Hello everyone, I’m posting here in the hopes of finding a UK based 3d printer. I’m a designer planning to launch crowdfunded series of design products and just recently I realized that my concepts would suit 3D printing perfectly.
My only issue is that I don’t actually have a 3D printer, plus I don’t yet have the funding to invest into much resources which is a minor set back as I would like to do some prototyping.
As a result I’m hoping to find someone interested in working with me on this project. I mostly require various types of fittings, connectors and clamps. These fittings will be required to connect poles/tubes/rods together. This means that the fittings will need to be relatively strong and suitable for bolts etc.
Providing the project achieves funding this could potentially grow into a long term joint venture if I find someone particularly entrepreneurial and/or knowledgeable about the 3D printing side of things.
First off, welcome to the 3D printing community! That said:
If you cannot even invest enough money into your own 3D printer, you have no business whatsoever running any kind of crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a huge beast to tackle and you’re not going to be able to do it without investing quite a bit (easily a couple thousand) into your own development.
I would probably spend the time and find a local hackerspace, or someone on 3dhubs (or makexyz) to print some pieces for you, and simply pay the reasonable rates that they ask for parts. Understand the drawbacks. Understand the benefits. There’s a lot you need to learn before even entertaining the idea of crowd funding.
@ThantiK
The crowdfunding campaign would be geared specifically towards early creative prototyping (materials & form). I think it’s perfectly valid to use crowdfunding in my case. Kickstarter for example was established specifically to help “starving artists” startup a project.
I could probably launch the project without 3D printing to be honest, initially I was planning to simply use rope which gives you an idea of how low tech the project is.
Owen I’m going to echo a bit what @ThantiK said here. A 3D printer like the Printrbot Metal is 540 pounds in the UK, with a heated bed pehaps as much as 650 pounds. Save up that much and get your own printer, and figure out what 3D printing can and cannot do. It will be a lot less stressful for you and you won’t end up being lifelong enemies with a 3D printer owner. I say that because someone with no experience, the pressure of meeting a crowdfunded obligation, treading on the goodwill of a 3D printer owner always turns out bad. Trust me on this.
Even if you don’t want to wait to save up the money find a university or hacker space you can visit and learn on their printer.
Thanks Chuck, it’s true that it would not be a good idea to rely to much on a second party for the 3D printing side of things. Part of the funding would definitely go towards my own 3D printer. I just figured that some basic custom 3D parts could allow me protitype a product with 3D printed user modifications in mind. In the mean time I have ordered some metal fixtures and various basic materials to prototype with.
I should add that the reason I asked “what do I need to learn?” was not to claim that I have nothing to learn. But rather that it’s an assumption to suggest I don’t have any understandings about crowdfunding, design, materials etc. Part of the prototyping process is to determine the best solutions and to “learn” from the the conducted testing.
