A Day in my Small 3D Print Farm | Etsy Order Fulfillment, Stock Checks & Printer Repairs

[@rubenverster250]

Sonic Pad

[@TheMountainMaker]

Totally forgot about that! Yes, for anyone wanting to go the Klipper route, the Sonic Pad (amzn.to/4eLS6DX) would be far simpler than trying to setup your own server and potentially bricking the machine. Thank you!

[@SergeyYevgeniyevichBrin]

Wow, your 3D print farm looks amazing! As a small farm owner, I totally agree that speed is crucial for mass printing while maintaining quality. It makes a huge difference for fulfilling orders. I just got the Flsun T1PRO for my workshop, and it’s been a game-changer. Now I can create prototypes and custom parts quickly and easily. Highly recommend it for others in the same boat!

[@TheMountainMaker]

I have had my eyes on one of the Flsun printers for a while now. May have to do a little more research now. Thanks for the support!

[@SergeyYevgeniyevichBrin]

@@TheMountainMaker Really grateful for the insights you've shared. Your farm is doing an amazing job, and I'm thrilled to see where it's headed next. Consider me a subscriber!

[@lippy2345]

The screws you tightened at 18:14 around both sets of rods are the anti-backlash nuts, they are designed to be a little loose to allow for smoother movement of the Z, might want to loosen those off a bit.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks for the tip! I was having some print quality issues before doing the maintenance and I’m glad to say that they have all been resolved since doing this. Whether or not it was this or everything combined, i can’t say for sure but i will definitely go back and make sure they aren’t too tight. Judging by the amount of screws that needed tightening on the rest of the body, it’s safe to assume that those were going to need some work as well.

[@timmyssweet]

In regards to a sit or stand desk, I have thoughts on seating. I DIY'ed a stand stool and enjoyed it. It was a bike seat with a foot rest at an angle, so I could lean into the seat. I later bought a Hag sit stand chair, and I rarely use the stand feature. I just feel you need a stand stool - especially while at a computer. Standing can be as hard as sitting.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Just googled it, could definitely see myself using one of those. As for the sit stand desk, i often alternate at work between a bar height table and sitting depending on the activity I’m doing. At home, i think it would be more useful for filming, as well as those periods when I’m at the computer for hours on end, i can raise the desk and stand to switch it up a bit

[@ken4edwards]

I did not find the link to the file for the baskets that you print

[@TheMountainMaker]

makerworld.com/en/models/581328#profileId-502338 There you go!

[@andy.schwartz]

Love my Uplift Desk workstations. We use one for product assembly and photography. And two as general workstations. Very sturdy. We added lockable casters to be able to freely move them around as needed.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks for the recommendation! What size did you end up going with? They were one of the brands I was recently looking into and the sturdiness is a big factor for me as i've seen some others that tend to wobble. I plan to attach a camera to it so the more solid it is, the better!

[@3Dprintinglawyer]

The Bambu A1 instructions say to move the bed back and forth when oiling the rails, so is it only bad for enders? 13:19

[@TheMountainMaker]

As long as you are doing it controlled and it's not a rapid movement, you'll be ok. It's only harmful when you are rapidly sliding the hot end or the bed back and forth over and over again, which can cause current to be generated and back-fed into the stepper motors which can cause them to burn out prematurely.

[@punkreeperful]

Vibration compensation comparison and how do you clean the 2050 fan for the hotend?

[@TheMountainMaker]

Great idea, and I typically I will take the front cover off the hotend and use a combination of small bristle brushes as well as compressed air. My compressor being down limited me on that but thanks for pointing it out because that is something I need to do as well.

[@cheesewatcher1749]

Can i ask how do you come up with ideas on what to sell and sort of your process for figuring out what would sell and what would not? I'm trying to start my own shop selling holders/keychains that i've designed but it hasn't been going great would love it if you're able to share some tips!

[@TheMountainMaker]

I have a video coming out in the next week or 2 on my process of doing just that. I'm a little different in terms of the things I sell, as most of them are commercially licensed files through other designers, or free for commercial use designs on sites like Makerworld and Printables. Long story short, I started off with 4 items for sale on my shop, 1 that I modeled myself (Orbital Sander Mount), as well as the Dumbbell Card Holder from a designer on Thingiverse and 2 other files that didn't take off. From there I sourced and added things I thought were interesting or would sell and some of them do, while others get virtually no traffic. The Dumbbell Card Holder was something that took off very early for me within 2 or 3 months of starting my etsy shop and has been continuously selling ever since. It's really about finding that 1 of 10 product that will carry 70-80% of your sales. The other thing that was huge right from the get-go was turning on Etsy ads, but i'll cover it all more in-depth in the video.

[@lurcho101]

Questions then how's does that work with selling an item from thingiverse? Do you need to credit the maker or donate to them? Just curious ​@@TheMountainMaker

[@TheMountainMaker]

Yes, Whether its from Thingiverse, Makerworld, Printables... You need to make sure the design is licensed so you are able to sell it. If you go to thingiverse.com and go to the "filter by" tab, scroll down to License Type, and choose the top 3 options. Be aware that thingiverse is not always accurate when you are filtering so you will want to be sure to check the design page itself and scroll down to Thing Details, and at the bottom of the description/details section, there is a bold License area that will tell you what the creator allows with their designs. For all of the creative commons licenses, at a minimum, you will need to give them attribution at the bottom of your Etsy listings. If you go to my Etsy page, and choose any random product, and scroll to the very bottom of the description, you will see where the designer is credited if it is from someone else. Printables and Makerworld both make it easy to filter by License type as well, and with Printables, each design has the license type at the bottom of the description and they make it very simple to see if you are allowed to sell it. If there is a green checkmark next to commercial use, you are set to go as long as you give attribution back to the file page. If there is a Red X, you are not allowed to use it for commercial purposes. With that said, some designers will upload their files for free on sites like Printables and Makerworld, and not allow it for commercial use, but will link to a Patreon or Thangs page where you can subscribe to a commercial license for all of their files. Hope this helps!

[@lyleeewang]

Hi do you sell your designs on cults or something?

[@TheMountainMaker]

Most of the items I am selling at the moment are either free for commercial use, or paid commercial licenses from other makers on platforms like Thangs and Patreon. At the moment, the only item I am selling that was designed by me is the Festool/Orbital Sander Mount as well as any Custom Designed Dog Bone Cookie Cutters. Items such as the Dumbbell Card Holder, Most of the cookie cutters and a few other items are free for commercial use with attribution to the original creator. I have modified the Dumbbell Design a bit to better suit my needs such as removing the threads and expanding tolerances. I have a video planned where I show where to get files, both free and paid for, that are able to be used commercial to turn a profit.

[@vlyq1]

Did you make this design or buy it from somewhere, ( I've seen quite a lot of people selling the exact same print )

[@TheMountainMaker]

I'm not sure which design you're referencing but I find free to use commercial files or pay for memberships to other designers for most of the items I sell currently. The Festool Sander Mount and any of the Custom Cookie Cutters are what I currently design myself, but everything else comes from another designer. I just uploaded a video showing where I find free and paid for files as well as some of my best sellers so far this year.

[@vlyq1]

@@TheMountainMakerI was referencing to the dumbbell business card holder, PS: ( I just watched your most recent video which explains everything )

[@OmegaGamingNetwork]

I only do local orders, I don't bother with Etsy but I'll throw a couple responses here. First I honestly think the viscosity of the glue you are using is too thick and honestly you shouldn't need that much if the tolerances are tight. As for the part design, I would have put an alignment notch where the bar only fits one way and press fit it personally. I think your assembly time could be cut in half for the same end product. As for what to do with blemished product, I just offer things like that as B grade. If they sell they sell. If they don't then it was scrap anyhow. As for standing desks, I never thought I would want to stand to work. But having the option ever since I got one is just massive. That said I'm going to throw a personal opinion in here on the Ender. Time is everything, Time is money. Machines that are as slow as that thing are taking up space that a far faster machine could be filling and producing far more. Couple that with it being a far more maintenance heavy machine and personally I believe that machines of that level no longer have a place in a business setting. Perfectly good for a hobbiest, but time to retire out of a print farm. Again, personal opinion.

[@TheMountainMaker]

I appreciate the feedback. My local area was never good luck for me but i have found success on Etsy and recently, Amazon. I completely agree with the dumbbells about adding a notch so it can just slide in would save a lot of time. As for the glue, i have used both a thinner and this medium viscosity ca glue and the thinner stuff does go quicker, but this fills the threads a little better. I alternate between the 2 depending on what i have on hand.

[@unspeakableoaf]

I see you've verified Murphy's Law. At least the right sides aren't disappearing, like socks.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Ha! At least I didn't have to look very far for them, like I do with socks, which seem to have their own escape hatch. Thanks for watching!

[@Karaon]

my man, if you even consider spraying anything a 100L is minimum in my opinion. It's drivng me insane when it's running (the compressor noise), so I built an enclosure for mine but keep in mind even a 100L will turn on every couple minutes if you use a spray gun

[@TheMountainMaker]

I have been eying the 28g “quiet” compressors from harbor freight. I know some of their stuff gets bad attention for the quality but the last compressor i had from there lasted 7 years and cost $160 and i wasn’t the best at maintaining it. Not to mention they offer a lifetime warranty on them so you can’t go too wrong with it

[@BackDaws]

Who is buying those dumbbells? I'm guessing you make for orders? That's a lot of dumbbells. 😊

[@TheMountainMaker]

They are for Etsy stock as well as Amazon. For some reason, these were one of the items that took off back in March/April and have been steady since.

[@Liberty4Ever]

I wouldn't sell any "B grade" products. I don't want to sell discounted stuff that is sub par. The hassle of listing and managing an inventory of substandard merchandise isn't worth the effort. A good manufacturing process should have enough emphasis on quality that there is very little scrap. Most 3D prints have little cost in materials so scrapping defects isn't very costly. I'd offer reject products to friends for free.

[@TheMountainMaker]

Thanks for the feedback! That is where my mind is at right now. It’s already enough to manage the A grade products and aside from time lost, the actual cost of the lost part is negligible in the grand scheme of things. I get a lot of input from others around me that see them off to the side saying i should sell them as a second or “B”grade but, in the chance someone orders one not realizing it’s a B grade, i think that does more harm than simply scrapping the bad ones.

[@Liberty4Ever]

@@TheMountainMaker - Thanks for the video. I love seeing how other people are running small print farms and managing online 3D print businesses. My own business is very niche, but after a few down years for personal reasons, I'm now looking to expand the business. I have a file with over 200 product ideas halfway imagineered, and now I'm generating ideas for a completely different niche market, so my problem isn't "where do you get your ideas" and is more "so many projects, so little mojo". 😀 I believe in developing products that I want when doing stuff I like to do. I think many people try to do what they enjoy doing as a job, and manage to turn a their hobby they enjoyed into work they dread. I prefer to keep doing what I enjoy as a hobby, but use that knowledge and insight to develop related products to sell. Of course, I'm still in danger of turning my 3D printing hobby into work. 🙂

[@TheMountainMaker]

I definitely understand the having no motivation aspect of it. I think keeping active and always focusing on some aspect of the business is an important part of my process in keeping that motivation going, whether it’s with the channel creating content or finding new items to print

[@lurcho101]

​@@TheMountainMakerhow about offering something along the lines if you buy 1 then you can select a 2nd B grade for like a buck or something to save it going in the bin!

[@TheMountainMaker]

I'm not against that. I have seen other small businesses throwing in a free "B" grade product with random orders, along with a label or note letting them know its a "B" grade freebie. Thanks for the suggestion!!

[@ROMPE_NALGAS_24-7]

ARE YOU ALLOWED TO SELL THESE MODELS THAT ARE NOT DESIGNED BY YOU?

[@TheMountainMaker]

They are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution for use for commercial purposes as long as you give credit to the original designer. Some of the items are licensed that way, others i pay for a commercial license to sell. Just depends on what the designer allows you to do with their work