In the wake of recent MakerBot revelations, disgruntled Thingiverse users have been looking to find alternate marketplaces to sell their 3D designs and models. Is 3DVix the new platform that they’re looking for?
Prinvix, a 3D printing company based in Florida, just launched a beta of their new marketplace for 3D printed models, designs and designers. They want you to think of 3DVix as a 3D printer in the cloud. You can easily upload your 3D designs and get instant quotes for having them printed in all of the available standard materials then shipped directly to you almost anywhere in the world. You can also set up a store to sell your models or just use the store as a portfolio and offer your services as a 3D designer.
Like Shapeways, Sculpteo and Thingiverse, as a marketplace to sell 3D models 3DVix is only as good as the models available on it, so they’ve made it very user friendly and community based to try to encourage participation, and since this is a beta launch, you can get in on the ground floor. Users are encouraged to open up their own stores and will be given their own sub-domains. Just upload some models, set the prices and 3DVix will take care of the rest including shipping and invoicing. You’ll just receive a check cut every month with all of your profits.
3DVix hopes to set itself apart from its competitors in a significant and ambitious way. Prinvix intends to create a global network of local print shops to work with 3DVix in order to keep delivery and import fees lower and make selling to international buyers easier. This means that rather than having a huge 3D printer farm print your model and ship it, often at exorbitant cost depending on your proximity to it, small local 3D printer shops can be sent the model to print for you. They can either ship it to you locally for much more reasonable rates or make it available to be picked up.
To start, Prinvix is opening up three local print shops in Brazil. Due to higher than average import fees, buying things internationally can be very costly, so finding ways to access such large markets can be very lucrative. Brazil is the sixth largest economy in the world and 3D printing is in as much demand there as it is everywhere else. By opening up three local print shops within the country 3DVix will be eliminating those import fees and opening up a huge new market to international sellers.
Brazil has also recently seen the release of the VixBot VB1X, its first made-in-Brazil 3D printer also courtesy of Prinvix. The VixBot is an open-sourced pre-assembled desktop single extruder 3D printer that is compatible with all standard 3D printing software and file formats. The print bed is 5.5 inches by 5.5 inches by 5.3 inches and can use any 1.75mm filament available on the market. The printer design itself has a really simple retro vibe to it, which is a very nice contrast to the glossy fake metal finishes that most of the larger name brand printers use to make themselves look modern and cutting edge. The VixBot looks like something that would have been made in the 1970’s, and I rather like it.
3DVix isn’t the only new 3D printing company angling to take on the large 3D printing establishment marketplaces, so only time will tell if they will become a viable alternative. However if they do manage to open up local 3D printing stores and hubs around the world, the network could make custom-made 3D printed objects globally accessible. While having local 3D printing stores and outlets is not a new concept, specifically targeting a hard to enter marketplace is, and if successful could really change the way that 3D printing is marketed globally.
If you’re a 3D modeller and have some designs, head on over to 3DVix, set up a store and start selling. There isn’t much there yet, but if you’re in the market for something 3D printed, like this nifty glowing Tardis Lantern Pendent, then head on over and look around.
