The 3D printer market is flooded with inexpensive, easy-to-use desktop products for entry-level professional applications. Some are packaged as complete solutions with all the tools and accessories needed to produce and finish a print. It’s a nice concept, but for resellers, there’s no money at the entry level.
The best margins and profit are found at the higher end of the market. There, the focus is on selling custom 3D solutions, not pre-packaged systems. Custom solutions take the customer’s application and needs into account to build a system that includes everything needed to build and finish a print to the customer’s standards and expectations. This might include software, finishing tools and equipment, scanners, and items to remove excess material and support structures. In some cases, it might mean help in setting up specialized facilities at the customer’s site.
A reseller who can spec, supply, and support a complete commercial solution has a few advantages. Higher revenue and profit is the obvious one. Ancillary equipment might double the revenue from a sale. Just as important, providing a complete solution ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty.
A common complaint about resellers is that they give a quote for a system that customers later find out is inadequate or incomplete. They are then left to deal with third parties to fill in the gaps. Sometimes, the pieces that they buy separately are not appropriate for their applications. Headaches like this create a negative impression of the reseller.
Another advantage is that the reseller has a vested interest in getting the customer as productive as possible in the shortest amount of time. In other words, you want to sell as much 3D materials and services to them as you can. A complete system not only gets customers operational faster, but it also helps them maximize the output of the system sooner.
This is why the larger, most successful commercial 3D printer resellers always quote a complete solution. In fact, some don’t even offer the customer the option of eliminating items off the quote. Their message to the customer is straightforward: “This is the solution that we believe will work best for you, and we cannot guarantee your satisfaction with anything less.”
Of course, there are trade-offs to the advantages of the solutions approach, primarily the investment in inventory, training, staff, and possibly larger office space. Expect to spend at least $100,000 to have adequate inventory and demo systems on hand. You will also need to bring yourself and your team up to speed on the technology and applications for the verticals you sell into. Expect to add specialists to your staff, particularly in sales and support. And not only can the systems you will be selling be quite large, they also could have facilities requirements such as ventilation or clean areas. That could mean acquiring more square footage for your business.
Let’s look at the components that make up a turn-key 3D printing solution. Every application will have its own mix of these components.
Software
Engineers and designers typically use CAD packages to create digital models of objects for printing. They typically need additional software to optimize and prepare digital files for the 3D printer. Customers that already have an engineering or design department will already have software to model 3D objects. Well-known brands in the 3D modeling space include AutoCAD, Solidworks, ZBrush, and Rhino3D. Most commercial 3D software vendors have reseller programs.
Three other types of software come into play once a model has been created:
- Slicing, which takes a 3D model and translates it to individual layers that are then sent to the printer;
- Support structure, which generates code that the printer uses to create a support structure for the object being created; and
- Optimization and printing, which analyzes the code for the model being sent to the printer to make sure it is rendered as efficiently as possible.
The leading vendors of modeling software are slowly incorporating the above functionality into their products. For now, you might need to help your customers find the right set of software tools for their applications.
Scanners
The Surveyor ZS-Series scanner from Laser Design
Scanners are not necessary for applications where objects are always being created from scratch. However, if the 3D printers are being used to create replacement parts or variations of existing objects, a scanner is a necessity. Commercial-grade 3D scanners are available from Laser Design [www.laserdesign.com] and Fuel3D [www.fuel-3d.com], among others.
Post-Processing Tools and Equipment
It’s a common misconception that 3D-printed objects come out of the printer ready to use. The reality is that, especially for commercial applications, they can require considerable post-processing before they are ready to use. For example, most print jobs require temporary support structures to prevent the effects of gravity from damaging the object as it’s being built. Depending on the size and complexity of the support structure, it could take hours to remove by hand.
Support structures are typically made from a different material that’s less expensive and easy to remove. Some are water soluble, which requires a bath for removal. Support material used with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers typically requires a solvent such as sodium hydroxide.
Objects made from liquid photopolymers or powders often have unsolidified material that needs to be removed. This is typically done in water or a bath using solvents such as isopropyl alcohol or sodium hydroxide. For printing with powder, compressed air and vacuums come in handy.
The finish of a printed object might need work before it meets requirements. This might require handwork such as sanding, bead blasting, heating in an oven, or use of specialized equipment depending on the materials used and application. The application might require polishing or painting, for which tools and equipment are available. Finishing is most likely to be required for small production runs, part replacements, art or medical applications, or producing prototypes that need to approximate the look of the finished product.
For customers who occasionally need to do finishing work on their prints, it makes more sense to steer them toward a finishing service provider. Repliform [www.repliforminc.com], for example, can put a wide range of finishes on almost any object made with any material—bead blasted, electroplating, brushed, buffed, and more.
Equipment and tools for post-processing are rarely available from the OEM. You will have to establish relationships with the makers of industrial baths, vacuum products, and other equipment. It’s probably not necessary to keep these items in inventory, but you do need to know enough about the products to match them to your customers’ applications.
Almco RCWB-36E
Vendors like Almco [www.almco.com] produce equipment specifically for 3D printing. For example, it recently introduced its RCWB-36E system to remove support material from FDM-made prints in a fraction of the time to do so by hand. In other cases, equipment made for other industrial purposes are perfectly adequate for 3D printing. This includes vacuums from Ruwac [www.ruwac.com], some of which are appropriate for 3D applications to safely remove powders that have explosive properties.
Facilities
A dirty little secret of 3D printing is that it’s a smelly and messy process. Depending on the materials being used, it can even be toxic or, as noted above, dangerous. As a reseller, you need to be aware of the materials and the volumes being used in your customers’ applications so you can make intelligent recommendations for how they set up their 3D printing facilities.
The Ruwac NA-35 Series industrial vacuum.
The main concerns are ventilation, climate control, and volatility of the materials being used. Even if the materials being used are not toxic, the customer does not want to expose its employees to the odors the printing process produces. Ideally, commercial 3D printing setups should be in an enclosed, properly ventilated area.
Many 3D printing technologies and materials are sensitive to temperature. If you can’t keep the room temperature within a certain range, the equipment might have trouble keeping the materials at the proper temperature. This could result in failed builds.
Some metal powders such as aluminum or certain forms of titanium have explosive properties under specific conditions. The facilities need to be designed to limit dust and, consequently, risk.
Most resellers aren’t in a position to build proper facilities for their customers, but they should be prepared to make recommendations that help ensure success. It might also be a good idea to build relationships with local contractors to whom you can refer your customers.
What I’ve described sounds like a lot of research and investment for the reseller, and it is. The pay-off is in getting a bigger initial sale, more consumables revenue from higher production rates, and repeat business from happy customers.
