You have been busy giving shape to 3D designs with your 3D printer. You have been testing the limits of your creativity and liking your new hobby. But do you know you can make money with 3D printing?
3D printing is changing the manufacturing methods in many industries. Recently, the demand for 3D printing technology has grown exponentially. And yet, 3D printing is slow to become a mainstream business. This is because first, the prices of reliable 3D printers are still restrictive to many people. And secondly, the designs of printable 3D objects require special skills.
That said, it’s simply the best time for you to make money using this technology. The competition is low, and the demand is soaring daily.
Read on for ways to make money with 3D printing today.
Table of Contents
Making Money With 3D Printing
You can make money with 3D printing with or without owning a printer. Ways to do so include:
Rent Out Your Printer
A quality and reliable printer is pricey. While many businesses require frequent use of 3D printing, most cannot afford these printers. If you own such a 3D printer, why not rent it out to these businesses?
Renting out your printer works like a car rental service. Get a lawyer to create a simple contract that spells out your rental terms.
What’s remaining to start pocketing those dollars? You need to package your service and let people know about it through marketing. You can advertise your rental services online or offline.
Selling 3D Designs
Do you have printer-ready 3D designs? Or simply 3D models of products in high demand? If yes, then you got a ready-to-sell product already. You can make money selling these designs without having to print them yourself.
Many online markets exist where you can list your 3D models or designs such as Cults3D and Pinshape. Once you get a client to buy your 3D model, you can charge a fee to make the model printer-ready; if you are a designer, the better. But you can hire designers on platforms like Fiverr for a fee.
You may also see Awsome 3D Printers under $200 in 2021
Selling 3D Prints
With a 3D printer, you can make toys, household appliances, and office accessories, among other valuable products. These items are daily must-have products for many people. Hence, there is a massive demand for your 3D prints any day.
This is what you need to do to get those dollars rolling into your wallet. First, create or buy 3D printer-ready designs for in-demand items. Then, print samples for offline sales within your community. You can also take photos of your prints and sell them online through e-commerce sites like eBay and Amazon. The good thing with online sales, no need for a physical inventory. Print only the client orders.
Offer 3D Printing Service
Offering a printing service is another excellent way to make money with your printer. The number of people and businesses requiring 3D printing help is growing daily. Most of these people have no means to acquire quality 3D printers nor have the skills to operate them. Offer to do their 3D printing work at a fee.
Sites like 3D Hubs and MakeXYZ are great places to find clients. List your printer, and clients’ orders will start trickling in. However, you pay a fee to use these sites. Alternatively, market your 3D printing service freely on social media such as Facebook. Team up with 3D designers and electroplaters to offer a comprehensive package to clients.
Train Others On 3D Printing
Though 3D Printing has been in existence for decades, it’s relatively a non-familiar concept to many people. People are making hobbies and careers out of 3D printing and designs. Offer to train them.
Explain the readily available tutorials to beginners in this technology. Create and sell online courses on sites like Udemy and Coursera. You can as well offer physical lessons in your community to people interested in 3D printing technology.
Become A Technician
3D printers need frequent repairs and maintenance checks. And many printer owners would rather have their broken printer repaired than buy a new one. Besides, new printers are costly.
This presents another money-making opportunity for you. Become a 3D printing troubleshooter. Equip yourself with knowledge on repairs and maintenance procedures for 3D printers, and you are good to go. It’s possible to offer your services online or offline.
As with any repair job, an hourly rate for your services works to your advantage. Furthermore, you may not know how long a single repair or maintenance project takes until you become a pro.
Check also: 21 Cool Things To 3D Print
Become An Affiliate
For this way of making money with 3D printing, you neither need to own a 3D printer nor designing skills. Just good marketing skills and you in business.
Become an affiliate marketer to sellers in the 3D market. You can market printing services for printer owners, the design works for 3D designers, and 3D printers for manufacturers. In short, become a salesperson for 3D products and services sellers.
You can do your marketing through online or offline channels. You can print and stick marketing posters within your community. Better still, make DIY videos on YouTube or explanatory posts on social. Guide those seeking these services to the best sellers for a fee. The good thing with affiliate marketing, it has the most immense income potential among the listed money-making ways. To top it up, once you gain enough traction from buyers, you continue making sales with no extra effort.
Read also: Top 5 Free 3D Modeling Softwares in 2021
Conclusion
Presently, there are many ways to make money with 3D printing. The competition is slightly low for two reasons. First, the cost of excellent and reliable 3D printers is still restrictive to many people. And custom designing using a 3D printer’s compatible software is even harder.
Having a 3D printer gives you many avenues to make money. You only need slight marketing and strategy efforts.
Nonetheless, you can make money from 3D printing without owning a printer or design knowledge. One way is becoming an affiliate marketer to other people’s 3D printing projects and getting a share of their sales.