Advanced desktop 3D printer

Who is this for, and who can help?


My business, Marsh Creek Miniatures . You. You can help!


Marsh Creek Miniatures is creating innovative hobby products using advanced manufacturing (3D printing and laser cutting). The photo above are models I have designed and produced over the last year. 

What do I need?

An advanced desktop 3D printer, the Formlabs Form 2 . $5,000.  Ouch. Yeah. The printer is $3,500, but Gofundme takes roughly 8% in fees, and a professional service plan is $500, the rest of the money would go toward consumables (resin, trays etc.)  These printers are being used to create amazing things, from dental molds and prothseteics to miniature set pieces for major motion pictures. Check out this video of a 3D printed movie:

Why do I need it?

Marsh Creek Miniatures is at the level of needing to expand to offer professional design and print services to other hobby businesses, and our current 3D printer cannot replicate fine details with smooth surface finishes. Currently, all of our 3D printing is done by a professional printing service. The professional service is good, but there are some serious drawbacks:

                1. Turnaround time.  From the time I design a part to the time I get it back, could be anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks. If changes need to be made to the part from the initial prototype, repeat that time, and that could be 3 months total time. What if a client needs something rushed?  I can’t force a print service to rush an order, or to rearrange their production schedules to suit my client’s needs, resulting in an unhappy client for me.

                2. Cost.  The print service I use charges by volume of material printed, which is perfectly acceptable, but by being able to print at home, my part cost would be dramatically reduced, by more than half.  By using a print service, I do not get wholesale discounts or special perks, so my cost for parts is nearly the same as the consumer cost. For the thousands of dollars in sales I have done, part costs consume 95% or more in net income.  The cost of using a print service is also prohibitive of having shelf stock of existing designs to be taken and sold at trade (hobby) shows.  Customers at shows expect to be able to purchase a product and take it home with them. Having a display model and having them order parts to be delivered at a later date should be used as a backup sales plan, rather than a primary business model.  With print services being expensive, it also prohibits me from offering larger models, and expanding into markets that could be lucrative. 

When do I need it?

Within the first quarter of 2017.  The sooner the better! By the end of 2017, Marsh Creek Miniatures needs a dedicated space to house the printer, and the rest of the business (more on that later)

Where do I need it?

In my studio (more on that later)

How will this money help me reach my goals?

Marsh Creek Miniatures was started by accident. I designed and produced some models for my own personal use, and after sharing photos of them online, I had other hobbyists asking to purchase them, and soon I was selling my initial offerings all over the world. I was just designing things that I needed that weren’t available, or that didn’t meet my expectations. When I started transitioning from simple resin cast models into 3D printed and laser cut items, sales grew exponentially, but because I’m outsourcing all of the work to others, most of the gross income earned is zero sum. Bottom line is I’m making enough money to keep doing what I’m doing, but I’m not making enough money to grow, and I need to grow…

All of this work is being done on a computer in my kitchen, my modeling workbench in the basement, and “Shipping and Receiving” department is my dining room table.  I have a garage which is unsuitable for anything but keeping the lawn mower in, with a dirt floor and walls which are 100 year old tongue and groove siding.  The ultimate goal is to move my entire operation to that garage, which needs several thousand dollars worth of work in order for it to become a proper design studio and workspace.  By having the production tool I need to cut costs and development time, I can raise the money needed to rehab the space.

I'm an individualist... stubborn, and driven.  After a nearly fatal heart attack in March of 2016, I realized that if I want to build the life I want to see for myself and my family, I need to get active in making those goals a reality.  So far, I have been able to get to this point without any assistance, but now I know that I'm going to need a boost up to get over this hump and get the train moving down the tracks again. 

Thank You. 

Go Build Something Awesome

Rich