I have launched my offering of 3D printed props, gimmicks, gaffs, accessories and tricks with a two card stand primarily made for the Aronson "Two by Two" trick, but useful for other situations, too. http://www.lybrary.com/magic-3d-printed-......196.html

This is the first in what I hope will be a long line of products - all 3D printed - and all specifically designed for the magician. Several other ideas are already in the works. If you have an idea, a project, a design which you think could be 3D printed and you would like to bring this to market please contact me. I am more than happy to help you refine it and offer it through Lybrary.com as a 3D printed prop. I will pay royalties just as I do this for ebooks and download videos. It will be a new channel for creators and inventors to have their ideas made available to the magic community. Lybrary.com is in business for 16 years and we have a large customer base to which we can introduce these products. So put on your designer hat and let's revolutionize the magic prop business.

What variety of materials will these props be made of?

Anything that can be printed with an FDM (fused deposition method) printer. Since I can get to nozzle temperatures up to 300 C I can print pretty much all the current materials from PLA, ABS, Nylon, XT, PC. Also all the various filaments with fillings such as PLA filled with wood, bamboo, carbon, iron, bronze, copper, etc. And also flexible material even though I still have to get a lot more experience with flexible material.

There are a couple of very interesting materials. For example I have one with iron dust that is attracted to magnets. It is not as strongly attracted to magnets as a solid piece of iron, but there is a clear attraction which can potentially be used for magic purposes. There is a filament that has carbon black in it and is conductive. This could be used in conjunction with electronics to make connections or have a capacitive sensor, etc. There is semi-transparent material and all kinds of colors. There is also filament that mimics brick, stone and other earthen material. So the variety is pretty large.

Thanks for the info...Howard

Sounds interesting. I have some ideas for props and gimmicks that I'd like to try 3D printing but they would all need working on once printed. The idea that I could produce panels for a box with pre made holes for dials and switches etc interests me.

I've been carving and making 3d stuff for 13 years now. I believe I'm the first in the magic business to buy a full size panel cutter (but size isn't everything )
but I just feel that 12 is a bit much for a simple item that could be cut on a table saw in 6 minutes.
The market will ultimately determine prices in the end.

In the non magic pieces, panels & statuary I've made there are very complicated STL files (among other types) I can buy (some are high def scanned) for 29.95, or a collection of 150 art files for a few hundred which cover a myriad of styles.

IMO it seems easier projects might cost less especially considering that DIY people have the ability to make their own art files as well as get them printed. (And many of them have more time then money)
Just my opinion and I'm not trying to throw a monkey wrench in the works but the good news is you can always adjust prices according to demand and I might not know what I'm talking about at all.

On the other hand IF you could print an internal trace like a circuit board, inside an otherwise innocent looking prop, you might be able to charge the moon.

Printing panels with specific cut outs is probably better done with a laser cutter than a 3D printer. Whenever one can easily do it starting with sheet material then 3D printing is not necessarily your best solution. Particularly if we are talking larger panels for illusions etc. I would suggest laser cutting.

That depends. For one, you can't make exactly what I made on a table saw. Not as light weight and not with the gap providing a little bit of spring so that one can even insert a thicker jumbo card. But having said that, of course there are other ways of making it. If you are a DIYer then you can certainly make something similar for a bit less. But the majority of my customers are not DIYers. Many are perfectly willing to pay $10-$15 for an item like this and have it mailed to them ready made without any work for them.

Ultimately time will tell. I am the first to explore this in the magic market. This branch of 3D printed magic props is new. Fairly pricing these items is not so easy, because I do not yet know exactly what an hour of machine time will ultimately cost me. I am sure pricing will adjust over time, but this could be up or down depending on how the actual cost turn out. For now I am anyway not trying to sell thousands of these - I couldn't make that many - but the emphasis is on designing useful props for the magician.

I wish you luck

Awesome. I assume that the prices are for the actual prop. What about the files? will you make them avaible for other 3d Printer owners?

You stole my question g.albinana... I am looking at getting a printer this year and was interested in the files. Chris Is this something that you would make available? File for $XXX or printed for $XXX.
Im very excited to see a new way for me to spend money with you Chris. Grin

Amazing technology we have now.

I recently built a replica of a mechanical Cicago Band Box from the ground up, mine also performs a magic trick! The musicians I made are 3 D printed, you can particularly see the simularities in their faces, I painted their hair different colors and slapped a mustache on one. Of course the bodies are hidden with the miniature servos and motors. You can view below:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5-635r2rDTk

Chuck

Lukas Crafts is the perfect example of a company that is taking risk with this tecnhology and making awesome products and gimmicks ( I do not hold any commercial interest, just a big fan of this people)

I would love to print the frozen lock by Tommy Wonder. Any suggestions?

I got a card punch from Chris.it is better than the one I got years ago made by ray grismer and I'm very happy with it....I recommend the 3d printer version, it is lighter, smaller easier to adjust/ operate.it's a bargain...