What 3D printed stuff do you wish your LFS carried?

[MoshJosh]

Things that hang on the side of tank for mounting things. I know that is super vague but I'm always like. . . man if only I had something to mount this too. . . or zip tie this too. . .etc

 

[Greybeard]

I'll print my own stuff, thanks, but... one of the most useful, and simple, little things I've done is a mounting bracket that holds a series of manual RO/DI inline 1/4" valves in a manifold arrangement. It's on Thingiverse, you're more than welcome to print 'em and sell 'em.

RO/DI Push Connect Valve Manifold by GreybeardFM

Holds three cheap Amazon 1/4" RO/DI valves easily for mounting.Enjoy :D

www.thingiverse.com

And a shot of the one in my sump closet. Zip ties, cheap Amazon push connect valves... works great!

 

[Projects with Sam]

Nothing because i am 3D printing everything in my own. Most of the time i am also designing everything in my own too. LFS wouldn't be allowed to sell any 3d printed stuff anyway unless they are designing it themselves.

I would be very careful with that. Unless you are designing this stuff yourself you aren't allowed to do that. For example Thingyverse has a very very stupid copyright policy. Even if the design has a commercial license. This only counts for thingyverse though.
Dor that reason i have allowed anyone to sell my designs manually in the description. Is this enough? Probably not.

To be honest with you it really takes a cease and desist letter on legal paper to actually get someone to stop selling or profiting from your designs you upload. and even then its questionable.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I'll print my own stuff, thanks, but... one of the most useful, and simple, little things I've done is a mounting bracket that holds a series of manual RO/DI inline 1/4" valves in a manifold arrangement. It's on Thingiverse, you're more than welcome to print 'em and sell 'em.

RO/DI Push Connect Valve Manifold by GreybeardFM

Holds three cheap Amazon 1/4" RO/DI valves easily for mounting.Enjoy :D

www.thingiverse.com

And a shot of the one in my sump closet. Zip ties, cheap Amazon push connect valves... works great!

awesome design!
I've printed stuff off Thingiverse for folks locally at the price of filament, electricity, and opportunity cost (I could be printing something for profit).
If printing off Thingiverse, I treat my services as a convenience, not a profit center.

Its not long before everyone has printers anyway so I don't want to base the companies business model solely on that. That being said, its a pretty good way to recoup startup costs and build-up capital.


I'm tempted to try a kickstarter.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Nothing because i am 3D printing everything in my own. Most of the time i am also designing everything in my own too. LFS wouldn't be allowed to sell any 3d printed stuff anyway unless they are designing it themselves.

I would be very careful with that. Unless you are designing this stuff yourself you aren't allowed to do that. For example Thingyverse has a very very stupid copyright policy. Even if the design has a commercial license. This only counts for thingyverse though.
Dor that reason i have allowed anyone to sell my designs manually in the description. Is this enough? Probably not.

I agree with this. I think that 3d printers are affordable enough that if someone wanted one, price wouldn't be the reason for not purchasing.

There are a few free 3d modeling cad softwares out there and if someone with the skills to navigate the world wide web, has the capability of learning how to extrude shapes to render a printable part.

To push back a little about thingiverse, they aren't the only sharing platform that allows for open source, creative commons. The Idea that you want people to be able to print these things for personal use [in my mind] is perfectly fine, and that's why I uploaded everything that I made, but when you start to see people break the spirit of these share sites, it's hard not to be jaded by the experience.

That's why I push people into owning their own printer so that they can make things for themselves and not rely on others to turn a profit on something that should only cost the electricity and raw plastic it takes to make them. I envision a hobby where there's no demand for 3d printed parts because people are making parts for themselves.

 

[Mschmidt]

coral carriers for reusable cups and cheaper frag racks. coral stands for the sand.

 

[Tavero]

To be honest with you it really takes a cease and desist letter on legal paper to actually get someone to stop selling or profiting from your designs you upload. and even then its questionable.

Yeah but still. If you upload something it exists for communal usage. If i don't want someone to sell my design because i want to sell it myself (like my reef racks for example), I simply don't upload it.
I shouldn't have to give people extra permission for my uploaded stuff. It's not like this stuff is hard to copy anyway.

 

[Tavero]

but when you start to see people break the spirit of these share sites, it's hard not to be jaded by the experience

Oh stop please lol. Thingyverse doesn't even freaking care. They are the worst sharing site but sadly have the largest amount of designs. A year ago they have broken the zip download function and haven't fixed it until now. At the same time they are working overtime to delete any figurine designs that may be a bit naked or are in any way slightly similar to copyrighed stuff (like the thousands of Warhammer inspired figurines)

Yes it broke my spirit and i havent uploaded any of my designs for a long time now. Not because of people sharing/stealing it but because of thingyverse crappy censoreship culture.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I stopped because another YouTuber didn't accredit my design when he used it in his video. Then when I asked him to link to my channel because he was using my part he pulled his video.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Oh stop please lol.

I think it boils down to people's lack of understanding of share sites. Thingiverse is a perfect example because it attracts folks that aren't familiar with the world of open source and are only there to download cool things to print. "open source" "creative commons", "attributes", "non commercial" are just words with no meaning.

But a site like github which is the same conceptual platform without the attraction of the tourist. Places like that are home to a very specific group of people that understand open source isn't meant to monetize rather it's simply meant to collaborate and improve on concepts with one goal in mind which is to share their work for free.

 

[Tavero]

I think it boils down to people's lack of understanding of share sites. Thingiverse is a perfect example because it attracts folks that aren't familiar with the world of open source and are only there to download cool things to print. "open source" "creative commons", "attributes", "non commercial" are just words with no meaning.

But a site like github which is the same conceptual platform without the attraction of the tourist. Places like that are home to a very specific group of people that understand open source isn't meant to monetize rather it's simply meant to collaborate and improve on concepts with one goal in mind which is to share their work for free.

No it doesn't boils down to that. Don't you dare to try to blame the users. Open source isn't as complicated as you seem to make it.
If thingyverse bends over and get on their knees every time a brand knocks on their door, then sharing isn't possible. This has nothing to to with the "folks" you were talking about. Users have no say in that.
I know there are other sites. Github isnt the only alternative. There is minifactory, pinshape, cults3d, yeggi, cg trater etc. But as long as thingyverse is still alive the rest won't have a chance to compete.

It's the same case with YouTube. As long as they are still around, competiton like Odysee, Bitchute and Vimeo will never be popular, and YouTube can continue and abuse its monopoly to shadowban channels.

 

[ReeferMonkey]

I can make them, PM me

Can you make them for Viparspectra 165W lights?

 

[Projects with Sam]

Can you make them for Viparspectra 165W lights?

If he cant, @chemisfun11 makes shades too. here is a sample of his k7v3 shades:

Build Thread - 120g Craigslist tank restoration

Finally, I found a 120g for a used price $200. She’s the ugliest most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. I’m going to strip the two overflows, add a ghost overflow and oh so much more to get this one wet again. I decided to put my money towards reputable equipment, instead of the glass...

www.reef2reef.com

Mine will be up on my webpage once I am done testing them. I wouldn't want to set anyone's house on fire. So glad I am forming an LLC and getting insurance to limit my liability and provide the affected with recourse if any of my parts are used in an unintended way and destroys someone's setup or worse.

Better believe I am going to thoroughly test all my products before they make it to anyone's door.

 

[neonreef3d]

Can you make them for Viparspectra 165W lights?

check your messages

 

[chemisfun11]

I have those in dev for my own K7V3 lights.

I just designed a light spill shade for the Noopsyche K7 Pro III and for the mini

 

[Projects with Sam]

Would you hire an uninsured plumber or electrician to work on your house?
I was worried sending my test shades out to folks because I was concerned about fires.
That woke me up to the fact that all it would take is someone installing the shade improperly for there to be a fire.
I don't want my kids future's to be in jeopardy because someone installed something wrong; hence insurance.
Also; heaven forbid something horrible happens in a fire and something more precious is lost.

 

[Projects with Sam]

My Lights and all my 3D printed stuff will be up at https://www.parlaquatics.com
I am sure my prices will be better then most once my products are all up.

 

[chemisfun11]

Would you hire an uninsured plumber or electrician to work on your house?
I was worried sending my test shades out to folks because I was concerned about fires.
That woke me up to the fact that all it would take is someone installing the shade improperly for there to be a fire.
I don't want my kids future's to be in jeopardy because someone installed something wrong; hence insurance.
Also; heaven forbid something horrible happens in a fire and something more precious is lost.

So true. Reason I became an LLC when my light spill shades started to become popular. I am still a hobbyist and a reefer like everyone else, but you need to protect yourself and your family.

 

[chemisfun11]

My Lights and all my 3D printed stuff will be up at https://www.parlaquatics.com
I am sure my prices will be better then most once my products are all up.

Looking good buddy! I have yet to create a website. I don't want to get too overwhelmed. I am getting contacted domestically and internationally now which is keeping me pretty busy with lots of projects. I hope to have a website eventually, but I do a lot of custom work and requests which is time consuming. Just happy to help the reefing community get rid of that harsh blue light spill so we can continue enjoying our beautiful reef tanks.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Looking good buddy! I have yet to create a website. I don't want to get too overwhelmed. I am getting contacted domestically and internationally now which is keeping me pretty busy with lots of projects. I hope to have a website eventually, but I do a lot of custom work and requests which is time consuming. Just happy to help the reefing community get rid of that harsh blue light spill so we can continue enjoying our beautiful reef tanks.

Thanks! I watch FishOfHex and he says how backed up he is and I figure there is a lot of room for more. Plus I want to bring some of my DIY solutions to market. I'm hoping the 3D printing (which I mainly use to prototype) will help me repay some startup costs and buildup capital todo a crowdfunding venture or something similar (private) for doing a real product (with a fancy yet inexpensive packaging box).

Its super cheap and easy with AWS to start a page. I think I've spent a total of $24 (2 yrs domain name on Route53) and Amazon granted me $300 to start as a small business incentive.
Plus as the page grows I can take advantage of all their hardcore tools.