3D printer as a service - does it make sense?
Our company has one main project on which we have been working for more than four years. During this time we have gained a lot of quite specific knowledge and skills in the field of development, manufacturing and logistics of electronic products. One of the problems that electronics developers face is the manufacture of enclosures. And if there are no special surprises for a long time with their mass production (only three things are needed - money, money and money), then with prototyping, until recently, everything was very difficult. And then suddenly the era of 3D printers!
We are ripe for buying a 3D printer. Naturally, we will use it in our projects, but we can hardly provide (at least for the first time) a 100% load. We know for sure that many companies provide printing services on their devices to everyone. So, it is proposed to discuss the "ideal" 3D printing service - what should it be?
The fact is that one of the side effects of our main project is getting one of our companies into the Special Economic Zone. The status of the SEZ resident gives (among other things) the opportunity to save on the purchase of equipment - there are no customs duties and import VAT. We will have to pay for the consumables as usual, but we will not pay anything for the printer itself beyond its price or the cost of delivery to our office. Great, right?
Another our “trick” (which was born in the framework of the work on the main project) is the opportunity to buy anything cheap in China, control the quality of the purchase on the spot and cheaply deliver the purchase to Moscow. It is clear that the printer can be bought outside of China, but there is a suspicion that in China you can find something very tasty for much less money than, for example, in the USA (although if it suddenly turns out that the best option is sold in the USA or Australia - we can also buy it without any problems).
')
And here there is a well-known problem of choice. Already on the market so much of all the tasty in terms of 3D printing - straight eyes run up! Therefore, the first question to the community is: what to take in the budget, for example, up to 10K USD? What is it now - a 3D printer of our dreams? We need a seal from ABS - is there any point in considering universal units that can use PLA? Or maybe it's better in this budget to buy two printers for different materials? What sizes of products are in demand - is it necessary to chase after large platforms? Plastic in different colors - is it necessary? Maybe just white and / or black?
If we bought the printer only for ourselves, we would answer all these questions. There are suitable candidates (and even in the budget up to 1500 USD), and an understanding of what we need in terms of materials ... But, once again, why not make a good deed to our colleagues? Lord, what do you need?
Now the actual service.
3D printing "to order" is not our main business. We are not going to “make a fortune” on this, but an extra cash of our tiny company will not hurt. Therefore, the pricing of the service will be extremely transparent - the cost price (which consists of the cost of consumables, electricity and the salary of the staff employed in this particular order) plus a reasonable margin (say, 20-25%). So the prices promise to be very humane.
With terms a little less rosy: for the manufacture, legal export from the territory of the SEZ and delivery to Moscow may take several working days.
In terms of additional attraction, we plan to provide customers with access to a webcam, which will show the process of printing their order online. Well, or someone comes to us (this is not very simple, but in principle possible) and rents "printer time" on the spot.
Another possible service: after successful prototyping we will be able to organize industrial production. There is a Russian company that can do this, but there is a common Russian problem there - draws are needed, or even more precisely - CIRCULATIONS . There are our proven Chinese who will make an industrial batch cheap and cheerful, and we will bring the result here. In general - this can also help.
So, gentlemen, there are two main questions:
1. Does it make sense to bother with all this or just buy a 3D printer for our needs and use it “on the quiet”?
2. If we imagine that we are organizing such a service, then (subject to reasonable prices), what else would you like to receive from such a service?
Well, tips / suggestions for specific models of printers and types of consumables are strongly encouraged.
We are ripe for buying a 3D printer. Naturally, we will use it in our projects, but we can hardly provide (at least for the first time) a 100% load. We know for sure that many companies provide printing services on their devices to everyone. So, it is proposed to discuss the "ideal" 3D printing service - what should it be?
The fact is that one of the side effects of our main project is getting one of our companies into the Special Economic Zone. The status of the SEZ resident gives (among other things) the opportunity to save on the purchase of equipment - there are no customs duties and import VAT. We will have to pay for the consumables as usual, but we will not pay anything for the printer itself beyond its price or the cost of delivery to our office. Great, right?
Another our “trick” (which was born in the framework of the work on the main project) is the opportunity to buy anything cheap in China, control the quality of the purchase on the spot and cheaply deliver the purchase to Moscow. It is clear that the printer can be bought outside of China, but there is a suspicion that in China you can find something very tasty for much less money than, for example, in the USA (although if it suddenly turns out that the best option is sold in the USA or Australia - we can also buy it without any problems).
')
And here there is a well-known problem of choice. Already on the market so much of all the tasty in terms of 3D printing - straight eyes run up! Therefore, the first question to the community is: what to take in the budget, for example, up to 10K USD? What is it now - a 3D printer of our dreams? We need a seal from ABS - is there any point in considering universal units that can use PLA? Or maybe it's better in this budget to buy two printers for different materials? What sizes of products are in demand - is it necessary to chase after large platforms? Plastic in different colors - is it necessary? Maybe just white and / or black?
If we bought the printer only for ourselves, we would answer all these questions. There are suitable candidates (and even in the budget up to 1500 USD), and an understanding of what we need in terms of materials ... But, once again, why not make a good deed to our colleagues? Lord, what do you need?
Now the actual service.
3D printing "to order" is not our main business. We are not going to “make a fortune” on this, but an extra cash of our tiny company will not hurt. Therefore, the pricing of the service will be extremely transparent - the cost price (which consists of the cost of consumables, electricity and the salary of the staff employed in this particular order) plus a reasonable margin (say, 20-25%). So the prices promise to be very humane.
With terms a little less rosy: for the manufacture, legal export from the territory of the SEZ and delivery to Moscow may take several working days.
In terms of additional attraction, we plan to provide customers with access to a webcam, which will show the process of printing their order online. Well, or someone comes to us (this is not very simple, but in principle possible) and rents "printer time" on the spot.
Another possible service: after successful prototyping we will be able to organize industrial production. There is a Russian company that can do this, but there is a common Russian problem there - draws are needed, or even more precisely - CIRCULATIONS . There are our proven Chinese who will make an industrial batch cheap and cheerful, and we will bring the result here. In general - this can also help.
So, gentlemen, there are two main questions:
1. Does it make sense to bother with all this or just buy a 3D printer for our needs and use it “on the quiet”?
2. If we imagine that we are organizing such a service, then (subject to reasonable prices), what else would you like to receive from such a service?
Well, tips / suggestions for specific models of printers and types of consumables are strongly encouraged.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/180565/
All Articles