Just a quick comment-I hope you don’t mind. Have you considered adjusting your lighting setup? It’s not the most flattering at the moment, but using a softbox light might make a big difference. That said, your content is incredibly well-articulated and very interesting!
This is exactly like the old print on demand model with apparel except with 3d. Ive been doing this for years. It works. Im now in a specific niche but design for that niche. 80/20 rule
I love this thought process. We iterate daily on our designs for selling. It is still mind blowing to take a concept from idea to print. It is awesome.
4:40 I really like the idea but had a nitpick: If it can be 3D printed, what's stopping anyone with their own printer from copying your "winners" to resell? It becomes a wack-a-mole game of issuing IP takedown requests, only for the Etsy copycats and bots to make new accounts faster than you can stop them reposting it. I'm not saying it's bad, just that there's a missing ingredient. In addition to A/B testing the perfect product, designers need to give customers a reason to buy from them *specifically*. Like reputation, safety certifications, better customer support and shipping, et cetera. That's harder to copy than the product itself. 7:55 It's not entirely "free" since you have to pay yourself or a designer for the time spent making it, but yes, I get what you mean. Zero capital cost vs tooling up a mass production line. Now it's just a matter of being a better, more efficient designer and making the stuff that your competitors overlooked.
The issue with all IP is that unless you have a government is stopping the infringement, its always whackamole. China will copy your hardware, folks will copy designs, but the first to market is always going to garner a lions share of the business if your design is solid. Even patents are able to be circumvented. Now, the user experience of doing business will absolutely get you repeat customers for sure, and at higher gross margins. its basically Agile product development. lol... The last thing is that the etsy folks don't know its a winner until you have already won. My two cents... worth only that much. lol
@@slant3d I get what you mean. You guys do a great job helping authors to focus on writing good "books" instead of how to make them, so to speak. Admittedly I'm sidetracking a bit, but more content on how to differentiate one's business powered by your 3d printers would help. It's great that we can cheaply A/B test winning products with 3d printing. But 80% of the people on Etsy are designing the wrong things to begin with. They can make anything imaginable yet waste that power on arty trinkets. Surely there's more to it than that. There should be more focus on teaching how to find the right problems to solve. What can we make that injection molding can't? What sectors or product archetypes need 3D printing's customizability the most? Although you've probably answered these questions elsewhere already, sorry for the rant.
This is honestly a really solid question, but the answer is staring you in the face. Why do you buy a loaf of bread vs creating your own recipe from scratch and baking it at home? Because you're lazy or don't have the time or can't do it to the same quality or... there's myriad reasons, but as a shopfront you need to maximise the number of reasons. Make it so easy to buy from you, and such a pleasurable experience, that it would be dumb for 90% of people to NOT buy from you - the winning recipe will depend on what you're selling, who you are etc. Maybe you offer free shipping, maybe you offer free replacements if your print breaks, maybe you offer the best colour range. As a creator though sometimes you lose sight of the fact that most people don't have a printer, and of those that DO have a printer most of them are crap and produce crap, and of those that DO have a printer and can print good quality, a lot don't have access to - or skills in - CAD to recreate your design anyway.
@@chi2251 There is some credit to iterative testing to see what sticks. There might be only a 1 in 10 chance that an idea works, but the payoff is like 100 to 1. So it makes sense to take the bet, if losing a few times wont bankrupt you. Slant's printing basically lowers the cost of taking that bet. You cant predict with 100% certainty that your ideas will pay off, but there are ways to lower the cost of trying.
chiming in... 3d is my strong suite, printing not so much lol. Traditional Cad is Fusion 360 for me. There are also others but I haven't used them, such as Tinker cad and many others. I personally use the surface modeling programs, they are not traditional Cad software but work well for organic shapes. My favorites are Cheetah 3d (mac only), Cinema 4d and Houdini 3d (the most difficult but also the most powerful). Blender 3d also falls into this category and its completely free
i want to increase my design skill, but im broke, and dont want to waste time learning ancient methods or things i will never use. does anyone have a source they can suggest for me to use to learn more and increase my skill?
@DeltreeZero do you mean using 3d modeling software or the kind of design that focuses on visual aesthetic or functionality? If you just want help with 3d modeling, youtube. There's tons of tutorials about how to use software like fusion 360 and blender. Go through all of the basics, and then look at advanced tutorials as needed like if you're trying to make a very specific thing. If you mean aesthetics or functional design, the best teacher I've found is my customers. I've been making and selling original 3d printed products for 3 years, trust me, if there's a problem, your customers will let you know in the reviews. One of my products has gone through 4-5 shipped redesigns in its lifetime until I came up with a model that fit both what the customers wanted and what was efficient to manufacture. It's still not perfect in my mind, but I get almost no complaints anymore.
@@linkeroniw i am curious if any particular source stood out to you. i can search keywords, but im not experienced enough to know a good tutorial from a less good one when examining the search results
You mention a company that makes accessories for nerf guns. My question is about when do patent laws apply? I made a 3d print to cover a crack in the cover of an exercise bike. Their cover is a bad design and always breaks in the same spot. A new replacement cover from them costs $900. So can I sell this 3D print online and advertise it as an accessory for this bike? I am not making the bike itself, but maybe that company doesn't sell as many replacement covers.
The fact that a new product is expensive to get to market is a way to protect yourself from low effort copy cats which would be even more prevalent since anyone could do it. While yes there are professional companies which focus on copying any new idea they are a small enough number and if they are successful they have money (suing 1-2 larger companies for patent infringement is much better since when you win you will be better financially off). Meanwhile if anyone can copy it then you got 1000 businesses copying your patent and they got no money so its expensive to sue em as they will just close the company.
Bullshit........Problem...most People have 100 Printers and no idea........I had 100 Ideas and 0 printers.......then bought one...made 5k....then bought 4 better ones - made another 20k in 3 month!
We can make any shape imaginable yet most people on etsy waste that ability to make junk artwork and trinkets instead. I think 3d printing tech is great but not being used correctly. I see potential in making spare parts when the mass-produced alternative goes out of production, or to make accessories and addons that attach to existing products. Basically any product that doesn't have enough demand to justify mass production, but that people still pay good coin for.
This business model is fantastic, as long as you guys have outlets in as many cities/towns/whatever, as possible. If you don't, then from an ecological stand-point, shipping a few boxes per client, here and there, around the country (world?), is poor use of energy.
This is a fantastic ad for your company. Most people wont eve realize it. Also, everyone, please make products with good materials and good products in general. Those fidget toys are ok for a quick buck or two but not what you want to base a design company on.
Just a quick comment-I hope you don’t mind. Have you considered adjusting your lighting setup? It’s not the most flattering at the moment, but using a softbox light might make a big difference. That said, your content is incredibly well-articulated and very interesting!
@@louschillaci you must have gotten the b version of the video, in mine he had strong blue lighting
This is exactly like the old print on demand model with apparel except with 3d. Ive been doing this for years. It works. Im now in a specific niche but design for that niche. 80/20 rule
Like a machine gunner...spray and pray, Baby!!! lol
I love this thought process. We iterate daily on our designs for selling. It is still mind blowing to take a concept from idea to print. It is awesome.
I really needed this. I'm in the process of making my first printing startup and am struggling with sales so thanks Slant :)
This is just how the genetic algorithm in machine learning works, adopting it into 3d printing is absolutely amazing
4:40 I really like the idea but had a nitpick: If it can be 3D printed, what's stopping anyone with their own printer from copying your "winners" to resell? It becomes a wack-a-mole game of issuing IP takedown requests, only for the Etsy copycats and bots to make new accounts faster than you can stop them reposting it.
I'm not saying it's bad, just that there's a missing ingredient. In addition to A/B testing the perfect product, designers need to give customers a reason to buy from them *specifically*. Like reputation, safety certifications, better customer support and shipping, et cetera. That's harder to copy than the product itself.
7:55 It's not entirely "free" since you have to pay yourself or a designer for the time spent making it, but yes, I get what you mean. Zero capital cost vs tooling up a mass production line. Now it's just a matter of being a better, more efficient designer and making the stuff that your competitors overlooked.
How does software do it. Same thing
Why buy one book rather than another. Same thing
The issue with all IP is that unless you have a government is stopping the infringement, its always whackamole. China will copy your hardware, folks will copy designs, but the first to market is always going to garner a lions share of the business if your design is solid.
Even patents are able to be circumvented. Now, the user experience of doing business will absolutely get you repeat customers for sure, and at higher gross margins.
its basically Agile product development. lol... The last thing is that the etsy folks don't know its a winner until you have already won. My two cents... worth only that much. lol
@@slant3d I get what you mean. You guys do a great job helping authors to focus on writing good "books" instead of how to make them, so to speak. Admittedly I'm sidetracking a bit, but more content on how to differentiate one's business powered by your 3d printers would help.
It's great that we can cheaply A/B test winning products with 3d printing. But 80% of the people on Etsy are designing the wrong things to begin with. They can make anything imaginable yet waste that power on arty trinkets. Surely there's more to it than that.
There should be more focus on teaching how to find the right problems to solve. What can we make that injection molding can't? What sectors or product archetypes need 3D printing's customizability the most? Although you've probably answered these questions elsewhere already, sorry for the rant.
This is honestly a really solid question, but the answer is staring you in the face. Why do you buy a loaf of bread vs creating your own recipe from scratch and baking it at home? Because you're lazy or don't have the time or can't do it to the same quality or... there's myriad reasons, but as a shopfront you need to maximise the number of reasons. Make it so easy to buy from you, and such a pleasurable experience, that it would be dumb for 90% of people to NOT buy from you - the winning recipe will depend on what you're selling, who you are etc. Maybe you offer free shipping, maybe you offer free replacements if your print breaks, maybe you offer the best colour range.
As a creator though sometimes you lose sight of the fact that most people don't have a printer, and of those that DO have a printer most of them are crap and produce crap, and of those that DO have a printer and can print good quality, a lot don't have access to - or skills in - CAD to recreate your design anyway.
I love your content. Thank you for sharing knowledge. I watch your every video and I can't stop thinking about what you said here
So, basically. Throw everything at the wall something bound to stick.😂got it.
No. Do not do that. Test and iterate
Until you hit the target and then get better until you hit the bulls eye
@@chi2251 There is some credit to iterative testing to see what sticks. There might be only a 1 in 10 chance that an idea works, but the payoff is like 100 to 1. So it makes sense to take the bet, if losing a few times wont bankrupt you.
Slant's printing basically lowers the cost of taking that bet. You cant predict with 100% certainty that your ideas will pay off, but there are ways to lower the cost of trying.
Great content! Finding a lot of inspiration from your words!
When are you opening up outside the US?
This. Instead of shipping stuff crossborder, just print it within the same country as the customer. No more customs delays or taxes.
NAILED it!!!!
Which creation software do you recommend/accept? Thanks. True 3D newbie here!!
chiming in... 3d is my strong suite, printing not so much lol. Traditional Cad is Fusion 360 for me. There are also others but I haven't used them, such as Tinker cad and many others.
I personally use the surface modeling programs, they are not traditional Cad software but work well for organic shapes. My favorites are Cheetah 3d (mac only), Cinema 4d and Houdini 3d (the most difficult but also the most powerful). Blender 3d also falls into this category and its completely free
@3:27 goku's got some cake
Of course not, it's Vegeta 😂😂
i want to increase my design skill, but im broke, and dont want to waste time learning ancient methods or things i will never use. does anyone have a source they can suggest for me to use to learn more and increase my skill?
Practice
There are lots of free resources here on youtube that you could use
@DeltreeZero do you mean using 3d modeling software or the kind of design that focuses on visual aesthetic or functionality?
If you just want help with 3d modeling, youtube. There's tons of tutorials about how to use software like fusion 360 and blender. Go through all of the basics, and then look at advanced tutorials as needed like if you're trying to make a very specific thing.
If you mean aesthetics or functional design, the best teacher I've found is my customers. I've been making and selling original 3d printed products for 3 years, trust me, if there's a problem, your customers will let you know in the reviews. One of my products has gone through 4-5 shipped redesigns in its lifetime until I came up with a model that fit both what the customers wanted and what was efficient to manufacture. It's still not perfect in my mind, but I get almost no complaints anymore.
@@McRootbeer i can feel the love from here
@@linkeroniw i am curious if any particular source stood out to you. i can search keywords, but im not experienced enough to know a good tutorial from a less good one when examining the search results
You mention a company that makes accessories for nerf guns. My question is about when do patent laws apply? I made a 3d print to cover a crack in the cover of an exercise bike. Their cover is a bad design and always breaks in the same spot. A new replacement cover from them costs $900. So can I sell this 3D print online and advertise it as an accessory for this bike? I am not making the bike itself, but maybe that company doesn't sell as many replacement covers.
The fact that a new product is expensive to get to market is a way to protect yourself from low effort copy cats which would be even more prevalent since anyone could do it. While yes there are professional companies which focus on copying any new idea they are a small enough number and if they are successful they have money (suing 1-2 larger companies for patent infringement is much better since when you win you will be better financially off).
Meanwhile if anyone can copy it then you got 1000 businesses copying your patent and they got no money so its expensive to sue em as they will just close the company.
great advice
Please answer my quotes i filled them out on your quotes page 4 times so far with different products
Shoot a message to info@slant3d.com
ZB designs license other people’s designs, they do not design themselves
Bullshit........Problem...most People have 100 Printers and no idea........I had 100 Ideas and 0 printers.......then bought one...made 5k....then bought 4 better ones - made another 20k in 3 month!
Do tell.
We can make any shape imaginable yet most people on etsy waste that ability to make junk artwork and trinkets instead. I think 3d printing tech is great but not being used correctly.
I see potential in making spare parts when the mass-produced alternative goes out of production, or to make accessories and addons that attach to existing products. Basically any product that doesn't have enough demand to justify mass production, but that people still pay good coin for.
This business model is fantastic, as long as you guys have outlets in as many cities/towns/whatever, as possible. If you don't, then from an ecological stand-point, shipping a few boxes per client, here and there, around the country (world?), is poor use of energy.
Next year I'm going to start releasing a bunch of files that I've been creating over the last 2 years. Can't wait to see if anyone is interested
why wait
This is a fantastic ad for your company. Most people wont eve realize it. Also, everyone, please make products with good materials and good products in general. Those fidget toys are ok for a quick buck or two but not what you want to base a design company on.
this is all nice but unfortunately vast majority of useful items can't be 3d printed, or at least not with pla or petg and two 0.4mm walls
@@riba2233 so get some ASA or PEEK and increase the wall count.
You're not limited to pla and petg and certainly not limited to 0.4mm walls; my 3d printed kitchen drawers have 2mm walls
@@rj7855 you are missing the context, I'm not talking in general terms
85% of items can
@@slant3d I reeeeeally doubt that
Uyyyy en español, genialllll🎉
I love your channel, but can you please disable these annoying automatic translations until TH-cam fixes them? Thanks.
Bad but usable > not available
Your channel got unusable with the ai voiceover which is not disableable on mobile website.
Huh in the app you can easily switch
watch with grayjay
I agree. This feature is broken by design. It cannot be disabled and there is no "easy switch".
Hey man if you Need a good Voice over Write me a Message. My mother tongue is german i would provide an example until Tomorrow if wished