Probably not. Hundreds of hours have been spent designing, testing, iterating, and finalizing these products. Most of these products have specific material requirements and printing tolerances. In order to preserve the integrity of the brand and products, quality control is very important to me. Therefore, I am reluctant to give away or sell the 3D models.

That said, we are planning to release some of our simpler models for sale so you can print your own, and as many as you like.

3D printing democratizes small scale manufacturing. It is relatively cheap to get into. It allows the production of products that would be impractical to mass manufacture. It also allows for rapid prototyping and customizing to suit unique situations. As such, it is the perfect technology for the production of small-batch, boutique parts.

Additive manufacturing also allows for designs that would be impossible or impractical to injection mold.

There are 3 major downsides to 3D printing in regards to the products I have for sale.

1. Type of materials. The most popular 3D printing material is PLA. While PLA has many advantages as a material—ease of printing, cheap cost, variety of colors—it is unsuitable for functional parts. It will melt if left in the sun, it is extremely brittle, it is not suitable for outdoor use. As such, a good amount of money and time has been invested testing a variety of materials for each of our products. These more advanced materials cost more and are more difficult to print, but create a much better product.

2. Layer adhesion. In 3D printing, one layer of material is deposited on top of the previous layer until the part is complete. Because the previous layer has a chance to cool down a bit before the next layer is added, the bond between layers is a point of failure. All of our products were designed and tested to minimize this weakness as much as possible. Part geometry, print orientation, and material selection all play a role in how durable the part will be. No—our parts are not as strong as their injection molded counterparts. However, all of our products have been thoroughly tested and we stand behind our designs. If you ever have a problem with a part breaking, we will send you a new one free of charge and/or work with you to update our designs and materials to suit your needs.

3. Production time. Compared to other manufacturing technologies, 3D printing takes a long time to complete a part. Injection molds can crank out hundreds of parts an hour. Our Catch Stick Pro, printed in batches of four at a time, take 9 hours to print. This severely limits our production capacity. We appreciate your patience while your order is filled.

Maybe—Probably. Let’s chat. I love an interesting challenge and solving problems. Please fill out the form on the Collaborate Page and we will be in touch.