3DPrinting

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3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

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Who here is making money 3D printing? (self.3dprinting)

submitted 1 year ago by lando55 to c/3dprinting

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I am a hobbyist, and my job will probably never require me to design and print anything for work.

I do really enjoy the process of conceptualizing, designing, and printing, and have done so for myself and some close acquaintances.

I've spent many hours/days learning the tools of the trade and was wondering if there was an opportunity to make some money as a side gig. Has anyone been successful doing this, and how did you go about it?

Here are a couple of my early designs, I plan to upload more once I clean things up a bit.

https://www.thingiverse.com/landon8848/designs

(page 2) 16 comments

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[–] all_out_of_plastic 1 points 1 year ago

I make a small amount of money selling my original designs as prints on etsy. It's not a lot, but thats how i want it so that it's manageable with my single printer. My goal is to get the etsy gig just big enough to 100% pay for this hobby.

[–] KaJashey 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I print FDM. I've paid for the printers and make a little money each month. Not enough to live on but enough to finance the hobby.

My mom hooked me up with a teacher who wanted a watercolor insert for altoid tins. The lady was enthusiastic and would pay me every year to make them for all her classes. The design she pointed me to was a BSD license but I remade it anyway. I'd make like 100 prints at $5 each. Made like $500 X 4 years.

I haven't heard from her for two years. I don't know if she still teaching or found another printer.

I make some photographay related devices and give them away on printables/thingverse. For the most popular designs I mention that they are for sale on etsy. I know there are a lot of people interested in the things but without a 3d printer. I'm also not shy on mentioning my designs on social media if they are a solution to that person's photographic problem. On etsy I don't mention thingiverse/printables except for one disability related item. The etsy sales are about $120 a month.

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