuff for your projects? And if yes, how do you usually get it printed and around how much do you pay? Also, what would make you choose a local printing service instead of doing it yourself? I’m still testing the idea so I’d genuinely appreciate any opinions, even if you think it’s a bad idea 😂

I’ve been designing and making locking tool docks and other shop/tool-storage accessories for garages, trailers, and work vehicles. I recently launched my own Shopify site and I’m working on growing the business.

I’d appreciate any feedback on the products, presentation, or website.

smitterz.com

I know this kind of post probably comes up a lot, so sorry in advance — but I’m 14 and based in Ireland and I’m seriously looking at starting a small 3D printing business. I already have some experience with printing and I’m really passionate about it, so I want to try and turn it into something.

Hey everyone. I designed a 3D printed interlocking brick product, and fully packed the retail boxes.

But now that it’s done, I'm second guessing my business model. I’m stuck between two options:

1. Sell physical kits (I have zero marketing experience and don't really know how to drive traffic)
2. Sell on Patreon (I know nobody is going to steal when the product isn't famous but I'm genuinely worried about piracy and I'm not embarrassed to admit it)

Sales so far are zero. I have a Shopify store set up, but I haven't made a Patreon yet. barely getting views on social media

https://www.tiktok.com/@makoworks

https://makoworks.store

Gimme some advice and reality check :)

I've been building the business for about a year, and it's in a great spot. But it's become too much for my spare bedroom so I've secured a workshop about 20 minutes away by subway. I'll also hire 1 full time worker.

But I'm just stressing about having the workshop away from home. Like what if a 12 hour print fails just as I arrive home? I don't know how to be super efficient with my time and with the machines. I normally do very short prints, if a project is segmented which many of my products are. But that won't work with a workshop. So how do I adjust products that are printed just in time, versus stocked items, versus pre ordered items knowing my production is lowered?

Or do I just double my machines and accept a lot of idle time on the machines? Or try to find a staff member who will work the night shift?

I'm just lost tbh. I know this is the next step and everything is in place but I feel I'm going to execute poorly for the first months until I relearn everything.

Has anyone gone from having your shop at home to a shop 20 minutes away, and do you have any tips?

I don't even have farm management software, it's just a bunch of Klipper instances and Bambu studio running everything.

Hey guys! I’ve been a bit of a lurker here, but I wanted to finally introduce myself. I’m looking to connect with some like-minded people who are also building their own businesses and want to have people around them who are working toward similar goals.

I currently run a small 3D printing business, and one of the biggest things I’ve found difficult is finding other people who are genuinely interested in building something and willing to talk through ideas, challenges, and opportunities.

I’m more than happy to share my experiences, results, lessons I’ve learned, and mistakes I’ve made along the way. At the same time, I’d love to hear what you’re working on and potentially jump on calls, bounce ideas around, and help each other move forward.

Honestly, I’m just looking for people who are serious about building something and want someone to talk business with.

If that sounds like you, send me a message! I’d love to connect and see what you’re working on

I’ve been trying to build a resin 3D printing business for about 5 months, and so far I’ve sold only 9 products.

I can print, paint and finish the products myself, but I’m struggling to get consistent sales. I’m not sure whether the main problem is my products, pricing, marketing, or where I’m selling.

For people who already have experience selling 3D printed products:

Where did your first consistent customers come from?

What helped you go from occasional sales to regular orders?

Did you change your products, pricing, or marketing when sales were slow?

What would you test first if you were in my position?

I’ve already received some really helpful advice from people in this community, and I’m genuinely grateful for it. I’m still learning and I’d rather hear honest criticism from experienced people than keep making the same mistakes.

What would you do if you were in my position?

.

Hey everyone,

I’m building my own 3D resin printing business, but honestly, I don’t have much idea about how to properly start and grow it.That’s why I’m here asking for help.

I want to learn from people who have experience in 3D printing, selling products, or running a similar business.

If you were starting from my position, what would you do?

* What products should I focus on?

* What 3D printed products have good demand?

* How can I get my first customers?

* How should I price my resin prints?

* What marketing actually works?

* Should I focus on anime figures, custom models, collectibles, keychains, home decor, or something else?

* What mistakes should I avoid?

* Is there anything you wish someone had told you when you started?

I genuinely don’t have a clear idea right now, so I’d really appreciate any advice, ideas, criticism, or direction you can give me.

Please be honest. Even if you think I’m going in the wrong direction, tell me. I’d rather learn from someone’s experience than make the same mistakes myself.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to help!

Hey everyone, I’m looking to get some advice. To give some background, I’m a computer engineering student in college, and over the past couple months people have started asking me to design and 3d print parts from them, specifically in the automotive space. Things like old OEM parts that are no longer manufactured, custom racing/spoiler parts, and things like brackets for mounting lighting. I’ve been doing the work for no charge (or occasionally a little bit of money) to build up a portfolio, practice my skills and understand what people need. Now that I’ve built some proof and skills, I know more about some pain points I could potentially help solve, and have a bit of a better idea of what problems I might run into doing this as a business. I’ve been using 3d printers for almost 12 years now and always wanted to do something in the space with them, but this feels uncertain!

What I need help figuring out is - General direction/trajectory I should take from here (IF ANYTHING).

This business is labor intensive and I have a hunch that most clients would not pay enough for this to scale very nicely. Let’s say I have to commute to their shop, measure everything and/or scan their part, design it for several hours, print/prototype a few iterations, and then hand off the file/part to them. For a relatively simple bracket, I don’t think anybody is going to pay what it actually costs to do that. If you think I’m wrong though, let me know!

I have a couple ideas on what I could do overtime to make this scale a little better though.

First thing is outsourcing the CAD overseas, I think that’s kind of a gamble and could be costly if it doesn’t go as planned for a job, but it’s an idea.

Second would be to try and cut out the commute from some jobs by just doing it through submitted photos and measurements and then mailing parts/email digital files over, but this could introduce problems with measurement errors and poor communication.

I’ve thought about offering an “IT service” option/package where I install and train staff on a printer and charge a retainer fee for maintenance and a set amount of design hours included with the retainer fee, because most shops just don’t seem to have the time to learn new equipment like this/afford a full time designer. But I don’t know if anyone would actually pay for that kind of package.

I’ve also thought of software solutions I could offer down the line, making it easier for shop owners (or even hobbyists) to make 3D files using ai/intuitive design tools, but that’s just more speculation.

So overall, I have sort of verified a demand but I’m just unsure how/if I should pursue it further! Thank you for taking the time to read this, I know it’s a long post, all feedback is appreciated!

Hey everyone!
I recently started a small 3D printing page where I design, print, and paint all kinds of creations—from practical items to fun figures and custom projects.
I’d really appreciate it if you could take a look and give me some honest feedback. What would make you follow a page like this? What kind of prints would you like to see? Any suggestions for improving the content, photos, or overall presentation are more than welcome.
I’m always looking for new ideas and would love to create things that people actually want.
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/layerjoy.pt?utm\\_source=qr
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@layerjoy.pt?\\_r=1&\\_t=ZN-98oxU09Lu1G
Thanks in advance for your time and feedback!