2025
A Viral New Business Model
Sweeping Across America
Start a Home-Based 3D Printing Service/Business and Make
Over $30,000 a Month
Profit Estimation & Payback Period
We use the example of producing and selling a 3D printed dragon egg on Etsy in 2025 to estimate profits, based on the Flashforge newly launched AD5X printer, material usage, and actual operating costs in Texas. (The full details of this estimate can be found in the white paper below)
Notice：All the case studies and financial data presented are solely for the investment cases involved. Actual operating results will vary depending on market conditions, material costs, and other operational factors. Flashforge never guarantees business outcomes or specific returns.
| Equipment Investment& Monthly Business Volume | Small-Business Farm | Family-Based Farm |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment Quantity (units) | 40 | 20 |
| Equipment Unit Price (US$/unit) | 439 | 439 |
| Equipment Investment (US$) | 17560 | 8780 |
| Operating Rate (per month) | 60% | 70% |
| Equipment Print Capacity (grams/day) | 500 | 500 |
| Monthly Print Capacity (grams/month) | 360000 | 210000 |
| Unit Weight (gram) | 150 | 150 |
| Monthly Print Unit (12" Dragon Egg) | 2400 | 1200 |
| ETSY Monthly Sales Revenue | ||
| ETSY Platform Fee & Shipping Fee & VAT | 2.35 | 2.35 |
| Revenue per Unit | 17.65 | 17.65 |
| Monthly Revenue (US$/month) | 42360 | 21180 |
| Monthly Operating Costs | ||
| Material Cost ($/month) | 4950 | 2887.5 |
| Equipment Depreciation ($/month) | 732 | 366 |
| Electricity Cost ($/month) | 161.28 | 94.08 |
| Labor Cost ($/month) | 4000 | 0 |
| Rent ($/month) | 1500 | 1000 |
| Monthly Operation Costs ($/month) | 11343.28 | 4347.58 |
| Profit and Payback Period | ||
| Monthly Net Profit (US$) | 31016.7 | 16832.4 |
| Payback Period (Month) | 0.57 | 0.52 |
I started my 3D print farm with a machine that had to be rebuilt nearly five times — it barely held itself together. At that point, we were making just one sale a week. It was a fun side project, but nowhere near sustainable.
That’s when I dove into serious research. I’m the kind of person who simply can’t buy a product without ensuring it’s the best available. After evaluating every single printer — and I mean every single one — I chose Flashforge. It immediately stood out for its performance and reliability. That decision changed everything.
Today, our print farm runs 40 Flashforge printers and brings in over $3,000 per month — just by printing single-color dragon egg toys for Etsy. These machines are incredibly consistent, low-maintenance, and easy to scale. And let’s be honest — they look great doing it. From one sale a week to $3,000 a month.
I started i-SOLIDS in 2016 as a side hustle from my apartment. What began as a hobby with a couple of 3D printers quickly became my full-time job. Today, we run over 140 printers, with room to scale beyond 400 in our new 20,000 sq ft facility.
Among them are 64 units of Flashforge Creator Pro, most running nearly non-stop for over six years. While we've added newer devices over time, it remains a cornerstone of our operations, known for its reliability, long-term support, and strong ROI.
We're expanding our multi-color FDM capabilities with two Flashforge AD5X printers, exploring cost-effective ways to meet rising demand—without costly powder-based systems. Flashforge's reliable hardware and support make it easy to scale sustainably without sacrificing quality.
I run a small 3D printing farm and discovered the Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro through a YouTube review. At $469 and 600mm/s speeds, I was skeptical—but it quickly outperformed my older machines.
During the Christmas rush, I scaled to 22 units running almost 24/7. They handled complex prints with ease, needed minimal maintenance, and reduced model removal time to just 15 seconds. Except for one minor issue—a faulty Wi-Fi dongle—the printers ran flawlessly over six months, saving us over $2,000 per month in maintenance costs alone.
Now, we print over 300 items daily using a variety of materials. The 5M Pro is like the Toyota Corolla of printers—reliable, efficient, and built for serious work.
I launched the 3D print business - Jinqi Toys in May 2023 with just $7,000. In the beginning, I was buying whatever printers were trending—just trying to keep up. But as overseas orders started pouring in, I quickly realized we needed serious, scalable machines.
Today, we run 4,000 printers, including 1,000 Flashforge Adventurer 5Ms, and produce 50,000 toy sets every day—and we’re still behind on demand. The AD5M has been a game-changer. It’s fast, stable, and incredibly efficient. One worker can manage 500 printers thanks to group control. We even had two major power outages—while other brands failed, over 90% of our AD5M prints resumed flawlessly. That alone saved us thousands. We’ve tested dozens of machines, but when it comes to ROI, reliability, and scale, the Adventurer 5M stands out. That’s why we keep growing with it.
Click to download our detailed 3D printing business (3D Print Farm) white paper on how to start and grow a profitable 3D printing business
—built on real success experience from our customers across the U.S.
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Check Out Our Top-Selling Models for 3D Printing Businesses
AD5M
AD5M Pro
AD5X
| Flashforge AD5M | Flashforge AD5X | Bambu Lab P1S | Bambu Lab A1 | Bambu Lab A1mini | Creality K1 | Creality K1MAX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stability | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ |
| Speed/Efficiency | ★★★★★★ | ★★★★★★ | ★★★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★★★★ | ★★★★★★ | ★★★★★★ |
| Print Quality | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of Use | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ |
| Print Volume | ★★ | ★★ | ★★ | ★ | ★ | ★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Structure | CoreXY | CoreXY | CoreXY | i3 structure | Cantilever | CoreXY | CoreXY |
| After-Sales Service | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Price(US$) | 279 | 379 | 649 | 379 | 239 | 389 | 799 |
| Ideal for 3D Printing Business | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★ | ★★ |
| Descriptions | Advantages: Group control feature high stability, fast print speed, high overall cost-performance Small build volume; | Advantages: 1.Multi-Color flexible TPU printing 2.Intelligent filament system 3.high overall cost-performance 4.high stability, fast print speed, 5.Group control feature Small build volume; | Strong overall performance, but slightly less cost-effective | Slow acceleration, and poor printing results for models over 10cm. MINI's build volume is too small for use in 3d print farms. | Competitive parameters, large build volume for K1MAX, but poor stability | ||
