Value added.

It's tough to make a living as a contract manufacturer, I think. Someone can always do it cheaper. Someone can always do it faster. Someone can always do it better. Someone can always give better service. Combining all those things in the right proportions - good enough, fast enough, cheap enough, with enough customer service - so that one can make a living is very, very hard.

Don't be wedded to any particular form of the business, but let your customers guide you (at least to some extent). Levi Strauss thought he was going to make it rich selling tents. Henry Ford didn't succeed until his 3rd car business. Etc. Etc.

If you can find a way to structure things so that your customers aren't just paying for machine time, you'll be ahead (of course). :-)

I'm reminded of a store at a mall that was selling polished cubes of glass that had laser-etched 3D images inside. Let's see... Like this - http://www.3dlasergifts.com/ The materials aren't expensive, the process must be fairly quick. So as long as one can find customers, it should be fairly lucrative.

I dunno... Maybe little 3D-printed charms of some sort for motorcycle enthusiasts? http://i.materialise.com/materials/gold

Best of luck!

Cheers,
Scott.
(Who realizes he too often does little more than state the obvious here.)

Since consumables are the Key to Profit.

For instance. Right now, most people are paying at least $0.81 (ebay seller been on since 2002 with only 313 feedback???) but usually $1.10 (up to $1.40) an ounce for PLA (PolyLactic Acid) in 1KG 1.75mm or 3.0mm filament form. (all including shipping)

I just started looking at Virgin PLA from China in "natural" or colorless in pelletized form. Anywhere from $2.28 to $4.70 a pound with a 8-16 week Lead time and a minimum drop (for more expensive rates) of 20 tons ("Full Truck Load"). Also for as little as $1.20 to $4.00 a pound for 50-100 Metric Ton purchase quantities, also with 6-14 week lead time. Those higher prices are for Colored and Special (glow-in-the-dark or metallic) pellets. Similar prices for ABS, some even cheaper.

Now, I found a "exceptionally clean" regrind operation that sells by FTL only. Shipped to me in GRR, with no customs problems, is $0.35/lb. A FTL of 40,000 @ $0.35 is $14,000. (but no ABS)

The process is:

1. Get the pellets/regrind
1. Obtain a continuous extrusion machine (with cooling bath setup) for 1.75mm and/or 3mm filaments.
2. Obtain colorant batches to color the natural stuff.
3. Get a *CLEAN* cement mixer.
4. Mix colored formulas.
5. Extrude filament into a cooling bath.
6. Wind up thousands of feet on *BIG* wooden spools.
7. Store in de-humidified environment until needed or on demand setup with auto feed.
8. Use "cardboard spools" for 1#, 1Kg, 5#, 5Kg orders for shipping out (for additional $2)
8a. Re-Use plastic spools sent by customer for recycle use, usually 1#, 1Kg, 5#.
8b. Loose coils of filament in any weight wanted/needed up max ship weight or size (special considerations for large shipping also considered)
9. Have plastic 3D printing part of business to supplement and do other stuff.

Expand into UV Resin 3D Printing. Retail gallon of UV Resin is $275 or about $2.20 a floz. Again, from China, in 400 Gallon Pallet sized containers, minimum orders are $37/gal @16 or about $237,000 for a FTL. Resin is a whole different ball of wax. Handling is difficult and messy. So, not as much savings for people. Similar kind of breakout for Resin... of course at sensible costs.

Expand into Gypsum/Resin Full color 3D printing and consumables.

Expand into the Metallic 3D printing and consumables.

Expand into more stuff.

So, I'm looking hard.

Post #374,093 by Another Scott 4/20/13 7:17:34 PM Reply	Value added. It's tough to make a living as a contract manufacturer, I think. Someone can always do it cheaper. Someone can always do it faster. Someone can always do it better. Someone can always give better service. Combining all those things in the right proportions - good enough, fast enough, cheap enough, with enough customer service - so that one can make a living is very, very hard. Don't be wedded to any particular form of the business, but let your customers guide you (at least to some extent). Levi Strauss thought he was going to make it rich selling tents. Henry Ford didn't succeed until his 3rd car business. Etc. Etc. If you can find a way to structure things so that your customers aren't just paying for machine time, you'll be ahead (of course). :-) I'm reminded of a store at a mall that was selling polished cubes of glass that had laser-etched 3D images inside. Let's see... Like this - http://www.3dlasergifts.com/ The materials aren't expensive, the process must be fairly quick. So as long as one can find customers, it should be fairly lucrative. I dunno... Maybe little 3D-printed charms of some sort for motorcycle enthusiasts? http://i.materialise.com/materials/gold Best of luck! Cheers, Scott. (Who realizes he too often does little more than state the obvious here.)
Post #374,097 by folkert 4/20/13 9:40:49 PM Reply	I'm looking at the consumables... Since consumables are the Key to Profit. For instance. Right now, most people are paying at least $0.81 (ebay seller been on since 2002 with only 313 feedback???) but usually $1.10 (up to $1.40) an ounce for PLA (PolyLactic Acid) in 1KG 1.75mm or 3.0mm filament form. (all including shipping) I just started looking at Virgin PLA from China in "natural" or colorless in pelletized form. Anywhere from $2.28 to $4.70 a pound with a 8-16 week Lead time and a minimum drop (for more expensive rates) of 20 tons ("Full Truck Load"). Also for as little as $1.20 to $4.00 a pound for 50-100 Metric Ton purchase quantities, also with 6-14 week lead time. Those higher prices are for Colored and Special (glow-in-the-dark or metallic) pellets. Similar prices for ABS, some even cheaper. Now, I found a "exceptionally clean" regrind operation that sells by FTL only. Shipped to me in GRR, with no customs problems, is $0.35/lb. A FTL of 40,000 @ $0.35 is $14,000. (but no ABS) The process is: 1. Get the pellets/regrind 1. Obtain a continuous extrusion machine (with cooling bath setup) for 1.75mm and/or 3mm filaments. 2. Obtain colorant batches to color the natural stuff. 3. Get a CLEAN cement mixer. 4. Mix colored formulas. 5. Extrude filament into a cooling bath. 6. Wind up thousands of feet on BIG wooden spools. 7. Store in de-humidified environment until needed or on demand setup with auto feed. 8. Use "cardboard spools" for 1#, 1Kg, 5#, 5Kg orders for shipping out (for additional $2) 8a. Re-Use plastic spools sent by customer for recycle use, usually 1#, 1Kg, 5#. 8b. Loose coils of filament in any weight wanted/needed up max ship weight or size (special considerations for large shipping also considered) 9. Have plastic 3D printing part of business to supplement and do other stuff. Expand into UV Resin 3D Printing. Retail gallon of UV Resin is $275 or about $2.20 a floz. Again, from China, in 400 Gallon Pallet sized containers, minimum orders are $37/gal @16 or about $237,000 for a FTL. Resin is a whole different ball of wax. Handling is difficult and messy. So, not as much savings for people. Similar kind of breakout for Resin... of course at sensible costs. Expand into Gypsum/Resin Full color 3D printing and consumables. Expand into the Metallic 3D printing and consumables. Expand into more stuff. So, I'm looking hard. -- greg@gregfolkert.net PGP key 1024D/B524687C 2003-08-05 Fingerprint: E1D3 E3D7 5850 957E FED0 2B3A ED66 6971 B524 687C
Post #374,099 by Another Scott 4/20/13 10:09:07 PM Reply	Ah. Neat. Good luck!

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