The Vision — Why I Built The Spool List

Where do I begin… I started my 3D printing journey 2 years ago. Buying a Bambu Lab printer, I thought the world was my oyster. Print jobs came in, but not consistently. I found I was struggling to compete with Fiverr or Etsy job matching; trying to wade through all those drop shippers to not be seen was a struggle. Something seemed to be missing.

So I then upgraded to an H2D (hey look, I know there's flak going around at the moment about best devices, Bambu Lab back-end control, etc.) — this is not about any of that. This site/app is designed to bring you real leads and clients that know what they want. Which is why I'm making it, not wanting to be a slave to social media.

But then it all made sense — there is no marketplace for fabrication which enhances all fabrication and the capabilities and products that can be made. The scope is huge. That said, eBay, Etsy and all of the marketplaces that are now daily household names didn't start like that. There had to be an onboarding process to start the chicken-and-egg exercise.

To my fellow fabricators

So my fellow fabricators, on creating this app and the infrastructure, what became abundantly clear was that if we as a market group together, we can dictate our terms, we can get the subsidies we need for printing. All I ask is that you believe in the direction that I want to take the app. Trust in the process, that my end goal is to make this app a common household name where we have a tailored marketplace, as opposed to a general spam-your-face-off marketplace saturated with drop shippers trying to edge each other over.

If the app was presented to suppliers within the industry showing a user base of 100k fabricators from different markets, this gives a lot of weight in negotiations, so I'd be able to get tools and supplies, contracts and partnerships which would otherwise not be seen. I already have an 18-month plan — I will share it with you over the roadmap as we roll out over the coming months. It's exciting what we could do if we grouped as a community. If the 100k threshold gets bigger, who knows what we could do.

How you can help

So, you early birds, believers of what this app can do — how can you help?

• Register for free.
• Recruit other fabricators. Don't forget this isn't just 3D printing — the list of markets is huge, so please take a look and help me grow the Grid network, worldwide.
• Some bugs might still be showing as we launch, so patience and feedback are key.
• Promote your Forge items from your shop. You have 10 free slots to showcase your best items, rarest items, bespoke, etc. — as long as it steals the eye, great. Choice is yours. Then share via social media.
• If you really feel the app and the direction I want to take it appeal to you, and you want a front-row seat with me, become a lifetime member. These have been set for Pro and Prime tiers. There are 500 of each on a first-come, first-served basis. Because I am not raising VC and am a solo dev, my intention is to use the legacy payments for further marketing with influencers across the world in different market types.
• Launch is across 175 countries and regions for iOS. The web app will be available for all to use — Android and web users — at time of launch.

What happens next

At the moment, my focus is predominantly on getting makers onboard. For the first 2–3 months after launch, the marketing site and drive will be for makers, drip-feeding buyers in slowly. When we cross a threshold of a certain number of makers (TBC), we will then switch heavily to onboarding buyers — change site, full maximisation of buyer onboarding, marketing and influencer content, as well as incentives through the Easter egg game. (All of which is mapped out — not yet visible.)

So ladies and gentlemen, just a quick update as to where and what the plans are going forward. Hopefully you can read that I'm just a regular Joe that had an idea and wanted to build it… If you build it, they will come (apparently 😂).