3D Printing Business Ideas

3D printing has the potential to change the world, though right now it’s being used to make and develop things we’d ordinarily buy. Although we’re very far from creating an extra liver inside our homes, we could stroll into a Manhattan storefront and purchase a MakerBot for $2,200 today. Right now, the Makerbot draws in plastic – but the designs you can make with it will earn you the cost of the machine back – and more.

(Infographic discovered via Pinterest)

The MakerBot can print almost anything, as long as it’s smaller than a shoebox. By using Thingiverse, you can download designs for your Makerbot, create them, and start selling them today. The following are four different directions you could go with your new printer.

Tools

Although right now you can only print in plastic, there are a great many tool parts you can download and sell, or just keep for yourself. With the higher end 3D printers, you can make anything from custom guitars, car parts to a giant wrench set in just a couple of hours.

And with 3D printer shipments expecting to grow to 95% by 2017, Walmart will soon be losing some serious business.

Toys

Small figurines are the name of the game right now in 3D printing – and the possibilities are endless. Business Insider reports, “McKinsey estimates the total economic impact of 3D printing technology to be $230-$550 billion per year by 2025, $100-$300 billion of which will be direct consumer products such as toys.”

You can print from designs that already exist or you can create your own line of toys. You could recreate rare action figures, and really put them out of business on Ebay. Oh, the possibilities.

Models

Many industries, from retail to architecture, make use of models. Right now, most of these companies hire people to create them by hand, but if you were to acquire a 3D printer, you would be a darling of the market.

Many companies would consider hiring you just to design and print models for them, because you would be able to get them done quickly. World demand for 3D printing is projected to rise more than 20% per year, so it’s best to get in early when the growth is that rapid.

Jewelry

There is now a new form of jewelry making. Instead of drawing out designs and assembling them by hand, you can now create the designs on your computer and print them out. This saves an incredible amount of time, as now you can focus on selling and marketing your business instead of painstakingly creating your jewelry – piece by piece.

Etsy invested $ 60 million dollars in 3D printing in 2014, so 3D jewelry is not something that is being taken lightly. Expect the newest trends in the coming years to feature the brightly colored pieces created by 3D printers.

Though it seems stranger than fiction, this is no dream. This technology is growing at a breakneck pace, and will soon touch each one of our lives. It will offer us freedom, control, and unlimited channels through which to save money and earn a living.

By Jeanine Amella