Bambu Lab’s New Crowdfunding Platform Where Your Wildest 3D Print Idea Can Now Get Funded
Move over Kickstarter, Bambu Lab's MakerWorld platform has a new crowdfunding feature for your best 3D printing project.
If you’ve ever needed just a little bit more cash to get your groundbreaking 3D printed project from concept to reality, Bambu Lab understands. The company just launched what it calls “the perfect testing ground for your wildest ideas.”
This new Kickstarter-like platform at Bambu Lab’s MakerWorld, is a crowdfunding feature aimed at helping creators turn printing projects into reality with a little financial help from fellow makers.
“We’ve seen so many incredible ideas that never get built because they’re too big, too complex, or require resources that individual creators just don’t have,” Bambu Lab says on its blog.
This new initiative enables the 3D printing community to support projects with monetary pledges. To back a maker, you need to upload your credit card information, and then you’ll be charged the pledged amount (starting about $10) if the project reaches its funding goal. Be aware, though, that just like with Kickstarter, your contribution is considered support for a creator’s effort to bring a new idea to life, rather than a purchase of a finished product. So if the project doesn’t ultimately deliver, there are no refunds.
“You are backing an ambitious and unproven creative project,” Bambu Lab says in its disclaimer. “Even with the creator’s best efforts — there is inherent risk that rewards may not be delivered.”
Most projects offer backers a token reward for your financial backing. The rewards vary, but some may be a physical print of the project, exclusive digital files, behind-the-scenes tutorials, and custom 3D prints. Rewards or reimbursements aren’t guaranteed by either MakerWorld or the creator.
To Bambu Lab, the 3D printing community has always been about sharing knowledge and pushing each other to try new things, it says. “Crowdfunding feels like a natural next step. A way to pool resources behind the projects that excite us most.”
Although anyone can launch crowdfunding campaigns, for now, Bambu Lab is making this invitation-only “to ensure a smooth rollout of this new feature.”
To submit your idea for consideration, send a brief introduction to your project and any visuals or renders you have to models@makerworld.com with “crowdfunding project application” in the subject line.
There is already one fully funded board game that has raised 242% of the maker’s goal with $1,200+ in backing. Other projects on the new Crowdfunding tab of MakerWorld include more games, a lamp, a purse, a keyboard, and various models, all hoping to attract a few hundred dollars in backing.
Similar to the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, you’ll find a wealth of information on MakerWorld Crowdfunding. For each project, Bambu Lab has asked the creators to be as detailed as possible, including images and videos, what’s required to produce the project (software licenses, materials, etc.), the timeline (30 – 60 days), and the perks offered to backers. There’s also an FAQ.
Creators are urged to provide consistent updates and respond actively to comments on the platform to build trust and manage expectations, Bambu Lab says. “We’ll amplify standout projects across and beyond our platform to help you reach your goal.”
This Kickstarter-like platform echoes the Patreon-like feature that Bambu Lab launched on MakerWorld earlier this year, offering a Commercial License Membership to run alongside its popular free 3D model repository.
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