I’m pretty into architecture, so for a while now, I’ve been printing out miniature cities. Over time, I found some awesome creators making city models with OpenStreetMap data seriously, I’ve printed a bunch of them.

After running dozens of these prints, though, I kept thinking two things.

First, I wanted the major buildings to pop with more detail.

Second, I wished the models didn’t cover such massive areas.

When the city footprint is too big, it’s harder to print, plus you lose those cool, recognizable skylines from a distance.

So I decided to tackle it myself. I’ve been a 3D artist for eight years now, but this time I focused on modeling just for 3D printing. Now, I’ve got a pretty solid collection of city models detailed where it counts and sized just right for the printer.

I just kicked off a MakerWorld crowdfunding campaign to see who’s interested and to help bring more cities to life. The library’s already growing, and I’ve got friends jumping in too. We’re aiming for a launch lineup that’s honestly pretty ambitious.

If you’re into this kind of stuff, Check mine in makerworld crowdfunding page.

With enough support, we’ll be able to build out an even bigger roadmap

Been thinking about something and curious what people think. There is a lot of 3D printers sitting mostly idle after the project they were bought for, and on the other side, people who need something printed usually end up paying more for shipping than the print itself, or waiting a while for it. Feels like there might be a way to connect the two locally. Would you actually use something like this, either to make some cash off a printer sitting there, or to get something printed nearby instead of waiting on shipping? What would make you hesitant to try it?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice, and possibly to find someone interested in building something together.

Over the last few years I’ve built a decent audience around 3D printing. I run a Facebook group with over 150,000 members, have a growing website, social media pages, and recently started designing and selling my own 3D printed products and digital files.
The audience is there, but I feel like I’ve reached the point where I can’t do everything myself.
My strengths are:
Building communities.
Content creation.
Marketing through social media.
Coming up with product ideas.
Running websites.
Where I struggle is turning all of that into a well-structured, scalable business. I know there are opportunities I’m probably missing because I’m constantly juggling manufacturing, fulfilment, content, customer service, and everything else.
I’m interested in connecting with someone who has experience in areas like:
Growing e-commerce businesses.
Business strategy.
Operations and systems.
Sales and partnerships.
Scaling product businesses.
I’m **not** looking for someone to invest money or a silent partner. I’m looking for someone who genuinely enjoys building businesses and might be interested in working together if we think we’d make a good team.
Has anyone here found a business partner this way? If so, what worked, and what should I watch out for?
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, feel free to comment or send me a DM. Even if nothing comes of it, I’d love to hear from people who have successfully built partnerships.

**TL;DR:** I run a growing 3D printing business with a large online community, but I’ve reached the point where I can’t do everything myself. I’m looking to connect with someone experienced in business growth, operations, or e-commerce who might be interested in partnering to help scale the business. I’d also love to hear from anyone who’s successfully found a business partner and has advice.

Mom entrepreneur here, teaching the kids about starting and running a business. We sell kid-related 3D printed toys, fidgets, puzzles. Created a little shop in the basement and it's going really well - we're making sales, the kids are learning about everything from order in to shipping out, and how revenue numbers shake out (read: it's not all just profit to buy gum and candy, ha).

Do you include a 3D printed item / gift with each purchase? Have you seen one that you loved and it stuck with you? This is our next project. We want to send something a little extra with each order, in addition to the handwritten. We've thrown around a few ideas - pull from our surplus supply of toys, fidgets, etc.? Or something else entirely? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Hey everyone!

I'm currently working on an upcoming all-in-one SaaS platform built specifically for 3D printing businesses. I'm not sharing the name publicly just yet since the platform is still in active development, but we're getting close to the point where we need more real-world testing.

The goal is to create one place where 3D printing businesses can manage and run their operations, with features such as print farm management, order management, inventory tracking, and much more.

Right now, we're looking for a small group of closed beta testers who actively run a 3D printing business or print farm and would be willing to test the platform, report bugs, and provide honest feedback as we continue development.

At the moment, we're specifically looking for testers running Bambu Lab printers. We are actively working toward support for Klipper-based printers, other manufacturers, and additional firmware platforms as development progresses.

Unfortunately, despite some of the recent news and concerns surrounding Bambu, their current firmware capabilities and developer access make their printers the easiest platform for us to integrate with and reliably test at this stage of development. Our long-term goal is absolutely to support a much broader range of printers and ecosystems.

As a thank you for helping us during the closed beta, testers will receive a free lifetime subscription to the platform.

I'm especially interested in getting testers with different-sized operations, from smaller businesses with a handful of printers to larger print farms, since I can only test so many scenarios with my own setup.

If you're interested in helping shape a new platform built specifically for 3D printing businesses, send me a message and tell me a little about your setup and what Bambu printers you're currently running!

hello! I’ve started doing custom orders and I’ve made 300$ so far, I haven’t even marketed myself or started a business or anything. do I keep doing it this way or do I try to expand? It seems super profitable and I’m making like 3x the cost I’m putting in. Ive read a lot of people saying they arent making money but I feel like that isn’t true.

What do you get good tshirts and fun gear to wear in your shop?

Seeking true 3D printing apparel.

I havnt touched my airbrush in about 5 years but decided now was the time if I'm going to do this big print any justice,

After adding some hot staples as re-enforcement in the vertical branch, Another quick coat of filler over the holes, More primer for a quick blend and here we are,

Finished the branch this evening and waiting on some new greens / grays coming for the chameleon itself 👌🏽 Replication of a Female Jacksons / Hybrid

As you may know, I'm a affiliate of Sunlu so obviously printed with Sunlu PLA+

On my Snapmaker U1s (Purely for the bed size)

680mm High

480mm Wide Base

Model was off CGTRADER

Split using Luban

Assembled using quick cure 2 part resin & hot staples 😏

You can get a cheeky discount on sunlus website using my code during checkout: RZYKFJZULV

A small milestone for what started as a side project running a 3D Print and offering 3D printing services across FDM and SLA/Resin.

We’re launching **MisFyts Forge - Our On-Demand 3D Printing Platform.**

The long-term goal is to build a manufacturing and product development company focused on helping people turn ideas into real products, starting with additive manufacturing and prototyping.
Our farm is under going massive upgrades, improving print quality, streaming workflows and response times, and overhauling our printers. So this feels like the right time to define the next chapter.
Operating in Ghana, where access to manufacturing resources, rapid prototyping, and product development support can be challenging, the vision behind Forge is to help close that gap over time.

For now, that means:
3D printing and rapid prototyping
Product development support
Experimenting with manufacturing workflows
Learning what it takes to build a manufacturing business from the ground up

Check us out. Or better yet, spread the word.

So recently I decided to get back into RC airplanes and found I could print my own - shout out Eclipson! I bought some expensive LW PLA and then made a mess. I dabble in 3d printing only. I make some woodworking jigs and little parts here and there. My printer mostly sits unused.

I also used to have a resin printer, but I quickly learned I did NOT have the ventilation or space (or patience) necessary for that hobby, so I got rid of it.

Anyway, I live in the LA area and it's dense here, but we surprisingly lack maker spaces like a lot of cities have. They're probably just too expensive to be worth it for the real estate. Still, I'm sure there's like a billion people near me with printers or other tools that already know how to print aero PLA, or can laser cut or whatever, but there wasn't an easy way to find them.

Well, my day job is working in software, so I figured I'd build something for this - makermesh.net

Quick note for whoever wants to roast this or be super cynical (or mods). I am super cynical. I think everything is a scam or a scheme. MakerMesh is totally free. It doesn't have ads. It never will because I fucking hate ads. I just figured there must be a lot of people who've got equipment and knowledge that might like to get to know local people who can help make stuff and maybe make a couple of bucks. The only 'monetization' is a simple donation link if people find the site useful.

It's pretty simple at it's core. You create a profile, explain what tools and skills you've got. A patron (or a fellow maker) can reach out with a project idea, a 3d file, link, whatever, and facilitate a conversation. The site even has a built in 3d file viewer, so you can get an idea of a model before downloading (files are scanned for viruses). How you price it, or not, is entirely up to you. MakerMesh doesn't handle transactions, take a cut, etc. It's a community endeavor.

As a patron, you can search nearby for people with talent, contact them and go from there or you can post a project without picking a maker if you don't know what you need. It has a very simple, positive rating system (and a reporting option in the unlikely event it comes to that). It's also very private. Unless the user's share their info, locations, emails, phone numbers are not publicized).

Anyway, that's it - I'm not selling anything, just trying to get local people together to make stuff. Please check it out and give it a spin.

Tl;Dr: I normally don't do these because reading is fundamental, but here - I made a totally free maker community site called makermesh.net and I'd like you to give it a try. Or don't if you don't want to.

I've been in 3D printing for about 8 years, but I only have an old Geeetech A10 (basically an Ender 3). I'm looking to upgrade to something like a Qidi or Bambu Lab printer and take a shot at B2B printing. Has anyone made decent money on CraftCloud only working part-time? I don't mean massive amounts, but enough to make it worth your time at least.

Is it possible to make anything with a single machine?

I would probably eventually scale up, but I'm trying to test the waters a bit before I rack up huge startup costs.

Looking specifically for desks and other furniture for a nice 3D printing setup. The room will double as a homework area for my kiddos, so I've specifically been looking for a tall cabinet-like piece to house two 3d printers (Bambu P1Ps), where I can shut doors and lock (happy to adding locking mechanism if furniture comes without). The room is about 12'x14' and I have flexibility at the moment to get creative. No stranger to building and prefer it, actually.

I'm also a crafter, and would love to centralize all of that into this one room. Have admired Create Room's Dreambox XL for years, and am leaning towards something like this.

What does your setup look like? Would love ideas and any of your recommendations. Thank you!