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Anyone care to brainstorm with me? What do people like to customize and spend money on?
Jewelry is a big one for sure. My dad gets custom puzzle rings made for himself in the middle east. Very expensive, but done in the traditional way. 3D is a way of "selling the prototype". Plus with rendering programs there is no doubt about the look of the end product. This is very useful. And since you are designing the ring, part or whatever using modeling software, just throw it into keyshot or whatever for a photo realistic rendering.
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I'd imagine that with a CNC router you could carve bas reliefs of people and their pets, or erotica, or custom erotica including peoples pets.
I used CNC milling and laser to do custom inlay on corporate branding literature. Custom binders, annual reports, thank you gifts, promotions, etc. This was a decent niche for a number of years.
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Imagine that your shop has:
1) 3 axis cnc router
2) 3d printer
3) small foundry capable of casting silver, aluminum, and even steel
And that you have trained and experienced jewelry making staff who work at competitive rates, working in a low overhead environment.
This sounds like the starter set up for an industrial design studio! I have built these studios, and owned one as well.
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Machining equipment could also be possible, including a CNC lathe.
This is where it gets expensive. Milling equipment, even non-CNC is expensive. And dirty. I outsourced this. Get the steel delivered to the waterjet cutter, sent to the CNC brake then sent to my studio where I would fabricate (weld, polish, tap, etc) then send out for powder coating.
I played with powder coating and its easy but again, messy. Its a cheap process and not worth the hassle.
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Update: Oh, and women often have their kitchen and bathrooms as their obsession. Kitchen cabinetry is a big business, but I have no ideas how CNC customizing could be applied to that industry. I know carved wooden doors are a big thing in Indonesia - I want to duplicate those with CNC and compete on price. Could work also for western markets - but what's the gimmick for customizing a house front door?
My brother does this. It all falls under Joinery or Cabinetmaker. Nothing new here really, but you are right, there is a lot of money in custom kitchens and bathrooms.
Go for the Duplicator 4, as it seems to be knockoff of the Makerbot. A lot of Makerbot has been open source from the beginning so maybe the quality is the same? Made in the USA demands a certain premium these days.
You will want the dual extruders. As the printers continue to use different filaments the possibilities increase. Rubber/Plastic?
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What have you been using it for?
All sorts of stuff. Started out as custom avatar character toys for hardcore gamers. Not worth it (yet). But now its used for "lost wax" molds, or even the molds themselves if using an epoxy. Watches are a good one for these machines. You can really get the feel of the design before sending it away.
Anything undercut is perfect for 3D printers as well.