Hi guys
I was wondering if I could get all your opinions on something.
a) Hows often do you use your 3d printer/s?
b) Would you print something for a stranger? If yes, what would you expect in return? If money, how much for a downloaded phone case, if not money, then what other incentive will make you want to print something for somebody else?
c) Which brand and model printer do you own?
I’d be extremely grateful if I could get your input on this.
Thank you guys
Bobby
People would likely be more inclined to share this information if they knew why you were asking.
okay, apologies for not explaining my reason for asking.
I own a Makerbot Replicator 2 and have been thinking about selling my services because I’ve had a few people asking me to print stuff for them. So I was wondering if other people have done the same or to a bigger scale (not shapeway scale).
And my last question was to get an idea as to what the most popular printer is on the market just as a poll type question
check out http://3dhubs.com, you can compare the prices other hubs are demanding
There’s a web site for offering your printing services, but I forget the name at the moment.
EDIT: @foo_bar got it.
a) at this point probably a couple things a day.
b) no [1]
c) A Makerbot Replicator 1 (Dual)
[1]: For someone I don’t know at all there are too many things that can go wrong, many non-enthusiasts don’t have a realistic idea about what is and what isn’t printable yet, they have demanding schedules, and they don’t have cad files. Now if someone I had just met said “I’m looking for someone to print this thing from thingiverse for me.” I would have that conversation, but likely point them to the library which has a printer.
But for me, I’m not trying to ‘earn back’ the cost of my printer. I’m just learning with it (and its cheaper than a college course on CAD/CAM 
That said, custom manufacturing has been a ‘thing’ for at least 300 years and there are lots and lots of folks who make extra money by offering their time and equipment in the production of small lots of things. If you are interested in becoming a ‘job shop’ I suggest you create a small LLC (its pretty easy to do with the Nolo Press books) and then figure out what your time is worth (much more than you think) and start printing things for people. If you do a good job they will tell others and that will lead to more work. And when you get more work than you can handle, raise your prices until you have balanced that out, and when you have enough money to buy another machine, do so and double your production, and when your monthly production is enough to hire an assistant, do that. And when the monthly income is enough to pay for a shop, rent a shop. Etc.
a) This depends on what other projects I have going on… It varies anywhere from once to dozens of times a week.
b) Yes, but if I’m not being paid it would have to be for something that I “believe in”, like volunteering my time/printer to make prosthetics. I’ve printed things for friends and co-workers and I usually just ask for some beer in return.
c) I have a modified PrintrBot Simple.
Mmmmm beer the universal currency.