Is it wrong that i would like to start a small 3d print business?

Having a dream isn’t wrong, but every business is difficult, and this one is already being run under by cheap Chinese prints.

It’s still possible, but all the success I hear now is from people who have designed their own product and are fulfilling specific needs, like adapters for certain tools and such.

Etsy also just banned 3d prints of other people’s design, so it’s even harder to make money with those now.

You can still make money with your own designs on Etsy, and direct to people who need things, but now it’s as much about the design of the items as the printing of them.

I suppose selling at a local market can still work, too, but it’s a huge time sink. (Like any other job, I guess.)

I was a homebrewer for many years, and a huge portion of us wanted to go pro or did.

Most weren’t prepared for what it meant to turn a hobby into a profession. It’s a really good way to turn something you love into a chore.

Printers are now closer to appliances than custom machines, and there are no shortage of them available.

So no, you’re not wrong to want to start a business. You would be facing a tough market though.

I’m not in this business, but I have purchased prints from a print farm before. There are already at least 4 large, high quality printing companies that offer to print any model in any material. I think most of the competition is now on speed and price. There are also many smaller printers I have purchased from. Most offer ~10 products, have them already printed, and sell those items to fulfill a specific need. As far as I can tell, those smaller printers either design their own models, or paid for models that are not readily available. Once model files are available, the general purpose printing companies can deliver the same part.

Unless you have ideas for models no one has made before, and you want to try to profit as much as possible off those, I don’t see the upside to a small print farm.