ST. CHARLES — The staffers at 3DSHQ, a local 3D-printing supplies and services store, have a vision: In the not-so-near future, the 3D printer will be a common household appliance.
They’re looking to help develop and serve that growing market.
“Almost everybody has a 2D paper printer,” said Shane McDuffie, the store’s technical operations coordinator. “I kind of see that being for 3D printers as well, right down the road.”
The store, in addition to selling printers, materials and machine accessories, also offers services to industrial clients, user classes and design and printing services. Armed with about a dozen machines, McDuffie said the staff at 3DSHQ can help print items and files for customers who don’t have access to a machine and or who want to test out the equipment.
3DSHQ opened its retail store at 1500 Wall Street, near the intersection of Interstate 70 and Route 94, last month. The store started with a pop-up in Mid Rivers Mall last fall, but when company leaders saw customers want more services and educational support they looked for a stand-alone space, said Andrew Kramer, 3DSHQ’s general manager.
On a recent summer afternoon, the light but constant whirring from a handful of printing machines filled the company’s new retail and office space. One machine had just finished making a purple starfish toy to show customers what 3D printers can do. Another machine was printing an orange action figure.
“The nice part about having an actual retail space is when you come in and (we’re) able to kind of show you how that actually functions,” McDuffie said, “and get a rough size of how the machine looks and fits for your space.”
Modern 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, has been around since the 1980s. A 3D printer takes a digital file of a 3D object — such as a kitchen bowl, glasses, a prototype of a car or even a medical device — and produces it in layers to form the product out of materials such as plastic, metal, concrete or paper.
The new store includes 3DSHQ’s education center, where staff teach introductory and master courses for users looking to better their printing and design skills. At the mall storefront, Kramer said, employees would spend an hour in front of a laptop with folks who came in wanting to learn how to 3D-print things. Eventually, customers started requesting more formal training.
“I think we are building a different business model that is more focused on the education in the community around the 3D printing, rather than just capitalizing on the next big consumer electronic technology,” Kramer said.
JoAnn Preis discovered 3DSHQ last fall while on a trip to the mall with her son. Preis, a 73-year-old retiree from Florissant, said she didn’t know anything about 3D printing, but has since fallen in love with making things like holiday favors and gifts for her family.
Last year, she printed mini turkeys for Thanksgiving place settings and candy bowls shaped as snowmen.
“I can personalize them and it’s cheaper for me than if I bought them a gift,” Preis said. “It keeps me busy during the day. … It’s just been a lot of fun to experiment with things.”
Preis said she isn’t “tech-inclined,” which is why she appreciates how easy her 3D printer is to operate. Whenever she hits a roadblock, she calls 3DSHQ and employees answer her questions. She recently signed up for two 3D printing classes at the store.
“I want to know more about it, there’s a whole lot more you can do with it,” Preis said. “There’s a whole list of Christmas gifts I have to make.”
For years, 3D printing was mostly done by hobbyists and tinkerers, McDuffie said. But recently, schools, small business owners and industry giants have been contacting 3DSHQ in search of printers. 3D printers have become easier to use over the years and people are becoming more aware of what a printer can do for them, he said.
“The actual industrial growth over even the past five years has been pretty exponential,” McDuffie said. “As the machine manufacturers got better with that, there’s been quite a steady incline.”
A growing industry
According to Fortune Business Insights data, the global 3D printing market was valued at $19 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach over $101 billion by 2032. The India-based research firm states that the rapid rise in digitalization and adoption of advanced technologies across industries like automotive, aerospace and healthcare will fuel massive growth.
Chuck Miller, 46, sells small 3D-printed toys and 3D-printed home decor pieces through his online business, M1ll3r Gaming and Gizmos. During the day he works as a medicine packer in a warehouse and said he likes making gifts for his co-workers to brighten their day. Miller recently printed one of his colleagues some racks to store board games and Guitar Hero instrument holders.
“It’s fantastic,” Miller said of his ability to 3D print whatever he wants with his three machines. “I’m still in awe that you can print something usable from a spool of material no bigger than a pencil.”
Miller likes supporting small businesses and said he buys a lot of his supplies from 3DSHQ. Miller said he, too, can see a future where everyone has a 3D printer at home.
“It’s so easy. It’s so fun. It’s a great craft for kids,” Miller said. “Back in the ’70s, nobody thought they’d have a computer in their house.”
3DSHQ has been around since 2023 but its parent company, plastics distribution company Jamplast Inc., has been headquartered in St. Louis since 1997. Kramer, the store GM, said Jamplast leaders noticed that more and more of their newer customers were people who were manufacturing products with 3D printing.
“We have people that have a ton of plastic industry knowledge,” Kramer said. “So that is kind of what spurred it and why we are in St Louis.”
3DSHQ sells printers all over the country, including Alaska and Hawaii. Kramer estimates that they sell about 100 to 150 machines a month, but that number can double if a customer is interested in starting a “print farm,” where one facility houses many printers for mass production.
Printers at 3DSHQ retail from $169 to $2,899. The store also sells printer accessories and colorful filaments and resins — common materials used in 3D printing. And while other stores, like Micro Center in Brentwood, sell printers and materials, Kramer said that 3DSHQ is the only store in the area dedicated exclusively to 3D printing.
The company aims to open 10 3DSHQ locations in different cities in the next 10 years, he said.
“We’re trying to build not just like a big-box store that is just going to grow and shove more product out,” Kramer said. “Our goal is to continue to build these 3D-printing communities and education centers.”
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Hannah Wyman | Post-Dispatch
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