Exploring and writing about all the new 3D model marketplace options out there, it has become clear, to me at least, that most of the platforms either have too many models or too few to choose from. Threediz falls into the second category and this is not necessarily a bad thing, as its 18 year old founder, Sebastian Rueda, wants to lay down the foundation for the foreseeable onslaught of consumer enthusiasm.
MakerBot’s Thingiverse is probably the prime example of a model marketplace that has too many. It has hundreds of thousands of items you may want to 3D print, only it is difficult to find them and organize them properly. Ultimaker’s YouMagine has manageable numbers of items but is not a marketplace, while 3D Systems’ Cubify is a closed platform for sellers.
So marketplaces such as Threediz want to cater to amateur and even professional designers out there who think they have what it takes to create something printable that people will buy. So far it has proven difficult to attract a sufficient number of designers and designs. Threediz is no exception.
At the moment there are less than 10 printable designs on the entire website and that number is consistent with other similar projects at launch. That said we have often argued that the key objective is to set up a base now and slowly grow it as the market develops in ways that are only partially forseeable. One of these paths could be that many 3D modellers may soon move on from the mature entertainment industries to the blooming personalized object manufacturing industry.
When that happens websites such as Threediz will be there to offer them a place to show what they can do. And make some money doing it. The way it works is simply by giving a designer a platform and 70% commission on the sale of every file. Users can just buy the certified printable file and reproduce it at home, with no shipping costs or added time for delivery. Anywhere in the world. That is the way things are going to work and, while he may have to make some adjustments along the way, at 18 years old, Rueda definitely has time on his side.
