Hi there Arun,

It is always great to see another 3D printing enthusiast.

Your decision could benefit from a bit more detail. Specifically which 3D printing process are you looking at? Fused deposition modelling (FDM/FFF)? Stereolithography? Laser sintering? All these different 3D printing processes have different starting costs and different printing materials and output quality. Basically they are all in different leagues, but each has its own competitive advantage within its own league.

As you mentioned about challenging manufacturing companies, I suggest tackling the conventional manufacturing process at its weakest point. One would be the long manufacturing lead time, with significant bottleneck at getting the right mold for plastic injection manufacturing method. So aim to 3D print sellable goods that manufacturing companies do not (yet) have the mold for it. They could be the latest trending items, or items that are outdated and no longer produced, but has a sentimental market among affluent customers. Printing spare parts for home tools or even toy sets is also a potential market as it could be a painful experience trying to source for spare parts sometimes.

Another suggestion is not to challenge the conventional manufacturing process, but to improve it using 3D printing. Offer your service to manufacturing companies via rapid prototyping. Usually it takes a long time to get the right mold, and often this requires casting and re-casting several molds until the desired dimensions are obtained. 3D printing offers rapid prototyping that could help to circumvent these arduous processes.

There are some great books that offer really useful advices. One of the books that I had read is by Christopher: 3D Printing: The Next Technology Gold Rush. (http://www.amazon.com/Printing-Technology-Distributed-Manufacturing-ebook/dp/B00B1UKZC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381855771&sr=8-1&keywords=3d+printing). It is definitely worthwhile to spend a few days to read some of these articles/books and get some different perspectives before you decide where you want to venture into.

Hope that helps. And good luck!

Hi Kai Lun Chang

That was a great response that you have given, thank you

I am very new to this area and I am yet to figure out which process I need to take up for a start. Let me go through the book that you have mentioned. Please provide me if there are more links or books for me understand more. Also I need to look out for the traditional methodologies that can be challenged with this new technology.

Hi Arun,

I am glad to have been of help. Use the e-book I recommended previously. It comes with many online resources that you could explore further. It also brings the idea of microwork into 3D printing, which could be of tremendous help to those unfamiliar with CAD modelling. These designing task can be outsourced via online platforms for competitive prices, and save you precious time.

Currently the biggest challenge I could imagine is to get the printable 3D model. Google sketchup, tinkercad, and other softwares could help to lower this barrier. But to get abstract shapes you still need softwares like solidwork, 3ds max or autocad. If you are familiar with programming language you can try openscad or other opensource CAD softwares. Alternatively, you could use microwork to find a freelancer who will do it for you for a fee, but it is often hard to get the exact dimensions you desire if you could not give proper instructions because the shape is too abstract.

Have a look at the book, it is written specifically for business startups and SMEs. I am looking at 3D printing applications in science laboratory but I find it very helpful nonetheless :)

Good luck!

My take on this would be that 3D printing is a technology that brings us into a new paradigm. It is a technology that could enable people to be the manufacturers of their own products. I would like to see this type of technology used in a way that empowers and liberates people, rather then just to make a new business out of it. I am for free and open designs (as in open-source software ) rather than proprietary technologies that no one can touch.