Slant 3D Production 3D Printing Service
  • Production 3D Printing Quote
  • Products and Services
    • Production 3D Printing >
      • How to Use Production 3D Printing
      • 3D Printed Part Properties
      • Technology
      • 3D Design and Engineering
      • Product Fulfillment
    • Angled.io
    • Slant Promotions
    • Slant 3D Printing API
  • About
    • Past Clients
    • Contact
  • Blog

Slant 3D Blog

3D Printing for Kickstarters

11/25/2017

1 Comment

 
Even very successful crowdfunding campaigns are under a financial crunch. This is especially true for campaigns that are started by companies and inventors with no previous funding. And since crowdfunding generally results in just preorders, all the money goes to setup and fulfillment. There is no profit and very tight budget constraints. The production of hardware is especially vicious, because of unforeseen problems with suppliers and design, that aren't identified during prototyping.

We are going to focus on hardware in this discussion. If a Kickstarter is making a physical product, a drone, or a gadget, they will undoubtedly have a plastic part or two comprising it. To make these plastic parts traditionally injection molding has been required. This means that molds have to be made.

Let's take a look at the LittleArm 2C. A very successful campaign that Slant 3D manufactured the parts for.
Picture
The LittleArm 2C has 7 individual plastic parts that had to be manufactured. Even if the molds were made in China the average cost would be $2000 per part.(the lowest being $700 and the highest being $5000). The crowfunding campaign raised approximately $17,500. So even before anything could be made, packed, or shipped, the team around the Littlearm would need to spend about $14,000 just to get the molds made. And each mold had to be perfect on the first try (which rarely happens).

Basically all of the campaign funded would go to tooling. But there would still be labor and design time for optimizing the kit. There was still packaging and shipping. And there was still all of the inventory of components needed to create the kit chipsets, servos, etc.

But the LittleArm Team did not use injection molding. They designed the the Littlearm to be 3D printed. So instead of using all of the campaign funds for tooling upfront, they were able to work on a per part cost basis. It resulted in the set of LittleArm plastic parts costing 3-6 dollars apiece. While this is a bit more expensive than injection molded pieces, the LittleArm Team was able to fulfill the Kickstarter with the funds available as they searched out retail partners to build on their success.

The use of 3D printing also allowed the LittleArm Team to develop the kit during production, and quickly update the design as customers found minor flaws that weren't identified during design. This flexible manufacturing ensured that most inventory was not outmoded on the shelf.

With that initial 3D printing pricing the Littlearm team were able to manufacture a 3500 Littlearm Kits before they even reached the upfront cost the molds they could have used. The Kickstarter required less than 300 kits be manufactured. So the Littlearm team was able to do what so few Kickstarters can boast of, turn a profit.

3D printing makes crowdfunding campaigns more than just a market validation. It allows hardware to be created in the low volumes needed to address the preorders, without using all of the campaign funds just to get started. It saves the startup money until it hits much broader mainstream success.

But 3D printing has become affordable enough now that "graduation" to injection molds is never necessary. The LittleArm and its sister kits are still manufactured by Slant 3D, ​and it can be purchased though most major online retail channels.

3D printing is not just an option for crowdfunding campaigns. It should be the obvious choice, to manufacture the first units of your product.
Get a Quote on your Product
1 Comment
best essay writing service review link
12/12/2018 06:11:05 am

Actually, everyone can do 3D printing as long as they have the materials to make it possible. Than you for posting this guide, I am pretty sure that a lot of curious minds got the answer after reading this article. It's time to break the perception that 3D printing is complicated. As long as the equipments are present and you have your tram with you who can help you out, I am pretty sure it will work out according to your favor. Though it require a little bit of process, I am sure that everyone can do it!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Featured Posts
    • Cost of Production 3D Printing
    • Design for 3D Printing
    • Benefits of 3D Printing
    • Print Farm Beta Update
    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    3D Printers
    Applications
    Benefits
    Client Spotlight
    Design For 3D Printing
    Digital Inventory
    Industrial
    Mason
    News
    Online Buisness
    Services
    Toys
    Video

    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    RSS Feed

Services

Production 3D Printing
Fulfillment
CAD Design

Company

About
The Company
Technology
Past Clients
​

Support

Contact
Get a Quote
​


© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Production 3D Printing Quote
  • Products and Services
    • Production 3D Printing >
      • How to Use Production 3D Printing
      • 3D Printed Part Properties
      • Technology
      • 3D Design and Engineering
      • Product Fulfillment
    • Angled.io
    • Slant Promotions
    • Slant 3D Printing API
  • About
    • Past Clients
    • Contact
  • Blog