I’ve been looking into the following 3D printing services, determined to make an awesome branded 3D mug to help launch my day properly:
So far I have a working model I can upload to these sites, but my 6.5 in tall, 4ish in wide ceramic mug is calculated to cost $151 to $209!!! Ouch. The walls are just a touch thicker than a typical mug. I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong or if this is a truly expensive hobby. Maybe I need to create something with more perceived value than a mug?
At the very least, I learned much more about 3D modeling and modeling with Blender.
Anyone else playing with 3D printing? What are your thoughts?
Cool design. I looked into making a cup too. I can’t afford to spend that much, and mine was even smaller. Ceramic looks like a cheap option but when you have to have a minimal thickness of 3mm, it adds up.
Edit to add that I don’t think the final product would resemble your model due to the lack of detail possible in ceramic printing, at least at shapeways.
I found a use for the model. Granted, I need to figure out the odd choppy physics recording and the thing getting all cracked before smashing against the ground.
I haven’t actually printed anything yet, but yeah, I’d say it’s likely to cost quite a lot to make that mug. The walls are pretty thick, so it’s using a lot of material. (And for a mug, you need them thick so you don’t get burned.)
3D printing is great for prototyping, and prototyping is usually expensive anyhow. For selling the product, you have to use more traditional means. You could even use that prototype to help create the molds for transitional means, I believe.
I don’t know much about 3d printing, but this is an interesting topic (oh, and nice model too :P)
would it be possible to form a polymer mold with the printer, make a plaster cast of it and then make the mug using the cast?
I don’t know how much cheaper it would be, but it’s an idea.
Yeah, as wccrawford put it, this would be great for prototyping. If I were to mass produce this mug, 3D printing a prototype to be molded instead of sculpting by hand could save a LOT of time and money from that perspective. I’m sure there would be some extra considerations to take in as a traditional mold for ceramics would have more limitations than a 3D print.
Tonight I’m altering the original design for a smaller, thinner espresso cup or shot glass (losing the upper fans but keeping an indent there). I’d love to make something that could be printed and food safe for under $30. I’ll post if I succeed.
Perhaps if I sell enough shot glasses, I could print my $150 mug… but I tend to drop things and that could be bad.
Update:
For the Shapeways website, I thinned the walls and shrunk to 2.5 in tall for an “affordable” $24.23 espresso shot glass. Perhaps it would make a good gift or donation perk at the non-profit I work for (which was the original goal).
One thing I noticed on Shapeways is that the ceramic material is charged based on surface area (cm[SUP]2[/SUP]), not volume (cm[sup]3[/sup]) like the other materials. So enlarging this thinner drinking device to the original 6.5 in tall mug size would still cost $151, even though the walls are thinner. The competition sites charge just a touch more. I could save a lot of money by filling in the drinking hole… or perhaps more efficiently reduce the size of the rocket engine cavities.
One thing I gathered from all this is the need to design items with higher perceived value than a mug such as jewelry and small collectable figurines, if printing single items via a 3D printing service.
