We’re all familiar with traditional 2D printing—printing
out documents like letters or memos on paper.
3D printing is the process of making a solid,
three-dimensional object out of a digital
file.
With recent advances in this technology, people
can print everything from hearing aids to
design products like furniture.
The best part is that it requires less material
than traditional manufacturing methods.
Today, 3D printing is mostly either a fun
(if expensive) hobby, or an important part
of a company’s industrial supply chain.
But research firms predict the field to grow
into a multi-billion dollar industry in the
next five years.
Is this an opportunity you can take advantage
of?
I’m Eric Goldschein, editor at Fundera,
and if you’re interested in starting up
a 3D printing business, this video will help
you cover the bases and get your venture off
the ground.
Here are five steps to starting your own 3D
printing business.
Step 1: Cover the entrepreneurship basics
Whether your hobby or side hustle is 3D printing
or anything else, if you want to make it into
a business, you need to cover some of the
basics.
We’ve got a comprehensive guide on the 10
steps you need to take when starting a business,
which is linked in the description below.
But I’ll put out the high-level stuff for
you right now.
You need to:
Write a business plan.
This means doing market research, selecting
a certain 3D printing niche (more on this
in a second), understanding how much funding
you need to get started, and planning for
how you’ll grow, where you’ll find customers,
etc.
This is where you write the story of your
business from beginning to end, as you see
it today.
Choose your business’s legal structure.
Will you be an LLC, S-Corp, or sole proprietor?
There are financial and legal benefits to
each.
Register your business.
This includes registering a business name,
getting a tax ID number, and registering for
state and local taxes.
Obtain funding.
Some of what you’ll need to run a 3D printing
business isn’t cheap—like the printer.
Do you have the cash on hand to pay for your
startup investments?
If not, where will you get your funds?
Friends and family?
A startup loan?
Time to start researching this.
Get some business financial tools.
Look for a business credit card and business
bank account so you can separate your business
and personal finances, and the money your
business makes has a place to live.
There’s more to this process, including
potentially finding a storefront and hiring
employees, but let’s move on to the next
steps, since they’ll dictate the size, scope,
and details of your 3D printing business.
Step 2: Choose your niche
You can print all kinds of things with a 3D
printer—but that doesn’t mean you’ll
print everything.
Industries that use 3D printing include automotive,
aviation, and aerospace.
As a small business owner starting out in
this arena, you’re probably not going to
3D print on that scale (though that could
be an option for the future as you grow).
To start, pick a field where you see an opportunity
to serve consumers or other businesses.
That could mean designing and printing consumer
products like eyewear and jewelry, or healthcare
products like crowns and dentures.
If you need some inspiration, the Fundera
team put together a list of 3D printing business
ideas, covering everything from custom-made
tools and rare parts to sustainable fashion
and collectibles.
We’ll link that in the description below
as well.
The niche of 3D printing that you choose will
dictate everything, of course—but most pressingly,
it will dictate the materials you need, the
printer you use, and other important startup
investments.
Step 3: Select your software
As you probably know, a major part of 3D printing
is building 3D models, and you can’t do
that with Microsoft Paint.
You’ll need 3D modeling software that is
robust enough for business use.
When getting started, you can find open source
and otherwise free software with really simple
tools and features to help you get a handle
on how to design 3D models.
Well-regarded, popular options include Tinkercad,
Blender, and DesignSpark Mechanical.
Eventually, you will want to upgrade to a
professional version of certain softwares
or industrial grade software, which can cost
hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year
in licensing fees.
These fees will be worth it—the paid software
options will have incredible capabilities
and tools that help you model, animate, and
render professional-level products.
You may also need “slicing” tools, which
is software that takes a CAD model, slices
it into layers and turns your model into G-code.
Your 3D printer reads this G-code and prints
the model layer by layer.
Does all of this sound confusing to you?
It may be worth it to invest in a training
course on 3D modeling and animation so you
can understand how to best use the tools available
to you.
You’ll save yourself hours of trial-and-error
in the long run.
Look into local courses or research what’s
available online.
Step 4: Invest in your hardware and materials
In order to 3D print, you’ll need a 3D printer,
as well as the materials necessary to create
your products.
You have two options here: Turn to a third-party
printer, or invest in buying your own.
In the former scenario, you become something
of a 3D printing middleman; in the latter,
you handle all the production yourself.
If you want to buy your own printer, consider
questions such as how many items you’ll
typically need to print, the scale of those
options (are they small, like eyeglass frames,
or large, like entire homes?), how detailed
your creations are, and what material you’ll
use.
Different printers will use different processes
and require different materials.
There are a handful of different methods you
can use to print.
They include—and here comes the hard part
of the video—Vat Photopolymerisation, Material
Jetting, Binder Jetting, Material Extrusion,
and others.
In order to decide the process for you, check
out 3Dprinting.com’s rundown of each printing
process.
We’ll link that in the description, too[a].
No doubt the product you’re looking to print
will dictate what process you use.
Step 5: Begin marketing your business and
making connections
You’ve got your printer, your software,
your materials, and your ideas.
The last part of starting a 3D printing business
is the part where you, you know, do business.
You need to find customers and clients to
sell your products to.
Right now, the market is fairly limited for
straight up selling wares from your 3D printer.
It will be difficult to compete on price with
products manufactured and sold by larger firms.
You may be able to carve out a niche selling
specific items, such as customizable earbuds
or artwork.
To market these items, you’ll need to set
up an ecommerce site, and use a mix of traditional
and digital marketing (including email and
social media) to get the word out about your
business.
If you’re looking to create a B2B business,
attending trade shows, using direct mailers,
and cold calling are just a few of the ways
you can drum up business.
3D printing may also just be one part of a
larger business you have, which you use to
complete custom and unique orders.
3D printing is still coming into its own,
so prepare to play the long game when it comes
to finding profitable ways to use this emerging
technology.
That does it for our rundown on how to start
a 3D printing business.
For more information on starting any kind
of business, visit Fundera.com/ledger, and
subscribe to this channel.
Thanks for watching.
[a]link: https://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/
