According to a latest market reserach, the global 3D printing services market is expected to grow from $4.97 billion in 2020 to $6.76 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36%. The ever-growing market seems to be promising business opportunities and it’s really a good time to consider starting a 3d printing business. Thus we work out this top 10 3D printing business ideas of 2021 and hope you could find some helpful information.
Part One: What’s 3D Printing & how it works?
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is the process of producing 3-dimensional objects from a computer file, where the part is built by adding material layer-by-layer.The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced cross-section of the object. You might also be interested to check our post “What is 3D Printer and How does It Work?‘ find complete explaination on 3D printing.
Why Use 3D Printing?
1. Huge & Growing Market
According to a latest market reserach, the global 3D printing services market is expected to grow from $4.97 billion in 2020 to $6.76 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36%. As more and more companies are resuming their operations and recovering from COVID-19, the demands would increase further more.
2. Allow Massive Customization
3D printers provide users posibility of massive customization and set free of imaganation and creativity in so many ways. During past few years, 3D printign technology has been envovled so much that you cannot image how many things could be printed out. You might just read news about 3D-printed homes for sale in the US or Australia. As matter of fact, 3D printing is far more than a DIY tool for quite a long time. This also offers DIY users with much fun and possibility to play with 3D printers.
3.Affordable Price
The ever-growing market demand and rapid development of technology enable manufacturers to keep price for FDM 3D printers and laser cutters much lower. A quick research, you might find hundreds of 3D printers with price around $500 or lower.
4. Growing Community
The community for 3D printing is growing every year as 3D printing training program has been introduced to many school and organizations. The growing user basis enables more people gather around to websites like Thingiverse to share their idea and happiness. As a result, 3D printing become much easier as 3D model designing is no longer a basic requirement.
5. Easy to Use
Instead of a complex professional tool designed for experts, Twotrees comsume 3D printers are designed for as entry level 3d printer that could be easily understood and handled.Fast & Covenient
Compared with traditional manufacturing, 3D printing skips over the process of open moduling, some production, shipping process,etc, thus users could get finished products within very short time. This is extremely convenient for small projects that only limited quantity of products needed.
Part three: Top 10 3D Printing Business Ideas
1. Children Toys
Raising children isn’t an easy job and toys might save your day as they would keep your children busy and entertained. Researches and figures have shown that market demands for toys are increasing every year. Toys are also among easiest and most popular items to creat with 3D printers as children are always looking for new toys to fill up their collections of doll, action figure, fidget spinner, toy car/truck,etc. Though toys printing seems to be easy way to business success, issue including intellectual property should be taken into consideration while choosing models to print.
2. Promotional Products
Another huge market demands for 3D printing service is promotional products production. Most companies want specialized custom itmes to market their brand. Outsourcing from manufacturer would be out of consideration as most factories have large quantity demand for customized itme and the whole production & shipping process would delay the whole project. However a local 3D printing service would be of great help to speed up the whole process. And companies are always looking for interesting products to get their logo on, thus if you are considering startup home business, 3D printed promotional products would be a really good options.
3. Character Figurines
We all have our favorite characters from video games,comics, anime and movies. The market for 3D printed characters is huge and you could always find right niche market to enter from trending video games or anime or movies. With bit advertising work on social network or search engine, customers would come to you with ideas and files to print out their demanding models.
4. Home decor
For those with a passion for home decor, 3D printing lends itself well to the housewares market. Vases, lamps, planters, photo frames, dishes, drinkware, placemats and cutlery are all easily produced through additive printing. Complex designs with unique textures and finishes can be printed with relative ease. The key is to develop a unique aesthetic and define your niche. Set up an e-commerce site from which to feature your designs and then print on demand to customer specs. At the same time you can leverage existing traffic on sites like Etsy where customers are always looking for interesting and unique home decor that reflects their personal style and a desire for one-of-a kind items.
5. Customized Collectibles
Though tastes or trends change all the time, people’s fashion for colletion would never die out or go out of fashion. Fans love to search and collect figurines and collectible items for their favorite athletes, artists, gamers, singer and celebrities of various type. The potential opportunities for 3D printed collectibles are endless. While the focus is collectibles, you may focus on a wide range of markets. One obvious advantage of 3D printing business is that the inventory is small and lightweight, therefore easy to store and ship. This is especially important if you’re starting your business out of your home.
6. Smartphone Cases
Customzied smartphone cases are one popular and easy way for people to reflect their personality or tastes. Many of them change up often which means repeated sales for customized phone cases. If you have a good eye for what’s trending in design, fashion and pop culture and can design to the tastes and interests of customers while offering protective features and materials, a 3D smartphone printing business can be a great small business opportunity.
7. Make Your Own Art
Here’s a 3D printing business idea for those who are truly innovative and have their creative juices flowing. Make your own art. Yes, this business idea is nebulous, but that’s the fun. Art is all about creating something new, something that no one else has ever thought of before. All you need is an idea and a 3D printer. Plus, you can even sell your art online to keep overhead costs low.
8. Customized Glasses Frames
Who doesn’t love a stylish pair of sunglasses or eyeglasses?No one’s face is quite the same as the next person nor do most people have symmetrical ears. This all comes together for uncomfortable glasses and sunglasses.While glasses and sunglasses are functional, they can also be stylish.You can fix that with customized 3D-printed glasses. This is a cool niche to get into.
9. JEWELRY AND ORNAMENTS PRODUCTION
More and more jewelry designers are using 3D printing to produce their pieces, from rings to bracelets to earrings. Between 2020-2024, the 3D jewelry business is forecasted to grow by $1.95 billion, a 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The popularity can be attributed to the efficiency in creating intricately detailed designs and the significantly quicker production times. There are 3D jewelry printers that allow for casting and are better able to utilize metals, nylons and other materials specific to jewelry making.
10. Cosplay Accessories
Cosplay accessories is another market to startup your 3D printing business. As cosplay is becomming more and more popular among the young, the demands for related products is growing everyday. However it’s still difficult to find right accessories or parts needed for the right custom or characters. 3D printing could produced customized parts in very short time. If you are considering start 3D printing service company, this could be a very promising market to consider.
Though we just list top 10 3D printing business ideas, there are much more to dig into as 3D printing in nowadays not only use in producing consum products but also in manufacturing, medical, art, construction sector,etc. You can conduct a brainstorm based on your current working line to consider what’s the best options to start with. If you have any other ideas that you think should be listed, please leave a comment.
