I'm on the hardware side, so this may or may not be relevant to your question but I'll share it anyway.
I run CAD Class (https://www.cadclass.org) as well as a small 3D print farm selling custom clips and connectors for workshop equipment.
CAD Class was born out of my frustration with inadequate CAD learning resources online. When I was learning I had trouble finding a class that truly got me where I wanted to go (I wanted to develop and sell my own products). Classes I found were:
1 - Not comprehensive enough or just flat out boring
2 - Not supported by a community who could answer my questions in a reasonable timeframe in a way I understood
3 - Outdated due to software updates
4 - Lacking the right learning structure to truly advance my skillset
I built CAD Class to be the ultimate online learning resource. A kind of one-stop-shop for students learning CAD and wanting to build their dream projects.
For the print farm, I was simply scratching my own itch. I designed a few highly specific and hard to find adapters to solve a dust collection problem I was having. I realized that nobody had advertised adapters for specific equipment and that they were all generic and therefor hard to search for. The innovation here was not so much the product as it was the ease of searching for it.
Lastly, since it seems you're not sure what to make, I don't see any reason to force it. I'd suggest joining another small team or company, or simply taking a job that keeps you occupied until you come up with something you are genuinely excited about working on. I took a job with a community college teaching CAD, consulted with a few museums and startups, and wandered until I nailed down my idea. There's something to be said about keeping momentum.
Fair points about tech shop, it was a different beast compared to most spaces, had VC funding, and had many other issues. Unfortunately, it’s not just their model that failed. We watched our two closest in proximity “competitors” go out of business in the span of a few years. Not to mention our building rent went way up as Amazon and Walmart gobbled up all the large commercial spaces, making it even harder.
I largely agree with the other reply here. The value increases as the users knowledge of tools, techniques, and community increases. This, however, takes a substantial amount of time. Most people simple aren’t willing or are unable to pay for the investment.
I disagree that people leave to guilds or build out their own space, except when they’ve outgrown the current space (which is so rare I can count the number of people on 1 hand). I can’t recall anyone leaving to a guild. A few people did go into the trades and took good jobs, eventually leaving.
The cheap trinket market is saturated and tough to crack, making it difficult for small makers to get a footing. It is possible, but it takes a fair bit of marketing/sales knowledge to get it rolling. I coached many early stage entrepreneurs who thought their stickers and laser etched boxes would make them a living. Unfortunately, they were usually not able to capture the long term value of the space and we’re gone within 2 months.
I think there’s a quality to price ratio problem for makers. Their specialized skillset which takes years to master is simply not worth that much to most clients. It is hard for clients to justify paying $1500 for a desk when you can get something that works and looks okay for $200 from IKEA or target.
Maybe I’m wrong, but these are the things I’ve noticed.
I worked in senior management for a “successful” makerspace and have intimate knowledge of how difficult they are to both run and make profitable. If they are profitable, they tend to operate on razor thin margins. It’s sad because they also tend to produce value disproportionate to their cost, providing real opportunity for people to learn hands-on skills, make products, and start businesses. I’ve seen many lives transformed by having access to tools and a community who know how to support their use.
It seems most people start them because it sounds fun. And from the people I’ve talked to, for a while it is fun. The community swoops in the provide free labor and support and it all feels magical. But once this fades and the reality of the challenge sets in, it becomes less fun, less community-centric, and requires serious business chops. You are essentially running 3 businesses. Customer service, manufacturing, and education. You really need to understand the fundamentals of business to make this work. Even then it might fail.
If I remember right, tech shop was well into the 8 figures in debt when they went under. Many other spaces have come and gone, too.
I also just moved to Sacramento and toured the Hackerlab 1 week before this announcement. It’ll be back in some way, shape, or form, so keep an eye out for that. I’ll be talking with the community over the coming weeks and trying to sort out what the opportunity is.
If anyone is considering starting a space or has questions, feel free to reach out. My contact info is in my bio.
I’m a big fan of Fusion360. It’s easy enough to learn, full of online resources, and is free for tue first year. It’s also powerful enough to do machining (CAM), which is incredibly useful for manufacturing and scaling down the line.
I used to be the education director at a makerspace and now run a 3D printing company selling small plastic parts and teaching entrepreneurs how to start small manufacturing businesses at home.
Few thoughts:
- Focus on your hobbies and other industries you know well. What problems exist? Where can you make things better? Are there problems people mention over and over again?
- CAD modeling is often THE fundamental skill needed for people to bring their ideas to market. You can make CAD models that look almost real using software you can get for free. This allows you to work backwards, first determining if there's a market, and also working out many of the design flaws before making something
If you're just excited to make stuff, and want to get your hands on something, you can do all kinds of things in a tight space.
- 3D printers are small and provide many automated opportunities
- Laser cutters are dead simple to set up and use to make real products and are easy to automate.
- CNC machines can be had for under 5k and are super powerful
- Portable MIG welders have a small footprint and welding tends to be in high demand
- Leather working tends to be high perceived value though automation is limited
- Soldering and electronics repair requires little space but again, automation is limited
I've got loads of other ideas too but I'm guessing that's good for now. My contact information is in my profile if you'd like to talk more.
I'm the education director at a large makerspace and have some ideas for you.
First, if you'd like to take another step forward, I recommend silicone molding your 3D printed part. You'll need to spend a lot of time sanding/prepping, but you can achieve a surface quality similar to injection molding if done right. Your tooling investment will be well under 15k and you can do small batch runs to test the idea. I've seen some product runs under 1k parts that came out looking flawless and were 100% commercially viable.
You can experiment with the type of silicone you use and the type of polyurethane you pour into the mold. You should be working out all of the question marks here. Things like, strength, durability, weight, feel, aesthetic, and more.
BJB plastics has some great silicone products, awesome customer service, and a number of videos up on Youtube to guide you along. They aren't the only ones, but they sure are a great resource for asking questions.
I started a 3D printing company generating on average about 2k/month printing small plastic clips and connectors for collectors as well as a few other adapters and jigs sold on eBay.
I'm now working on building out a 3D printing course teaching others how to do the same.
I run the education department of a large makerspace in southern California and also teach a 3D printing course and run a 3D print farm as a side hustle. I enjoy reading the comment sections for the thoughtful commentary. Hacker news is my go-to news aggregator.
I run CAD Class (https://www.cadclass.org) as well as a small 3D print farm selling custom clips and connectors for workshop equipment.
CAD Class was born out of my frustration with inadequate CAD learning resources online. When I was learning I had trouble finding a class that truly got me where I wanted to go (I wanted to develop and sell my own products). Classes I found were:
1 - Not comprehensive enough or just flat out boring 2 - Not supported by a community who could answer my questions in a reasonable timeframe in a way I understood 3 - Outdated due to software updates 4 - Lacking the right learning structure to truly advance my skillset
I built CAD Class to be the ultimate online learning resource. A kind of one-stop-shop for students learning CAD and wanting to build their dream projects.
For the print farm, I was simply scratching my own itch. I designed a few highly specific and hard to find adapters to solve a dust collection problem I was having. I realized that nobody had advertised adapters for specific equipment and that they were all generic and therefor hard to search for. The innovation here was not so much the product as it was the ease of searching for it.
Lastly, since it seems you're not sure what to make, I don't see any reason to force it. I'd suggest joining another small team or company, or simply taking a job that keeps you occupied until you come up with something you are genuinely excited about working on. I took a job with a community college teaching CAD, consulted with a few museums and startups, and wandered until I nailed down my idea. There's something to be said about keeping momentum.