A Tale of Two Extremes in the 3D Printing Farm Gold Rush: Some Reap Rewards in Three Months, Others Face Idle Machines

PanDen 2024-9-7 21:54 Business

Panda3dp.com Guide: Is the 3D printing farm business truly worthwhile? Is it too late to enter the market? How much investment is required, and how long does it take to break even? What should those who have already ventured into this industry do if they lack orders? Should they continue to expand their fleet of machines? These are the burning questions on the minds of current and prospective 3D printing farm owners.

The concept of a "3D printing farm" began to gain traction in the latter half of 2023 and saw several surges in popularity throughout 2024. This emerging trend has caught the attention of many who are eager to cash in on the gold rush, but with limited channels to obtain comprehensive information, many are left in the dark. On August 28, 2024, the first-ever 3D Printing Farm Conference, co-organized by Panda3dp.com and Formnext South China and sponsored by SUNLU, was successfully held. The event attracted over a thousand attendees on-site, with tens of thousands more watching online. Panda3dp.com invited several 3D printing farm owners, material suppliers, and equipment manufacturers to share their insights. In this article, we summarize the key takeaways from the conference, providing valuable references for those considering entering the 3D printing farm industry.

Same 3D Printing Farm Business, Some Reap Rewards in Three Months, Others Face Idle Machines

By the end of August 2024, the number of 3D printing machines in China exceeded 50,000, with early adopters continuing to expand their fleets and a new wave of entrants joining the fray. While some early adopters have already recouped their investments and are turning profits, others reinvest their earnings to scale up from small to medium-sized, and eventually large-scale farms.

Yet, despite working in the same industry, some manage to break even within three months, while others face anxiety and stagnation as their machines lie idle. What accounts for these divergent outcomes? The differences lie in the timing of entry, customer base, farm size, and management expertise. As a result, the final outcome for each farm varies significantly.

Before deciding to start a farm, it’s crucial to carefully analyze whether you possess an advantage in this field. Do you excel in technology, design, cost control, or perhaps have superior channels? If you lack these advantages and blindly enter the market, the outcome may be disastrous.

What is a "3D Printing Farm"?

The term "3D printing farm" has been around for years but has only recently gained widespread popularity. It typically refers to a small-scale manufacturing facility equipped with several to thousands of desktop 3D printers. The owners, often called "3D printing farmers," may start with just a few printers or jump directly into bulk purchasing. The process of producing items with 3D printers is colloquially known as "planting vegetables," while retrieving the finished models is referred to as "harvesting."

From a technical standpoint, most farms currently utilize Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printers, which typically use plastic filaments like Polylactic Acid (PLA) or Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG). The filaments are heated, melted, and extruded layer by layer to create the final product.

What Do "3D Printing Farms" Produce?

Before the latest wave of popularity, farms primarily produced moon lamps. However, the current trend has shifted towards items like radish knives, dragons, dragon eggs, retractable swords, and black Sun Wukong figures. Some farm owners also design and print their own creative products for sale. In November 2023, a major hit emerged on cross-border e-commerce platforms: 3D printed dragon eggs, timed perfectly with the Easter theme. The demand for these eggs ignited the farm market. In March 2024, with the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, 3D printed dragons became the next hot item, fueling the demand at street markets for several months, though the craze is now gradually waning.

The current farm boom can be attributed to three factors: the rapid advancement in desktop FDM 3D printer speeds, which have increased five to tenfold; the significant improvement in print quality; and the richer variety of filament colors, finishes, and gradients, which have captivated consumers. Lastly, items like dragons and dragon eggs have become breakout hits.

As a result, most 3D printed products on the market today are toy-like items that attract children with their vibrant designs, ultimately paid for by their parents.

How Long Does It Take to Break Even? Is It Profitable?

Take dragon printing as an example: A single 3D printer can produce twelve 30cm dragons per day. If sold at a street stall for 15 CNY each, online for 9.9 CNY each, or wholesale to channel partners for 3-5 CNY each, the daily output of one machine translates to a revenue of 180 CNY/118.8 CNY/48 CNY, respectively. The first two sales models require the farm owner to handle sales, incurring costs for a stall or an online store, whereas wholesale only requires managing the production process.

Each dragon consumes 22 grams of material, resulting in a daily usage of 264 grams, with material costs around 13 CNY and electricity costs at 1.5 CNY. This means that printing dragons at home and wholesaling them to channel partners yields a daily profit of approximately 33.5 CNY per machine. Over a month, this translates to 1,000 CNY in profit, allowing a 3,000-CNY machine to break even in three months, and a 5,000-CNY machine to do so in five months. If the owner prints and sells the products themselves, the break-even period is even shorter—just one month if there are no stall costs. This ideal scenario gave rise to the saying that "3D printing farms break even in three months," though it’s much harder to achieve now.

However, this calculation doesn’t factor in personal labor costs or factory expenses. If you have ten machines, you could produce at home, making this a viable side hustle or means to support a family.

But once the number of machines exceeds fifty or even a hundred, the situation changes dramatically. At this scale, you would need to rent a facility, considering the costs of renting a factory, using industrial electricity, and hiring employees.

In reality, the costs of equipment, materials, electricity, space, and labor differ from farm to farm, as do the printing parameters and sales channels. Consequently, the break-even period varies, with some farms achieving it quickly, while others struggle to even stay afloat. The cost structure also differs significantly between small farms with ten machines and larger operations with a hundred or a thousand machines.

Furthermore, as the number of 3D printing farms in China continues to grow, with increasing production capacity, channel partners have begun to squeeze prices. This has eroded the once-lucrative profits of farm owners, lengthening the time it takes to break even. The dragon printing trend is also nearing its end, with some channel partners finding it difficult to maintain high prices. The market now awaits the next breakout product.

If you have your own original designs, the added value of 3D printed products can be much higher, leading to more substantial profits.

Is the Barrier to Entry for "3D Printing Farms" High?

For small farms, the barrier to entry isn’t high. You can start with ten 3D printers, requiring an initial investment of thirty to fifty thousand CNY. You can operate from home, using household electricity, and download print models from the internet. However, once you scale up to a hundred printers, you’ll need a dedicated facility, considering factors like renovations, electricity, cooling, installation, testing, labor, environmental assessments, and fire safety, essentially building a small factory.

In essence, a 3D printing farm is a production facility. Unlike traditional factories, it’s highly flexible, capable of producing a wide range of toys or industrial parts.

Besides mere printing, farm owners must consider whether they have design capabilities and sales channels. These two factors are crucial for a farm’s survival, as simple printing offers low barriers and minimal added value. Moreover, small farms with limited order-taking capabilities may find it difficult to secure stable, ongoing orders, relying on larger farms to pass down overflow work.

When Will the Next Big Product Emerge?

At the 3D Printing Farm Conference, a new farm owner with fifty machines expressed concern over the instability of current orders, which primarily come from larger farms passing down overflow work.

Dr. Strange 3D mapped out the major order sources for this year: the initial surge in dragon orders was driven by Lunar New Year demand, followed by the Easter-themed dragon egg orders. Subsequent peaks came from May Day and Dragon Boat Festival street markets, as well as the summer tourist season. The next surge is expected during National Day and the Christmas season abroad.

Understanding the origins of orders allows for better market analysis and order acquisition. However, no one can accurately predict the future of the 3D printing farm industry. Like the story of "The Horse Crossing the River," every farm owner has a different perspective—some are highly optimistic, while others are more cautious.

Perhaps the next blockbuster product will further stimulate farm production capacity.

What Are the Main Sales Channels for Printed Products?

Currently, the main sales channels are split between online and offline platforms. Online channels include domestic e-commerce platforms and cross-border e-commerce sites. Offline channels involve wholesale to major distributors, street vendors, or fixed-location stores.

Some small farm owners also sell directly, even resorting to creative methods like elderly vendors hanging dragons and toys on themselves while peddling on the street.

Risk Warnings

The rapid rise of the 3D printing farm trend has even caught panda3dp.com by surprise. Observing many booming industries, it's often the early participants who profit, while those who enter later tend to suffer losses. For the 3D printing farm industry, it has only been flourishing for a little over a year and remains in a thriving state. When the peak will be reached, and when the tide will recede, is still difficult to judge or predict. It is advised that those wishing to enter this field carefully follow Panda3dp.com's reports on 3D printing farm owners, actively engage in related groups, and learn from the experiences of successful farm owners to avoid unnecessary pitfalls.

Cooling Down the Heat

“I see that everyone in the group is talking about farms, and the discussions are very optimistic. It seems that after attending a forum, many are confidently adding more machines. However, I believe this is not normal. The reality is that the farms are facing a downturn, and large farms are without orders. The guests at the exhibition are mainly farm owners who have broken even since the end of last year, but in my opinion, they aren’t particularly large farm owners; most of them have their own creative capabilities or studios. Equipment agents continue to push machines and bundled solutions. If the barrier to entry were truly that low, the influx of new farm owners might only hasten a looming crisis, turning what seemed like a good thing into a disaster. The large farms have stopped accepting jobs, and many have shut down their machines, though no one seems to realize this. Therefore, I don't think it's that simple—profit and risk coexist. (This is just my humble opinion, merely a word of caution.)”

“I entered this industry blindly. My friend's son owns 100 machines, and seeing his business thrive, I switched fields and joined in. My friend helped me purchase the machines and handed me some leftover small orders that he couldn’t complete. Now, there’s no work, and my machines have been idle for many days. I'm trying to figure out a way forward and hoping for some guidance from Bear Brother.”

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