Hello my name is Noah Schreiber and I have been running a small scale 3D printing business at home with my personal 3D printer. I have been having problems where I am only paid $1 an hour ETA of 3D prints. Although people don’t usually ask me for CAD design I don’t often get paid for that since it isn’t often asked and when it is asked it is down right dirty and simple.
I would like to get paid enough to live off of. I only have one printer and I don’t have enough space for more printers probably. I feel like if I charge more than what I am currently people won’t do business with me because of competition reasons. Any ideas for how to make a living off of this? Thanks!
@nschreiber0813 Usually, these kind of businesses are going for volume in order to profit off this. Basically, the more you have printers, prints and customers, the more you should be able to live off this.
This would certainly need you to think on the subject, read a few books on business models. Only you can find a good business model that can fit to your needs!
You might also want to quote based on time. Most printer software can estimate how long a build will take. The customer would have to send you the part, you’d run it through the software, multiply by the number of hours needed, and the hourly rate and voila. The hourly rate should take into account material used (cost), printer amortization and potential re-runs (in case something happens) plus profit. You’ll also need to place the part to minimize build time. Offering free CAD kills all potential profit - that should be quoted separately. As AudioVox indicated, you are competing with companies which have a selection of $100k+ 3D printers. You may want to improve your chances by including a small laser engraver (personalize a smart phone case for example).
