How Printables Advances 3D Printing With Flash Contests

3D printing has grown from a niche DIY hobby to a huge industry before our eyes over the past decade. However, one complaint managed to sneak in alongside the growth and remain, at least somewhat, valid.

"So much 3D printed stuff is just useless waste"

I know that statement will ruffle some feathers. However, if you look at advertisements for 3D printers and take a look on YouTube, you will find countless examples. There's nothing wrong with printing trinkets, I'm definitely not saying that. I know I've printed my fair share of monster busts and fidget toys. However, as an industry, there is a small image problem that leads many to think that 3D printing is a frivolous hobby.

That's why I think printable flash contests are a breath of fresh air.

These are small contests held quite frequently on the printables.com 3d printing file repository. The prizes for these contests are usually "prusameters" which can be collected and exchanged for products from the prusuaprinters online store such as filaments or even 3D printers.

What strikes me though, aside from the massive engagement of this community, are the topics.

Here is a short list of some recent ones:

Repairs Ikea lacks hacks mechanical marvels vases in vase mode wedding decorations pegboard accessories keychain tools marble mazes knife rest sealable boxes air tag accessories sharp mods battery boxes cameras and accessories wallets bag clips restless toys coaster

There are so many more, but you might notice a pattern here. Many of these things are useful around the house.

Often when I'm discussing 3D printing with someone unfamiliar and they're like "oh, those are just useless trinkets", I throw an example of a household item which I 3D printed. The answer is that buying a printer was probably not an effective way to get this item. This answer would be correct, but it's not a single item. It's all about being able to create all sorts of unique items and these contests create a huge library that has the cumulative effect of printing so many, many useful items. When someone says these are just useless trinkets you can point here and say no, that's thousands of useful items and thanks to these contests there are a variety of everyone!

The person running these flash contests is Matt Stultz, who was the digital fabrication editor here at Make:. Based on his previous statements about how he thought printing could really be useful, I suspected he had a strategy.

I take a lot of suggestions for upcoming contests from the community itself. It's funny how many times people think of the things they need at that moment and then suggest that thing as a theme. As I try to strike a balance for contests to keep all of our users happy and engaged, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm leaning more towards utility than just fun. I think the usefulness of 3D printing is going to drive industry growth; if I can help make this more visible, I will.

Well done to Matt and the Printables team. I know this library has become a resource I turn to immediately when I need something.

So the next time someone says 3D printing is just useless junk, tell them the following.

let people print whatever they want you asshole, if they want useless junk it's not your problem there is a massive and growing library of acts...