This week’s selection is “3D Printing For Money” by Richard Licastro.
To be honest, I was originally a bit skeptical about this book, as there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of sketchy 3D printing books available online these days. One must be careful with those doing self publishing. However, there are some gems hidden in there.
This book describes exactly as the title says: how to make money 3D printing. It does not describe the technology in any way, not equipment, not materials, not software, not process or any of the like.
Instead it simply focuses directly on the business of 3D printing. It assumes you already know how to operate a 3D printer, which can be easily learned elsewhere.
This addresses a problem frequently encountered by those getting into 3D printing. After printing enough parts to become expert at operations, many operators wonder what the next step might be. A common thought is to try to make some money with their newfound skills.
But that is a daunting prospect, because those experienced in technical matters often have little experience in business matters. Those are entirely different skills: marketing, closing sales, contracts, shipping, planning, administration and more are all alien concepts to many.
That’s where this book steps in. It provides an excellent overview of these matters, in an easy to read style.
There are some very interesting topics covered, including:
- How to identify markets — and consequently what to print for them
- How to reach those markets through advertising
- Calculating costs properly to account for all expenses and profit
- How to deal with customers
- How to diversify operations to withstand unexpected events and market interest shifts
- Packaging and shipping products
Finally, the book looks at the idea of creating a 3D print farm, where multiple machines run in parallel to achieve far greater throughput. This is the inevitable conclusion of a successful 3D print venture.
None of these items is covered in typical introductory 3D print books, which is why we selected this book. Combining this knowledge with 3D print technical skills could be quite profitable, if one knows what to do.
If you’re a competent 3D print operator looking for extra cash but doesn’t know where to start, this book is for you.
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Via Amazon
