Friends,
As you may know, I have struggled with how best to respond to the advent of 3D printing for some time now. Well, I have finally decided how to respond to it. If you’re interested, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the matter.
First, I want to make this very clear: I love some of the things I see coming from the 3D printing guys! The detail is absolutely wonderful. It is far beyond anything I can do in resin, that’s for sure. In fact, I’ve been so impressed, I bought a few things for my 1/.48 aircraft interest, and the detail didn’t disappoint. The only problem seems to be that I am not a good enough modeler to use it.
What do I mean by that? Well, I broke most of what I bought trying to get it off the runners. Now, before you start offering suggestions for how to do it properly, I’d like you to know I looked into it. I know it depends on how the print was set up, and whether or not I have the right tools and a host of other things. But how do I know if an item was printed properly, or if it will require yet another specialized and expensive tool? The 3D printing is not cheap, you know. And I don’t want to waste money buying things I can’t use. And then there is the rel possibility that I am a dinosaur who no longer has the skills to keep up with advancing technology.
For a long time, I struggled with what this means for me and TMD, and how I should respond. I know I do not want to make a move to mastering on a computer screen. If I wanted to do that, I’d work for industry where I could actually get paid close to the value of the time I have to put into my work. And, while I love the fidelity of detail in some aspects of 3D printing, I do not like the look if the products in others. And, yes, I am also a Luddite who simply does not want to adapt to this ‘modern’ world. So I have decided to just keep making horse whips in a horseless carriage world. Here’s how I plan to do this and stay in business at the same time.
First, as I have already started doing, I am going to update my existing product line by improving the existing detail; adding details that were missing from the original masters; and by improving the engineering in the molding and casting gates so the parts are easier to use. Then, I am going to crank out as many products as I can, to fill the holes that have been left in our current product line. Finally, I will focus on those areas where 3D printing isn’t likely to go any time soon.
That’s how I plan to deal with my products, but I have yet another idea. Modeling is starting to get expensive, and the new 3D printing doesn’t seem to be providing any relief in that area. However, I can make some of the most popular, most used items in my line a little more affordable. So, as I re-master these items — the ones you use every time you build that kit — I will drop the prices back to what they were before COVID. In some cases, I may have to nudge the price of a few items up, to account for the added details and number of parts, but — for the most part — I am going to take advantage of my strengths and use it to keep your cost as close to ‘wholesale’ as I can. I just hope you guys will respond by using TMD products whenever you can.
I also plan to double-down on my efforts to provide better quality control and customer service. I’ll be replacing molds more often, updating the web store, adding those long-promised instruction sheets and more.
Finally, I am going to look at advertising TMD. I haven’t done this for a long time, and a great many guys still think I’m closed. I’ll work to change that. I have a few ideas and I’ll share them as I get to them, but I am going to start exploiting social media a lot more than I have been. Maybe I’ll get TMD’s ‘X’ (I still prefer Twitter) page going? I’ll also try to think of a way I can reward any of you who want to help me find new customers? Again, I’ll share the details as I nail them down.
So, there you have it: my thoughts on 3D printing and my plan for how to stay relevant. Yes, I am choosing to be a buggy whip company in a horseless carriage world. But, hey! They are still making horsewhips today, so maybe I can be one of those companies that manages to survive while continuing to do things ‘old school.’ And, if it doesn’t work… Well, I figure I’ll have at least 2 years to find something else to do while I work to sell off everything TMD has acquired over the last 25 years. Either way, I’m at peace with whatever happens. 🙂
Stay safe and God bless,
Joe
Another point to consider where I feel you still have an edge you may want to leverage is about accuracy. It’s not because someone knows how to design a part in Fusion 360 and print that part effectively that the part is dimensionally accurate.
Of course, you can say the same about resin, and 3D printed parts can actually be über-accurate, but I’m just saying: making sure a part is accurate and that the fit with a certain kit has been tested is a important is a claim you are entirely entitled to make. It has a real, tangible value for a lot of modelers, and whether it’s a 3D-printed part or a cast part isn’t that relevant in that perspective.
JV
Good point. Thanks 🙂