Business on a 3D printer in a small town.

The development of 3D equipment capabilities is one of the main trends in the global high-tech market. 3D printers are steadily gaining popularity in various fields of manufacturing, science, medicine, and even individual entrepreneurship. 3D printers for business are also rapidly gaining popularity.

Many companies around the world are already creating unique products that are ready to revolutionize the world of things we are used to. However, in Russia there is a stereotype that you can make money on 3D technologies only by becoming a dealer of a large international company. This is wrong.

Experts believe that in the coming years we will see widespread integration of the “print on a 3D printer” button into all possible applications, games, etc. People will print in widespread 3D printing services, the main source of income of which will be a flurry of individual orders.

How can you make money on 3D equipment today?

3D Services Center: Custom Printing and Scanning

Despite the active development of the 3D industry, not everyone has access to 3D scanning and 3D printing services. This is why specialized 3D service centers are becoming increasingly popular. In such centers, anyone can scan the desired object or quickly print a project of any complexity on a 3D printer. It's fast, high quality and convenient.

What equipment is needed to open a 3D services center?

Firstly, to print a variety of colored products, figurines of people and souvenirs, you will need a ProJet 460Plus business 3D printer or other models of the ProJet x60 series. Such printers print with gypsum powder and are capable of creating both white and full-color products. The ProJet 3D printer will allow you to carry out a wide range of orders - from human figures and game characters to architectural models and product prototypes.

Dentists and jewelers will discover new business opportunities with the ProJet 1200 3D printer, which will bring even small production to the forefront. In addition, this business 3D printer is very useful for printing small products for micro-molding, electronics prototyping and souvenir production.

MakerBot 3D printers are perfect for printing plastic products. Any of these machines will allow you to quickly and efficiently create products from various types PLA and ABS plastic.

However, before an object can be reproduced, it must be modeled in a CAD program or scanned using a 3D scanner. The most interesting scanners from the point of view of private business are two models from Artec - Eva and Spider. The first model is ideal for high-precision scanning of objects average size. For example, with its help you can scan a person in just 15 minutes. Spider has high resolution with accurate data capture. This 3D scanner is better for scanning small objects such as chips, jewelry, etc.

Studio for 3D printing of human figures

This service is very popular in the USA, Western Europe, China and Japan. In Russia, this market is also developing rapidly. In Moscow alone, thousands of people, wanting to follow global trends, order smaller copies of themselves and their loved ones.

The market in the regions is much less developed, which is why entrepreneurs have unique opportunity occupy a niche and profit from providing 3D scanning and printing services.

For scanning people, the already mentioned 3D scanner Artec Eva will be optimal. It is lightweight, silent and absolutely safe for health. Absolutely anyone can operate such a scanner after a short training. You don't need any special training.

The ProJet 660Pro business 3D printer is perfect for printing miniature copies of people. A large print chamber and high productivity will allow you to produce up to 20 figures per day. This 3D printer guarantees excellent print quality and reproduces up to 90% of the colors available in Photoshop. This will make your products as close to the original as possible.

Advantages of business in the field of 3D services

• Innovative projects in a low-competitive sector
• Modern equipment and Consumables at affordable prices
• Wide range of related services
• Fast payback
• Technical support

Where to buy 3D equipment?

You can purchase 3D scanners or 3D printers for your business from Globatek.3D. Our company is the official dealer of the world's best manufacturers of 3D equipment in Russia. We have accumulated extensive experience in selecting production and business solutions for the use of 3D equipment in a variety of industries.

Modern technologies open up additional features to earn money. For example, it will allow you to combine an interesting and favorite activity with work. However, the success of the business will largely depend on the correct choice of device. Let's look at the main parameters that will help you choose the best 3D printer for your small business.

Key parameters to consider when choosing a 3D printer for a small business

Let's look at the main selection criteria that will help you purchase the best 3D printer for your small business.

Price. Modern 3D printer manufacturers offer devices in a wide variety of ranges. If you plan to produce unique models using the device highest quality, then products under $1000 should not even be considered. An equally important parameter is the cost of consumables. As a rule, you will have to pay 35-60 dollars per kilogram for a spool of plastic thread. The price is affected by the type of plastic, its quality and color. When choosing the best 3D printer for your small business, it is important to take note of the manufacturer. The reason is simple - in the future a certain part may be required for it, if official representatives practically no, ordering it will be extremely difficult.

Types of plastics used. Petroleum products, sugar cane or corn are used to make plastic used in household 3D printers. In the first case, ABS plastic is made, in the second, PLA plastic. The first option is characterized by high durability and resistance to elevated temperatures, the second is environmentally friendly, it is used for the manufacture of plastic toys for small children, as well as dishes. The optimal printer option is a device capable of printing with both types of plastics.

Maximum dimensions of manufactured products. Budget models of devices allow the production of parts whose sides do not exceed 120 mm. When you buy a 3D printer for 3 thousand dollars, you can produce products whose volume can reach 30 cm² and weight - 5 kg. You also need to take into account the possibility of the required products being glued together or assembled from elements. In the latter case, the maximum dimensions of the structure are not limited by the size of the products manufactured by 3D printers.

Print nozzle size. An important parameter when choosing a device for 3D printing is the maximum resolution. Today you can purchase 3D printers that can deposit material 50 microns thick - it cannot be distinguished by the human eye. This allows you to “print” products with ideal smoothness. Cheap devices will allow you to obtain a resolution of 250 microns. But to start a home production, you can purchase a printer with a nozzle size of 100 microns. However, you need to remember that the higher the quality of the “print”, the longer it takes.

Possibility of multi-color “printing”. Only expensive 3D printers can produce prototypes with multiple colors. Their design includes several print heads. When completing a task, they are combined. Such devices will allow you to obtain results of the highest quality. If it is possible to tint the products manually, this will allow you to achieve considerable savings. Alternatively, you can make a structure from various components, to produce each of them, you can change the color of the thread.

3D printers ideal for small businesses

Since the advent of 3D printing technology, it has begun to gain popularity and improve. Today she has weak sides, such as size limitations and low prototyping speed. Therefore, if you expand your business and increase your needs, you won’t be able to use just a 3D printer; you will have to purchase additional equipment.

However, developments do not stand still. Hewlett-Packard has announced the development of a new 3D printing device that is specifically designed for small businesses. Its important advantages are:

Increased 3D printing speed using an advanced operating principle that replaces traditional extrusion

The cost of $15,000 is acceptable for equipment of this class

If we take into account the declared price, we can conclude that the product is aimed at industrial small businesses that aim to seriously provide 3D services. This price is simply prohibitive for household use.

So, we've looked at how to choose the best 3D printer for your small business. Taking into account the recommendations provided, you can choose the optimal device to achieve your goals.

3D printing is far from new in the industry, but modern technologies made it possible to use a 3D printer even at home. Now you can find compact and affordable models that can fit on a table next to a conventional laser or inkjet printer.

Classification

Currently, there are 7 main 3D printing technologies:

1. Fused Deposition (FDM). The material is heated, positioned in the desired area, applied as a drop, strip, etc., and after cooling it hardens into the required shape.
2. Polyjet (photopolymer printing), the raw material is only a special polymer that hardens when exposed to UV radiation.
3. Laser Baking (LENS, an acronym for Laser Engineered Net Shaping) is one of the few technologies that allows high-precision printing from durable materials such as metal, ceramics, etc. The sprayed powder is baked on the fly at the desired point by a focused laser.
4. Cutting and gluing thin sheets (LOM, an abbreviation for Laminated Object Manufacturing), the future object is laid out from thin sheets of raw materials (the latter are cut with a special knife or laser) layer by layer, at the end baking or heating may be required to glue the laminate.
5. Stereolithography, a laser with high precision, causes local solidification of the polymer in a large container, layer by layer.
6. laser sintering is a variation of the technology of baking powder material with a laser, in many ways similar to stereolithography.
7. Layer-by-layer application of glue and base - 3DP (abbreviation for Three Dimensional Printing). This involves alternating layers of powdered material and glue.

Rare, unusual and most exotic business ideas from around the world

Each technology has its own advantages and disadvantages, among which the main ones are:

• permission,
• print speed,
• cost and availability of consumables.

3D printing using plastics (as the most accessible and cheapest materials) with small part sizes has gained the most popularity in everyday life.

3D printer: what can be done as a business

Depending on the application and technology, 3D printers can be used for direct production of individual products according to ready-made templates or to order, as well as as additional equipment at one of the stages of work/service provision:

In the industrial sector

1. Production of test samples of components and assemblies
2. Acceleration of individual stages of production (production of particularly complex parts)
3. Design verification
4. Production of casting molds
5. And so on.

In architecture

1. Production of complete statues or their fragments according to individual orders
2. Fast printing of miniature toy models
3. Printing complex decorative elements

In medicine

1. Printing fillings, crowns or dentures
2. Rapid cultivation of donor organs/tissues
3. Creation of prosthetics according to individual parameters

In food production

1. Applying three-dimensional paintings to cakes
2. Creation of high quality decors

Construction

1. Rapid construction of concrete house frames
2. Laying bricks given program without manual labor

Advertising

1. Creating three-dimensional layouts
2. Printing unique advertising items and symbols

Sewing business

1. Printing of custom fittings
2. Creation of decorative elements for clothing and jewelry

Other accessories/products

1. Smartphone cases
2. Original dishes
3. Small souvenirs and other gift products
4. Logic toys and construction sets
5. Non-standard furniture fittings
6. Key rings
7. Jewelry/Decoration
8. And so on.

Opening of a sushi bar

And this is far from full list business ideas with a 3D printer and applications of 3D printing.

3D printer - business idea with plastic figures (souvenir products)

There are a lot of options for building a working business model. Below we will dwell in more detail on the creation of original game sets based on online games, etc.

Be careful, printing of character models and elements of games, films and other works may be prohibited by the company that owns the trademark or brand.

The best option would be to create sets of models based on your own design, register your trademark and document your intellectual property rights.

Thus, there are 2 development paths:

1. Release of sets board games(With playing field, original rules of the game and other attributes);
2. Manufacturing and retail / wholesale trade only game models.

If the first option is the most far-sighted, then the second is much simpler to implement and affordable for the initial investment. More on the latter below.

Business 3d printer where to start (starting investments)

To start a project, in addition to registering as legal entity you will need:

1. Buying a 3D printer. Cost depends on functionality, accuracy and speed of printing, technology used and consumables. To create plastic figures, you will need a 3D printer that works with plastic, with high positioning accuracy (up to 50 microns). A working volume of 30 cm will be more than enough. Such models cost about 165 thousand rubles. (for example, 3DISON PRO/Korea, Printbox3D 180/Russia, etc.), prices for professional models reach several million rubles.
2. Purchase of consumables. A special plastic filament (ABS, PLA, PVA, etc.) will be used for printing. Cost about 1400 rubles. per kilogram. You will need several of the most popular colors (4-5 bobbins).
3. Operator's workplace. Personal Computer– from 20 thousand rubles. Access to the Internet – from 700 rubles/month. A set of software for working with the printer, as well as for modeling parts, can be found completely free of charge (under GPL licenses, etc., for example, Cura, CraftWare, TincerCAD, Autodesk 123D Design, etc.).
4. Renting a workspace for printing and storing products greatly depends on the region, location in the city’s infrastructure, and the opportunities provided by the landlord. Prices for commercial area of ​​15 sq. m. start from 9-11 thousand rubles.
5. Budget for advertising and creating your own website. If the site can be created on free platforms, then there is no way to refuse advertising in print and online publications. The amount allocated monthly is from 6 thousand rubles.

Hello 3D Today!

My name is Vasily Kiselev, I am the owner and managing director of the Top 3D Shop company and today I want to talk about how I developed my business without entrepreneurial experience and knowledge.

On this moment We have been on the market for about four years, and for two years now we have confidently held our position as a leader in the personal segment of 3D equipment (3D printers and 3D scanners). Last 2016, we approached a turnover of 300 million rubles and continue to actively develop.

I am often asked what is the secret of our success small company, and since the articles on RBC and The Village do not reveal some details, I decided to write a short post about it.
Moreover, we have been blogging on 3D Today for quite some time, but we forgot to introduce ourselves.

About Me

I had a penchant for technical disciplines and therefore, after technical school, through an internship program I ended up in one of energy companies with the typical name “TGK-1”. While working, at the same time he studied at the Polytechnic University to become an engineer of gas and steam turbines and was very far from entrepreneurship.

The work at the corporation was routine, mostly paper-based, and consisted of supporting the construction of energy facilities.

The only thing it gave was experience in paperwork, stability and voluntary health insurance, which you hardly use at 25.

Career growth in such a structure is a very rare and optional event. You can sit in your place for years and not get a single opportunity to improve or increase your income.

Working on the client’s side gave me some knowledge in the field of project management, but the work process itself was no longer inspiring: there is dust and dirt outside the window, and ineffective paperwork turns you into a zombie.

I felt the need for a new activity, a source of knowledge and additional income. Something had to be changed, all that remained was to understand which direction to move.

At first I was absorbed in odd jobs in the event industry. My colleague and I free time helped in organizing weddings.

This activity provided work experience at the same time as big amount contractors, an understanding of working with money within your own business, and a general understanding of running a small business.

All this happened in parallel with the main work and bore fruit, but the desire to fundamentally change something did not disappear.

The matter was decided by chance. One day, while browsing the news feeds, I suddenly came across news about the release of the legendary 3D printer Makerbot Replicator 2. It was 2012, this topic was quite new and not particularly promoted at that time, and it interested me.

I watched several videos, read feature articles on foreign websites and felt unusually interested.

The wow effect was achieved: you understand that this is the very future that will soon pass by and become part of the present if you don’t pay attention to it right now.

Immediately there was a desire to purchase a miracle device, and just to find out in more detail how things are going in this area.

I Googled stores, scoured Avito and Yandex Market, and found out that in St. Petersburg there is not a single specialized company that would specifically sell equipment. Not a single trustworthy company in this area in the entire huge city. A completely new empty market, and so interesting too.

Start

All that remained was to study the demand in practice and find funds to get started.

As a test copy, I ordered a MakerBot Replicator 2 on ebay, the same one I saw in the news. I was lucky that I did not suffer the fate of the author of this topic.

The first “catch” is the first printout on the first printer received.

Having created accounts and created offers on message boards, I sat down to study video courses on creating and designing websites from lynda.com. Responses to the ads came almost immediately, which once again confirmed the correctness of the choice of niche. Without hesitation, I registered the domain print3dspb.ru to distinguish myself from the Moscow companies that existed at that time.

The first printers, ordered with our own money, were successfully sold in a matter of days - they were literally torn away.

As you understand, at first there was no office, the first clients came for demonstration and purchase directly to my home, and it was terrible.

Of course, at the very beginning there was not 100% confidence in success, there were no similar companies in St. Petersburg, there was no information in the media, I did not have any entrepreneurial experience, and the market was just emerging.

But the demand was obvious, and therefore it was decided to transfer the activities into a civilized direction, for which a legal entity was formed.

By that time, I had completed the first website, which is now funny to remember myself, set up Yandex.Direct and AdWords, began to study SEO and involved a work colleague in the matter - the same one with whom we were organizing celebrations. He liked the idea and invested his savings - 1 million rubles.

We purchased more printers, rented workspaces in a coworking space, and hired a couple more people - a sales manager and an engineer to service and set up equipment.

The first office in a coworking space.

At first I had to combine everything: old work, studying, organizing your own business, hiring people, finding suppliers, logistics and a bunch of other little things, everything happened at the same time. And at first it was difficult, but also exciting at the same time.

The first sales motivated me to immerse myself in work even more and I almost didn’t feel tired.

I had to acquire competencies that I had never thought about before, and delve into things that were completely new to me.

Luck and diligence are two important components of a successful start. Both factors are equally important. Without hard work, patience and a fair amount of perfectionism, no amount of luck will help develop a business.

Development

There was a catastrophic lack of knowledge. Fundamental things, for example, building a sales department, financial planning, organization of procurement and warehouse - had to be decided on the fly.

At the same time, you constantly ask yourself:

Because there is no one to ask.

Under these conditions, I was always tormented by the thirst to compare the business processes of my company with others, albeit equally small, but successful.

The St. Petersburg business club helped me with this - the Verkh business school, which is still continues to help aspiring entrepreneurs like me.

The business meetings held there to exchange experiences, which were attended by owners of large companies and top managers of corporations, gave a lot useful information on organizing your business at an early stage.

In particular, it was there that more in-depth knowledge was gained on organizing the work of the sales department, for example, on the competent construction of a motivation system, the intricacies of working with different legal entities, marketing and much more. It was a truly rewarding experience.

We examined various cases, including mine. By the way, no one believed in us as equipment sellers. All the critics unanimously said that we would be gobbled up by “box movers” - chain retailers, and the only area we need to concentrate on is services (3D printing, 3D scanning and modeling). But I was sure that this would not happen, since the equipment is complex, expertise is required, and the transaction cycle takes up to several months.

Despite criticism from the club's skeptics, my business model continued to work.

After some time, seeing that we were making our first successes, one of the eminent and experienced investors and the then-current top manager of a large retailer wanted to become our mentor and co-founder, receiving 25% of the shares and without investing his own funds in the business . At this stage I almost made a fatal mistake.

Knowing about his experience and successes, I decided to agree, but my partner opened my eyes, and I saw the absurdity of the situation.

The lack of far-sighted and strategic thinking gave rise to self-doubt; it seemed that an experienced mentor was guaranteed to bring success and have a positive impact on our development.

Now, over time, it seems funny. But in reality, it would be an unforgivable mistake to give a quarter of the shares to a stranger for nothing.

1. Free events Business School “Up”
2. Mega-breakthrough “Sales System” and “Finance”
3. Netology “Director of Online Marketing”

   Height

   That same year, we rented our own office, having moved there from a co-working space, opened up vigorous activity on all fronts and, almost immediately, took part in exhibitions. One of our very first expositions was 3D Print Expo - the largest festival of 3D technologies in our country.

   

   When I realized that it was time to get out of St. Petersburg and expand our geography, a completely reasonable question arose: what to do with the site, because its address and name were firmly tied to the city.

   There was a need for a brand that was not associated with the name of the city, that corresponded to the profile of the activity, that was memorable and bright.

   At that time, I already understood the prospects for the development of the product matrix and saw a clear association among buyers with a hypermarket from the 3D sphere. So I searched for domains related to 3D+ shop or store.

   All short names at that time they were already taken or cost a lot of money from resellers, but I was lucky and I saw a free domain top3dshop.ru
   And even though the words “top” and “shop” may seem unnecessarily hackneyed, and naming professionals directly classify them as highly not recommended, but the name works and does not interfere with business at all, and even quite the opposite - it fully corresponds to its purpose.

   We began to actively promote our new platform, and it proves its effectiveness every day.

   Having worked at such an intense pace and realizing that the business was gaining momentum, we went all-in: I quit my job and completely immersed myself in the activities of my company, and my partner invested another two million rubles, which went towards organizing work in the office and purchasing equipment.

   

   First batch of goods

   
   Turnover, in the first six months of work after my dismissal, reached five million rubles per month, and I focused on increasing this figure.

   

   St. Petersburg office in the first days of its work

   
   It was not so easy to leave work: salary, stability, social package - all these things were held firmly on a psychological level. Corporations are very good at brainwashing young professionals, but in fact there is nothing really valuable behind this, except a stable low salary and benefits package, of course, if you are not a top manager.

   After my dismissal, I gained confidence in the correctness of my choice, a constant presence in the office and the opportunity to devote myself to my work. maximum amount time helped a lot.

   And again: hiring employees, suppliers, purchasing, promotion, constant monitoring of the services we provide and the delivery times of printers, immersion in the intricacies of 3D printing technologies and products - in order to understand the subject and transfer knowledge to employees, and then control their training.

   

   With cast models of AK-47

   About investments
   

   We grew and developed from our profits. We did not have the ability to raise funds for a cool office and hire expensive directors. We clearly identified expense items and set ourselves limits to comply with them. This gave me the incentive to improve my skills, develop and achieve goals in tough conditions.

   We patiently invested all the profits in turnover and equipment, and it got to the point that hired employees received more than me.

   About suppliers

   With suppliers everything was not as simple as one might expect. Some already had their own distributors in Russia and they only wanted to work with them directly.

   Others demanded that we only sell their brand. We had to negotiate with everyone in order to obtain the status of an authorized dealer, with many we had to conduct long, lengthy dialogues by correspondence and come to meetings at their headquarters. Paris, Stuttgart, New York - all these trips were not in vain, they allowed us to become official dealers of such companies as MakerBot, 3D Systems, David Vision Systems, Artec 3D and many others.

   These meetings did not always take place in an official manner: Brie Pettis, for example, the founder of the 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot, and at the same time a famous DIYer and video blogger, turned out to be quite a friendly guy, with whom there is something to talk about and you can have a great hangout.

   

   

   Brie Pettis' DeLorean

   Cooperation with manufacturers directly bore fruit: we were able to offer customers competitive prices and maintain the required margins, this became one of the factors that contributed to the growth of the company. In 2015, turnover increased 6 times compared to 2014.

   Trying to find uniqueness

   Another factor that had no less influence on our growth was a model that was obvious to me, but unique at that time - we sold 3D equipment, serviced it, and provided services related to it: 3D printing, 3D scanning, modeling .

   

   Later, casting, prototyping, creation of molds, metal and plastic milling were added to the list of services. And we did all this in a focused manner; for each type of activity, a special department was created with its own specialists, which was responsible specifically for its field of activity.

   

   Other companies in the market either sold equipment or provided services, and often had the same people performing the responsibilities of engineers and managers. Our organizational model turned out to be more effective.

   Now

   As the company grew, another truth became obvious: people and automation of routine operations are very important for the success of an enterprise.

   We have grown to have our own operational and commercial directors, permanent job with sales plans and budgeting. Every day we work on automating our business processes.
   

   Now we have a good team, as well as our own specialist training system. We have prepared about 15 courses on products and processes, with mandatory testing. We train people who want to develop and earn money. This is very important element success. Especially for companies operating in such new area, as additive technologies.

   

   I am personally responsible for all marketing, development strategy, increasing turnover and capturing new directions and monitoring the quality of training and feedback from clients.

   in 2017 there are already more than 40 of us. The staff is growing not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively: we help each employee to improve in their field.

   

   Top 3D Shop team now

   The structure includes several departments: sales, services, logistics, content, accounting and service, as well as managers and tender specialists. Each department has its own grades.

   Since we are a trading and manufacturing company, salaries are based mainly on the bonus part. There are, of course, reasonable salaries, but the main income is a % of the profit brought in.

   A well-developed manager, in the second or third month of work, can receive bonuses 3-4 times higher than the salary and close large “long-term” deals. The average salary of our ordinary employees is 50-120 thousand, depending on the position and results.

   We do not limit the upper limit for managers and provide real opportunities for earning money, so we have almost no turnover.

   Now Special attention We focus on automation. We have implemented and synchronized a huge number of services that help us work faster and more efficiently, receive feedback from clients and quickly respond to criticism.
   

   Our bureaucracy has been reduced to almost zero. All paper that is circulated in the office is a tribute to the letter of the law. Agreements, invoices, acts and so on. All approvals and requests occur only in in electronic format. The speed of decision-making and problem resolution is truly something we can be proud of.

   Plans

   Last year, we successfully began to develop areas that were completely new to us: we added CNC machines to additive equipment. This year we will begin to actively move into dental and jewelry equipment, as well as educational robotics.

   Since the format of such a presentation is new to us, your opinion is important to us. I would be grateful if you share it in the comments.

   Should I continue to share my experience? What exactly would you like to ask? What details of organizational work interest you?

   We will analyze the responses and respond to all interesting questions in a new article.

   Thank you for your attention!

   Want more interesting news from the world of 3D technologies?

According to experts, the 3D printing market is growing by 23% every year. The reason for this was the expiration of patents for a number of 3D technologies in 2014. Therefore, experts predict that the market will grow to $8.4 billion by 2020. If you manage to join this wave, you can build your own successful business on 3d printing.

What is 3d printing

3D printing is the creation of a three-dimensional 3D model using a special printer based on a pre-prepared digital computer 3D model. The model is created on the computer special program. To physically create it, you need a special 3D printer. He applies special plastic in layers, creating the intended model of any shape and color.

The idea of ​​creating such a business is promising in the sense that a 3D printer can create models of any type - from souvenirs to architectural and other models.

Printing technologies

Volumetric printing can be done in several ways:

1. Laser stereolithography. With this technology, the model is made of liquid photopolymer, which hardens under the influence of a laser. To form the model, after each layer has dried, the figure is again immersed in the polymer and again dried with a laser.
2. Selective laser sintering(SLS or DMLS). The figures are made from powdered metal or plastic. The powder is applied to a special platform and melted under the influence of a laser. For each new layer, the platform lowers exactly to its thickness. The process takes place in a special chamber in the absence of oxygen, which has an inside temperature just below the melting point.
3. Electron beam melting is carried out using a technology similar to the previous one. Only the material is melted not by a laser, but by an electron beam. At the same time, a vacuum is maintained in the chamber.
4. Deposition. A strand of molten plastic, wax or metal is applied through an extrusion head in layers. Before each layer, the platform is lowered strictly to its thickness.
5. Lamination (LOM). The model is created by sequentially gluing thin films of layers of material, which are cut out with a special tool. Bonding takes place under pressure or by heating.

Areas of application

To understand the scale of the 3D model production business, let’s consider the possible areas of their application. It can be:

• personalized souvenirs – exact copies people, animals, etc.;
• complex designer items - interior items, clothing items, jewelry, etc., up to the most ornate shapes and patterns;
• models of dachas, houses, cottages, both ready-made and still being designed;
• models of cars, motorcycles, yachts and other vehicles;
• figurines famous people(politicians, athletes, artists, various figures);
• exact miniature copies of architectural monuments;
• molds for cooking, soap making and other handicrafts;
• visual teaching aids(mechanical parts of machines, body parts, DNA models, etc.);
• various prostheses and other orthopedic products.

And these are just the obvious areas of application of 3D printing. In the process of working and communicating with clients, you can find other areas in demand. Not to mention the fact that this business allows you to make money by training staff. Due to the growing popularity of such printing, the need for appropriately qualified personnel is growing: printer operators, specialists in working with the appropriate software.

Printer for 3D business

To build a 3D business, you need to purchase a 3D printer. Of course, to produce competitive products, it is best to include the purchase of high-quality equipment in your business plan. But how to buy a printer directly abroad? individual- not the best idea. You may have difficulty clearing equipment through customs. Even if you can go through this procedure, it may cost as much as the printer.

To avoid such troubles, you can purchase a printer through special companies in the country with a small markup. A good imported printer costs approximately 50-60 thousand dollars. It allows you to print with gypsum powder of various colors. As a rule, the price includes delivery and installation of equipment, as well as a small amount of consumables for the first stages of work. Then consumables can be purchased from the same company.

Some entrepreneurs, trying to reduce the cost of entry into business, purchase inexpensive equipment, costing an average of $1.5 thousand. But this is not always the case. good idea, since such equipment is very limited in functionality. As a result, your business will be very limited in capabilities, and therefore will have no chance of development. You can reduce costs by purchasing equipment domestic production. It will cost approximately 22-99 thousand rubles.

Of course, for your idea to come to life, you need to find a person who knows how to print on such a unit. You should look for such specialists among industrial designers.

Business financial plan

In total, the idea will require an investment of approximately 170 thousand rubles. These funds will be spent mainly on the purchase of equipment, as well as on renting premises and hiring specialists.

A business idea is implemented in the following stages:

• Registration as individual entrepreneur– 800 rub.
• Purchase of equipment. Depending on the capabilities of its printing, the cost will average 80 thousand rubles.
• Purchase of related materials and equipment. 1 kg of ABS plastic costs approximately 2.4 thousand rubles. In total, you need to purchase at least 8 kg at the initial stage. You also need to buy a computer or laptop and install a special software. This is still at least 20 thousand rubles.
• The services of a modeling specialist cost from 10 thousand rubles. and higher depending on his qualifications and experience.
• Renting premises. 15 sq. m. will cost 12 thousand rubles. and higher.
• To your financial plan realized, it’s worth ordering the development, content and promotion of the site. Another 30 thousand rubles must be allocated for this.
• Instead, or in parallel with the site, you need to build a plan for carrying out advertising campaign, for which you allocate approximately $100 per month.

The plan for calculating profits and expenses will look like this. A printer with average functionality is capable of producing 200 g of models per day. The average cost of one gram is 40 rubles. In total, you can earn about 240 thousand rubles per month. From this amount you must subtract rental costs, taxes, and consumables. Then the net profit will be about 150 thousand rubles.

All figures are very arbitrary, since the cost of equipment varies widely, as does the cost of the finished product. Therefore, experts do not undertake to give exact payback periods. Moreover, the business is still young, there is little practice in its implementation, so it is too early to talk about general indicators.