$12,000 3D Printing Project: Failures, Learnings & My Print Farm Tour!

In this video I deep dive into my biggest 3D printing project ever, talking in-depth about my approach, the pricing, my profits, problems I had to overcome and biggest learnings. I'll also give you a detailed tour of the print farm and what issues I had with my printers during the project.
Assembly of the 3d printed computer case: kzbin.infoTyu0dL6qSuQ
3D printing quoting sheet (make a copy to your own google drive!): docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rtG7v-F_uPFO3OChxv1MnnpJ2K2iUI8qPukgcS2Icns/edit?usp=sharing
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[@3DMusketeers]

VERY good video! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be careful about Bambu with business. You cannot keep it connected online AT ALL, EVER, if you are doing work that needs NDA's or some level of data security you CANNOT trust Bambu. I am 100% onboard for the single brand, more brands,. more problems. Eventually the anxiety of leaving home for a few hours goes away. After over 15 years doing this, I do not worry anymore lol. I liked the dive into the margins, not many people do that. Thank you for going through that. Would love to see you getting better margins though ;) You can definitely get more on it. But hey, not bad overall! Good job, parts looked good too! Happy to chat more about 3DP as a business if you would like!

[@blaz1ngwolf]

What evidence do you have to show that there is an issue with Bambu Labs? I keep seeing these kinds of comments with exactly zero proof that something bad has happened. Also, how can we trust any 3D printer since most, obviously not all, of them come from China as well most of the parts we use come from there.

[@FirdoussRoss]

This is an amazing share and insight. A lot of valuable experience and advice. Thank you so much for sharing

[@juandavidruizserna]

What an amazing experience you described, has really put a great perspective on my idea of a 3d printing business. I am just starting so i am really grateful with the quotation file (it has been the weakest point in my endeavor, and with this file i can finally have a well thought and precise way of quoting my work) , I slowly worked and saved money to get a second pri ter, and sadly for the time being, my first printer (ender 3 pro) has just died after a 17h print, i let it cool, then turned it off, removed print and continued my work, next day went to start a new print but the ender does not turn on, at least i have a second printer and for the time being i can work with it until i fix the ender or save to buy a different printer (thinking ablut a bumbulabs x1). If things keep going as well as they are at the moment, in about 2 to 3 months i wil have budget to get the printer.

[@Crosslink3D]

I wish you a successful journey in building your 3d printing business!

[@deeply999]

ESUN has been a great goto brand filament for me, I found here in the US that another "off brand" that works great is NAGA, petG and ABS specifically. Although my brand of choice is Protopasta but more expensive and well worth it. Thanks for showing your work :)

[@aaronliebeck1062]

I found Naga filament about a year ago and fell in love with it after the first spool. Great stuff and not expensive either.

[@justluke9297]

Great Video, Thank you for whole informations. I wonder to know, how you find/ how to find new Customers ?

[@skaltura]

Manufacturing is hard. That's why people get paid top dollar for that. Imagine the profit you would have made if you had optimized farm production.

[@EDENTGP]

thanks for the video, its was very interesting to hear about your experience! how did you connect with the client at first?

[@EDENTGP]

i just read the answer in another comment of yours :)

[@svendragonion6792]

Tolles Video. Danke für die ganzen Infos. Wie machst du das eigentlich mit der Garantie/Gewährleistung? Ich hätte schon Angst ein PC-Gehäuse mit PLA zu drucken aber in Deutschland ist man ja immer der A... oder ist das bei B2B umlegbar auf den Kunden? Wenn ich das richtig verstehe hast du es ja entwickelt und produziert.

[@dennisolsson3119]

I'm in the startup phase of building a production company. My plan is to print and sell my own products. My thoughts on printers are to keep to SV06:es for now (I have one and I am super happy with it) and trade some speed for price. If it is 1/3 of the price of a Bambu Lab printer it can run at 1/3 of the speed and I'll just run 3 of them. Also a clogged nozzle or other problem will cost about 1/3 in downtime and I like the openness and not relying on anything really proprietary. As long as they don't break down for mechanical issues. I really appreciated the fan tip. But we will see when experience takes over ideology :)

[@Crosslink3D]

Hey, great to read your thoughts on running a print shop with inexpensive printers. In the meanwhile, I also upgraded the parts cooling fan and it's such an improvement! Video coming!

[@mikemartin6165]

Can PLA handle the temperature ranges that will occur in a computer case? I have been avoiding PLA because it seems to melt in most mechanical or computer environments.

[@alfonsbauer1177]

Sorry, daß ich das auf Deutsch und nicht auf Englisch schreibe. Ich denke es gibt evtl. auch Zuschauer die des Englischen nicht so mächtig sind. Puh, zunächst einmal ein sehr interessanter Beitrag. Man sieht nur selten KZbinr die Kalkulationen einstellen. Hut ab dafür. Allerdings fällt mir bei deiner Kalkulation auf, daß du einiges vergessen hast. Steuern, Krankenkasse, evtl. Rentenversicherung, Urlaub, Krankheit, KFZ-Anteil, Versicherungen, Rücklagen, Werbung, Steuerberater, etc. etc.. Im Hobbybereich mag das funktionieren aber für den Profibereich kann das tödlich sein.

[@Crosslink3D]

Hi Alfons, valider Punkt, aber das muss im Stundensatz hinterlegt werden vom Spreadsheet, damit die Arbeitszeit korrekt bepreist wird. Natürlich muss ggf die Marge zusätzlich angepasst werden, aber es wäre kontraproduktiv, wenn die sonstigen Unternehmerkosten in einer Kunden bzw Projektkalkulation im Detail auftauchen. Darüber hinaus habe ich pro Projekt einen Mindestpreis, unterhalb dessen ich nicht anfange, daher schließt das Privatkunden meist aus, da diese komplett andere Vorstellungen haben 😉

[@jurandfantom]

Question. How that happened that you been approach by that client? There was already a co-operation between you and them in the past? Or they found you and figured out about your skillset from online presence? Or you offered your services to them in past, but they keep contact information and they used it

[@Crosslink3D]

They found me on Google maps looking for a local manufacturing partner. It’s sometimes so simple. I guess having a good self explaining website with all the services listed and some sample pictures is good enough to start, nothing complicated actually.

[@teitgenengineering]

Im building a giant 3d printer called everest i hope to sometime make some money with it

[@teitgenengineering]

1300 z 400 x 400 y

[@Crosslink3D]

Nice 👍 would love to see it on video once done

[@teitgenengineering]

@@Crosslink3D will do

[@teitgenengineering]

Don't you have screens on your windows

[@Crosslink3D]

Not yet in the basement. Next project of dozens

[@gerGoPrint3D]

screens reduce the air flow by about 50%. Of course they reduce the mosquito flow by close to 100%, so they might be worth it

[@teitgenengineering]

@@gerGoPrint3D the best thing would be to have a ventilation tube with a blower

[@SirLANsalot]

this shows why you DO NOT make parts or try and sell parts (printed) that take additional things that you have to work on. As much of the part your selling should be printed as possible, or 100% of it should be printed. Meaning the only work you, personally, have to put into it, is just boxing and shipping

[@mfeldheim]

Nice to see somebody actually producing stuff for a profit. For me it's just a hobby and when I am really honest, I haven't printed anything that was useful or added value in any way. For me that's not a target but it might boost the acceptance of my wife if the printer wouldn't just swallow hundreds of euros every month. In her eyes, my little 3-machine park is just a noisy waste of time, money and attention.