Meet The Makers #15 Opensource Multicolor 3D Printing with Sharpies - With Blake3DCake

Welcome to Episode 15 of Meet the Makers! In this episode, we dive into the world of 3D printing and unleash creativity with Blake3dcake. Join us as we explore his innovative invention, the Multicolor 3D Printer Filament Painter, a groundbreaking technique that uses Sharpies to create any color of filament.

In addition to the Filament Painter, we delve into Blake3dcake's expertise in developing custom build plates and other unique products for the 3D printing community. Learn from his experiences as he shares valuable tips and advice on turning your passion for making into a successful business venture. Discover the essentials of starting your own business in the world of 3D printing, from market research and product development to marketing and customer engagement.

If you're a 3D printing enthusiast, a maker aspiring to start your own business, or simply intrigued by the world of innovation and creativity, this episode is not to be missed. Tune in to Meet the Makers #15 - Unleashing Creativity: The Multicolor 3D Printer Filament Painter - with Blake3dcake and embark on a journey of inspiration, knowledge, and the limitless possibilities of 3D printing.
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Where to find Blake 
Website: https://3dcake3dcake3dcake.com/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blake3dcake?lang=en
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blake3dcake
Github: https://github.com/blake3dcake/openspectrym
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Come be a guest on meet the makers: https://forms.gle/wTqzxqGpsu9hZ39F6
Follow misfit printing on TIktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@misfit_printing
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Chapters 
Intro - 0:00
Meet Blake - 0:25 
Selling Bottle Bongs  - 4:51 
Advice for first time entrepreneurs -8:38 
Failed Projects -11:29 
Developing  a multicolor filament system - 19:23 
 Custom 3D printing Build Plates -22:35
3D printing events - 28:39 
Getting Monetized on youtube - 29:47 
Ethics of tiktok heating content - 30:38 
Snapmker CNC  - 41:25 
Where to find blake 42:00

Transcript

 Oh, a bitch to work on, , Let me think. Probably probably one of the most recent ones I did  just cuz I made such a stupid mistake like this goes back to the scaling thing, the um, the multicolor thing that I created. The one with the, that used the peristaltic pumps to pump the fluid.

Yeah. Like I literally engineered the absolute shit over-engineered it. To, like, that thing should not exist

Hey everybody. Welcome back to Meet the Makers. Today's guest is a 3D printer, a tiner. He changes the colors of his filament with magic or engineering, whichever one you prefer. And he's probably got some of the best commentary that you have ever heard on his videos. I'm super excited to welcome Blake from Blake 3D cake.

Blake, how's it going? Super excited to have you here. It's going awesome. This is exciting. This is my first podcast. Great to be here. Excited to have you on for, uh, your very first time. Uh, this is kinda like the traditional question I jump everybody off with, but, uh, for people who have followed along with you or maybe don't follow along with you, how did you kind of get into doing, uh, 3D printing and just you, you do a lot of projects in general.

How did you get into all of this? Well, when I first got into 3D printing, I was working, uh, at a pizza place and one of my coworkers. Had a 3D printer and I would always tell him about like business ideas that I had and he would be like, yo, you should get a 3D printer. And this happened like four or five times.

And then I actually went through like a really bad breakup. And so to cope with that, I kind of bought a 3D printer, um, uh, just  like, eating comfort food. You buy something to make yourself feel better. Like, uh, I bought a 3D printer going through a breakup, and then, uh, yeah, just started from there.

That was like back in like 20 18, 20 17, and it was, uh, CRE, CR 10 and yeah, that's, that's how I got into it originally. I actually kind of similarly different, but similar, got into it. I just need some kind of escape from life. And, uh, Uhhuh, that's how I ended up getting my 3D printers. So it's, uh, it's funny hearing you say that. And yeah, I think, uh, retail therapy definitely is a real thing. And, uh, that's, that's what I, the word I was looking for, the phrase or, yeah.

Yeah, it's uh, it's been great though. And uh, it's, uh, like I said, it's kind of funny hearing you say that. Um, now when you start out  was the landscape of printers kind of different back then and has it changed like since you've been doing 3D printing?

Yeah, the, the landscape in 2018 was like much different, uh, back then, like I was super into video games. Um, like it's kind of cringey to say, but I was playing a lot of Fortnite back then. So my first ever thing that I 3D printed was a, a Fortnite grenade. And I kind of just, uh, that was the first thing ever 3D modeled too.

So I bought the 3D printer and I was like, all right, now I gotta 3D model something. So, I got, uh, fusion 360, um, on a student license because you can get, oh yeah, fusion 360 for free. And then I modeled that in like, it was actually surprisingly easy, like for me at least, like I kind of just went in there and just did it and just a night just dived in and.

Um, yeah, the rest is kind of history from there. That's how I kind of got started. Um, but the landscape of 3D printing back then, yeah. 3D printers, there was a lot more, um, troubleshooting, not enough, not as much information. They weren't new back then, but they were still kind of new and not, there's definitely not anything like the bamboo lab now that could just, you know, calibrate itself and then print and multicolor.

, the learning curve was a lot steeper back then. Like when you got your printer, you actually had to like fuck up like 10 times before you figured out, you know, how to actually level it properly, you know, and yeah. But yeah, it was a lot different back then for sure.

Yeah, it's, uh, it's crazy seeing, I mean, just since I've gotten into 3D printing, that's kind of around the time that the bamboo came out and it's, it's a wild seeing what that thing does  uh, I have to push back on you though. You're like, oh, Fortnite is cringe. That was my jam before I got into 3D printing.

Oh yeah. I was like my go-to games. So, uh, big Fortnite fan. I saw before you were actually doing 3D printing content. You used to do gaming content back over on YouTube. Yeah, my channel originally started out as a gaming channel. I, and that's kind of like, I've been into 3D printing and video editing for a while, so it's kind of, you know, I kind of got into those things at the same time, I guess.

Uh, with like, uh, premiere Pro, the, my first Premiere Pro edit was probably around the same time as well, now that I think about it, if not a little bit before. But yeah, used to be. Made a lot of gaming videos. They didn't go anywhere, you know, but, uh, it was, it was all, it's all a learning process. You know, you just picture what, what you wanna make or what you wanna do with like a video or like, uh, something you wanna make, and you just kind of do it and go from there and learn.

Yeah, it's, uh, I feel like it's one of those things in life where sometimes I, I made like a ton of different styles of content before I got into making 3D printing content. But it's like almost life prepares you for something that you're gonna do in a future, in like a weird way if, you know, you starting gaming and it, it wasn't what you did ultimately.

But, um, it's weird how like everything kind of just plays into each other, or it's like kind of like a self-fulfilling thing. Like you kind of go into it and. Maybe that's what you're interested in the whole time or I don't know yet. Life, life does kind of work out that way

 Yeah. Um, now you talked about this earlier, um, when you know, you're like working at a pizza shop and, uh, somebody's like, oh, you should do this for business ideas. What kind of business ideas or what kind of stuff did you have in mind when you first heard of 3D printing?

Everybody in my family is kind of an entrepreneur, so I, I just kind of grew up in that culture and my cat is actually about to jump up on my chair right now. It's up, dude. So just make say hi to Sweet Getsu. Oh, he is adorable. Yeah, he's, he's kind of a little shit sometimes, but, um, yeah, no, my family's like literally dad's side mom's side.

My uncles all like started businesses, um, but back around then.  I'll tell you my, my business what it was  back then. Uh, so there's these empty alcohol bottles, right? Like Yeah. People have it like, When you're in college right. People have like lined up lined up on the, lined up on the shelves.

Yes. Right. So I actually found a use for those. Um, and you can actually drill those out and put like a down stem in them and turn them into like a, a bong. So that was like my first, oh shit. Business. Yeah, it was called, um, easy Bottle Bong. So I made a kit where you could repurpose these glass bottles and turn them into bongs.

And I was like, kind of like in college, like partying and all that. So it was that they sold really well. Um, but uh, that's kind of like my first business that \ gave me experience with, uh, starting a business and like pursuing a business idea but I've been into business ideas, so I've had a lot of them and I've like went after a few of them. 

 So I have a lot of questions that stem off of what you said already. So, um, you know, you're in college, like you said that you come from a family of entrepreneurs, which is Uhhuh really fucking cool. Like, that's cool to me. , I think like most college kids aren't necessarily like, Looking in someone's dorm room, being like, oh, I see all these bottles sitting on the shelf.

I see an opportunity. Would you say like having parents who were kind of, of that like entrepreneurial mindset, um, helped you maybe like at a younger age, think of like when you see something like that, uh, like see it as a business opportunity, or would you say that like maybe you just, like, that's your personality.

Uh, not, not actually see the opportunity, but more to like, go after it. Like having the. Encouragement to be like, all right, you should actually go after that and try to sell these. You know, it's not like they're coaching me on how to come up with a business idea. Yeah, you have the idea yourself. Then a lot of people get the idea and they're like, okay, now what?

You know, when you have parents like that, they're like, all right, let's go sell one, you know, or go do this. Um, uh, to kind of give you help on like, Little things, just encouragement, taxes, sometimes, you know, just LLCs, stuff like that. Yeah, that makes sense. I, uh, my parents aren't necessarily entrepreneurial, but it's, uh, funny you mentioned taxes.

My mom always, she was like an accountant. She did taxes. She worked for Thers. So it was a blessing for me, like when I started to get into that side of things, to have somebody to, to help. Oh yeah, that's definitely a valuable resource because, uh, from starting a business, like taxes are probably the number one most annoying thing.

That goes with like the business side of things. I think, uh, it's, I don't know, just cause I don't know, you just gotta be prepared and like, there's a lot of fear that goes in with taxes. Like everybody is scared of the IRS and all that every year because like, not everybody calculates every dollar that they spend, you know?

So that's definitely something that is annoying that goes along with business. Hopefully in the future, because they already can calculate everything you buy, right? With your credit card or debit card. Like why don't they just, you know, like, why do you have to go back and get these paper receipts?

Like we live in a digital world now. You know, I, every knowing fucking tax season, I'm like, there has to be a better way. But as most things work in the government, it's usually like 30 years behind the clock. So, maybe by the time that we're both like super old, it'll.

Finally catch up to that point. I hope so. I really do hope so. But, um, beside taxes I'm always really interested in for people who are like looking to start their first business or get into it. Um, was there like anything I guess that came out of your first business that, um, was like a really good learning opportunity?

Maybe aside from like, fucking taxes suck, but anything else that came outta that? Um, Well, it's gotta come from somewhere other than the mentality of I wanna make money. Cause a lot of people are like, I wanna start a business so I can have freedom. I wouldn't say it necessarily has to start from a place of passion, but it's gotta be like, I have an idea or.

I'm gonna solve a problem. Usually it starts with I'm gonna solve my own problem. Right? You solve your own problem, you tell somebody about it and they're like, can you solve that problem for me? And then, then you scale into it. Like that's been, that's been a big theme. That's kind of been difficult for me, like, um, Scaling into something.

Uh, cause I like to, when I have an idea about something, I like to go big  for example, when I got into 3D printing, I instantly bought this like gigantic resin printer. That's like three grand. It's like worth more than my car, you know? And now it just sits on the shelf cuz I never use it there.

You gotta basically, Business ideas and a lot of other things you need to scale into them out of necessity and not just because you want to or like you have a vision of it. , it's like letting the market kind of dictate what gets created and not yourself, I guess. Yeah, it, uh, it completely makes sense that you're saying, and honestly, that was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn.

And like, it's still something that I have to stop myself often from being like, oh, well I like it. So like surely everybody else likes it. And I think, um, like you were saying, like really, uh, making sure that you're solving a problem and kind of validating that problem with everybody else in the market before you Yeah.

Uh, go wild with it cuz Yeah, I've, I've definitely fallen into that before and I think that's like a really easy thing to fall into when you're new to business. Or when you're like prototyping a 3D model and you think you made the correct change, so you like print 30 of them without testing the one you created.

Like, it, it, it takes like many different forms. Like I see it all the time. It's, um, and you'll know when you do it, like you'll, or when you're buying just some random, I don't know, uh, the, it, I just see it over and over again. Just that, that con, that theme of like scaling. Prematurely, I guess. Yeah, definitely.

I feel like it's, uh, a constant thing where I see myself, where I see other people like just diving in and going crazy right away. But yeah, cuz you're passionate about it and you're like, you want that instant, like, oh, I solved it, here it is.

I got it. And then it's not, you didn't go through the testing it and. Failing a hundred times before making it happen. Cuz a lot of times with an idea, you get passionate and you want to make it happen now, but it, you have to like, there has to be a trajectory, you know, before you can get to that view on the mountaintop that you see in your mind.

Yeah, absolutely. Um, now I think like something that's I've noticed is like interesting for me and I'm curious for your perspective of it is like, Someone who makes short form content. Um, you, I think like one of the things that I, I'll say like, your content is really good about doing, I don't know if it's like a good or bad thing, but like showing failures.

But, um, even still, um, fuck that came out wrong. No, no. It was, I didn't, no, I, I'm glad to hear it. I'd love to hear the feedback. I, this is something I wasn't expecting to, like, I, I, when I think about my content, I don't think about. Showing failures, but now that I think about it, that makes sense. Like I do show like a lot of like, fuck fuckups and like chaotic elements in there.

Yeah. Uh, no, like I think that that's like a really good thing. And I think what gets lost in short form content a lot is, uh, you know, something that can take hours and hours and days and weeks to do, gets presented in this like 32nd video. And I think sometimes that makes people think like, oh well, Why am I not doing this in, you know, an hour when this person seemingly did it so fast?

So I think that that's something that's cool that you do is you show like a lot of, um, iterations of things. But I guess for you, as somebody who works on these different projects, does it ever get like, um, I guess like difficult to portray that, like how much, maybe how much work goes into the projects that you, uh, do as somebody who makes short form content

um,

there is a lot of work that goes into every project, and I try, well, my, the things that I put in the video are things that, uh, usually tell a story. So it's not about how much work necessarily goes into it, that I prioritize things. It's more. Key plot elements or things that would make the story better or com contribute to like a better story or a more unique or personal story that I include in there.

Um, but yeah, there's a lot of work that goes into everything. It's just, it just depends on what would make the best story, I think is what I put in there. Yeah. Um, like I was saying in the beginning, I think you have some of the best storytelling and like your flow of thank, uh, it's really good.

Like, uh, if anybody doesn't watch your content right now, it's, I was like going through your content last night before I came on here.  And, uh, I, it was so easy to just like, Binge watch through it and like continue to watch. Cause it's, the storytelling is really good in that, I guess.

 You made different content before you got into doing like 3D printing content? Was that something that, um, was like easy for you to do? Did you kind of have to learn it? Was there anybody who inspired you to like your, I guess like storytelling style? Cause it's kind of unique.

you kind of just evolve into it, I guess, as you. Create more and more videos. You see what works and you see what doesn't, and you kind of study other people and what they do, and then you kind of, you know, come up with your own flavor of everything. Um, there's, I mean, you can, there's a lot of different like theories of like, how, like a lot of people talk about what makes a viral video and what doesn't, and like can they predict whether they're.

Video is gonna be viral or not, and you can come up with like any sort of, um, any sort of model. You want to try and create something like, what's, what's the word I'm looking for? You can come up with a,

like a scientific model or, uh, you know what I'm saying? There's a better word for it. Like, like an algorithm? Yeah, like an algorithm. To produce something that's gonna go viral every time. But every time I get to that point and then I create something and I'm like, all right, that's gonna do good. And then it just doesn't, and then it's like, it's changing.

And I think that's key part of it too, cuz the, the whole posting thing is so dynamic and your audience is growing with you as well. So like once you figure out like a kind of, um, A recipe kind of, it might change or people might get used to that. So you gotta like constantly be evolving with like, there's not a recipe that's gonna work for everyone, you know?

It's good. It's just, it's just gotta come from you. Yeah. Um, no, absolutely. I think, uh, I think like evolving your content over the time, over time is a big thing. Uh, I think, you know, when I try and think of people who've been on platforms for a long time, um, Their content, you know, if you watched 'em five years ago, it's so different from what it is today.

And I think mm-hmm. Just like as styles of all of that, uh, tends to evolve., one of the things I was kind of curious about when I was watching your content, like you make really interesting, like you make shit that I've never seen anybody else, like maybe even think of or I don't.

It's, it's very unique. Um, would you say that posting on social media, does that like kind of drive, uh, you to  push the boundaries of what you're making or if like, let's just say that we live in a world, social media didn't exist, do you think you'd still like, kind of make the things that you make right now?

 I think I would. Uh, I, I just, it for me, I just get an idea and I'm like, all, all right, I wanna make that. And so it, you know, it, it's, it's kinda like a, it's kinda like a fun game. I don't know, just like creating different things and like, Having an idea, cuz there's always like the first stages where you get kind of like, you get this inspiration of the idea, it's like the honeymoon phase and then you kind of go after it and then you get into it and then there's always just like a bunch of problems and then you're just going and then you get to the end.

And, you know, you create this, you created this thing and it's there and it works, or it doesn't, and you have the, the video that documented it and it's, it's fun. But yeah, uh, you learn a lot along the way too. Like every time I create something, I learned something new and I'm able to just like, for the next time, know how to, you know.

How to approach it, how to do things better, more efficiently, how to make something that's better, you know? Yeah. Um, no, that makes sense. When I was going through your videos,  it seemed like as time went on, like I could almost see things that maybe were more, I don't wanna say difficult, but like, just maybe like took more time for you in the beginning.

Like you, I could like kind of see watching the progression of your videos was like, those things get easier and easier. I don't know if you like, Feel that yourself, but that's kind of like the sense that I got in watching your videos. Yeah, yeah. No, uh, you just definitely learn a lot and then once you gravitate away from something, you lose a little bit of it.

But usually coming back it's easier to like get into the groove of things. But yeah, just like for building projects for two years, like going after the next thing and the next thing and the next thing you do, build up quite a good base of like, you know, tactics and little tricks to save time. You know, um, just by, you know, like I saw a stat, like if you spend two hours a day doing something, you'll be better than 95% of the people in the world at that just by spending two hours a day, you know, like you, you're bound to get better and quicker at the thing you're dedicating most of your time to.

Yeah, absolutely. I know we were, uh, we were chatting before we started recording today and I was saying like how I struggle so much with, uh, modeling and I think that's like definitely one of those things that it falls into where like it's, uh, if you just sat down and spent two hours a day doing it, like probably not too long of a time, you'd be like really good at it.

And yeah, I think that's like a big fit thing for so many people and so many things that they wanna do is just like, Actually carving the time outta your day to sit down and do it. Well, that's where the game comes into it. Like when you like the game of creating things that makes it so you don't like, a lot of people just want to take a course to learn something, you know, and then, then they think they'll just be good at it.

. It helps if you're actually have something that you want to create, that it'll make it, if you actually enjoy it, then you'll actually. Put in the time and want to create the next thing. And that's how, I don't know, that's how I get good at stuff like that. But I don't know. There's a lot of online courses and stuff like that, but it's not, I don't think it says clear cut as that most of the time.

Yeah, I, uh, I think maybe there's the type of person out there maybe who does well from a course. I'm not that type of person. Um, oh, there definitely is. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, uh, yeah, I'm like the type of person I just, I need to sit down and just need to do it. I need to like tear something up apart and put it back together.

Uhhuh, and that's how I learn. But I, I think there is like the type of person who can say and watch someone else do it, but I'm, it's not me. I'm not that person. Yeah. Not me either. You know, like. My retention on some things is just like zero. I gotta watch it like four or five times. Yeah. Really hammered in my brain before I actually get to it, you know?

 Now of the projects that you've done, there's again, for people who haven't seen your content, I recommend they go check it out and see all the crazy things. Is there any one thing that maybe stands out that you're like, man, that thing was a fucking bitch to work on? Or that maybe just like, didn't go the way that you expected or anything like that?

Oh, a bitch to work on, , Let me think. Probably probably one of the most recent ones I did  just cuz I made such a stupid mistake like this goes back to the scaling thing, the um, the multicolor thing that I created. The one with the, that used the peristaltic pumps to pump the fluid.

Yeah. Like I literally engineered the absolute shit over-engineered it. To, like, that thing should not exist. Like the amount of time I spent trying to like get that thing to work and it is not reliable. The one that I created after it that uses the markers. Yeah, that's, that's the one that should have been, been created from the beginning because that one's you can scale into that easier.

And it just, it's way more reliable and way simpler. Like when, when you're engineering designing something, you want it to be simple, so it'll work. And the, the other one with the, the pumps, that was just a result of me just like, you know, being super inspired and being like, oh, this is what it should be.

And then I create it and it's, it's, it works. It's just not reliable. It's just not. I don't know. Um, but yeah, that, that one was a pain in the ass. Like I spent so much time on that for, and, and I actually put a, there's a GitHub repository, um, with both of those. So if people wanna experiment with them, but I definitely recommend the, uh, marker one over the, uh, the pump one.

Cuz that one was, that one's tough. Yeah, I saw that one. It like kind of slowly just like phased out in your content. And then the mark one got introduced, so I was curious what, what had happened there. But that, uh, it, that makes sense. It never happened. You didn't? No. Yeah. It's cool. Like I learned a lot, but it was like if you go and look at the schematic and like it's, it's just way overworked.

But, but yeah, definitely that one was a nightmare. Yeah, that was, um, that was another like hard lesson I had to learn in business was like understanding what, um, MVP or like a minimum viable product is. And yeah. Yeah. Uh, scale, like starting with like the least amount of features or least amount of things that you can possibly have, and then like adding as you go.

That was a hard lesson. Exactly. And then you get like scope creep is like a big thing. You're like, oh, I could just add this, and it would just take a little bit more time. Just like a little more, yeah, and then you add this part and then this part. Then next thing you know, it's like three months later and triple your budget and doesn't work as good as the first thing you should have created.

Yeah,, I, I wish I could not relate to that as much as I can, but yeah, absolutely. And, uh, I think like for, you know, something like, uh, in, if you wanna call it the makerspace or the 3D printer space or whatever, it's, it's cool cuz like you can really kind of crowdsource feedback and like get other people like involved in stuff like that, Uhhuh.

But, uh, For anyone who's like developing a product or making, you know, even like a model, I think getting feedback from other people as early as you can is like a really valuable tool too.  Not for a model, but for like a product, cuz I think there's a, like a model can just be like, like a cool design or something.

Like you don't necessarily need feedback for like a piece of kind of artwork, I guess. Yeah. But for like a product, you definitely wanna. Get that MVP and get that feedback right away. For sure. One of the things I just saw you start to post about, uh, that you've been working on, I think you've been working on it for a while, but it's like these custom build plates.

Can you Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that. Um, well, I, I think that's a good, that's, that might be one where I didn't do mvp. Like I probably skipped a bunch of steps to try to create the best. Digital build plate. There is, uh, I feel like this keeps happening to me. I just like need to like slow down and just make the mvp.

You're so right about that. Like, I make that mistake every time. But, um, the digital build plates, um, yeah, you can, you can put any image you want on them. They're magnetic and you can use them for your ender three. I don't know if anybody will buy them, but, um, I saw a post online where somebody on Reddit put like a sticker down on their build plate and then put a piece of glass over it.

Mm-hmm. And I was like, whoa, I could, okay. Use that for my community. Right. So I went out and figured out how to, like, put an image on it, what materials to use, like what, um, Surface is gonna be the best, you know, how to like, minimize weight with like packaging and all this stuff. Like, I'm already like 3000 steps ahead and I haven't really sold that many of them yet.

But, um, we'll see if people like them or not, but uh, yeah, those are cool. No, I honestly, I think it's a cool idea and I think that you're onto something because I'll tell you why I, um, you wouldn't know if you came into my office right now cuz it's a fucking shit show. It looks like the city dump in here right now, but, uh, it looks pretty good.

It doesn't look that bad from it. It looks good from your angle. Um, In front of me. It's like you just got, just I did, yeah. Before we got into school, I just pushed everything in front of me and, uh, it's, it's a shit show here, but, uh, nonetheless where I was going with this, so I, I love like, uh, matching things.

I love like kind of aesthetic looking things. And uhhuh, I, uh, at one point I had bought, uh, I don't know if you're familiar with the P Flats. Uh, they're kinda like P Flats, kinda like these reflective. It's like, um, it goes on your build plate and it's like a reflective surface, and then it transfers whatever's on the bottom of it.

Oh, to the bottom of your print. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen those too. Yeah, there's, I didn't know the name for them, but I've seen it. Yeah, I don't think people, most people know that I, I, I don't know if that's a common name or not, that's what I know them as. But, um, anyway, so I had one, it's like holographic and it looks really fucking cool and, uh, I had it on my printers and it's actually, it's hard to get the prince to adhere to it cuz like it's really, um, slick and, I don't know, it's just difficult.

But . I love the way that it looked for so long. I just kept them on my printers because like in videos that looked great, people would comment on it. Like, I thought it looked really good. And always in the back of my mind I was like, you know, I feel like there's not a lot of, um, people who make components for 3D printers that are like custom, like purpose for being aesthetic.

And I think that there might be a market for that. So I, yeah. Yeah. I'm interested. You that you can, so what you're talking about is it has like a design, a texture on, on that, and you put it on your, your 3D printer, and you put the plastic over the first layer and then it, whatever, um, pattern was on there, or textures on there goes onto the bottom of your 3D print.

Yeah. Essentially that. It's like the ones that I have, they're literally just like, um, it's, I don't even really even know. How it works, but it's like a holographic film, uhhuh that's on the bottom. It kind of like makes the bottom of your print holographic. But I've seen the ones that are like textured as well.

Um, I know there's like carbon fiber ones, all kinds of different ones. Oh yeah, yeah. That's, yeah. I've seen. I've seen those. I mean, yeah, I mean, best place to start would be to sell a few, um, see if other people want 'em, uh, if you wanted to start that business. But I'm doing the, uh, the, a similar thing with the build plates and we'll see whether they sell or not, but, but yeah, that's, I think it's a good idea cause uh, a lot of people take their printers to the, these conventions too.

And it's, it might be kind of a niche market cause. You don't really wanna bling out your 3D printer unless you're like showing it off, you know, like, so for people who go to like conventions, I've been to the, um, Midwest Rep Rap festival. That was pretty fun. Oh yeah. So like places like that, people might love it there.

Um, but yeah, we'll see. It's, it's cool. Do you now, like when you do them,  I saw a couple runs that you had and it was, I think you're like a Pokemon one. I think you had a few, I can't remember. Maybe a Zelda one, Zelda. Um, Yeah. Are, can you do like custom runs of them or do you kind of like batch, like the ones that you get?

How does that work for you? I could do any image, uh, any image. There is, uh, I got this special like ink printer that I can Okay. Take the image and put it on there. And then I put like a p e I surface over it or, uh, polycarbonate both work. Okay. Good. Polycarbonate's kind of cool cuz it's, uh, it's clear. But it might not be as durable as the p ei, but the p e I has like an amber finish to it, so it's gonna be whether, which service you want.

Both work good as printing services and I haven't hooked up on my website where you can upload an image and like you could literally upload a picture of your cat and it would be on the bill plate, but I haven't had anybody use it yet. So we'll see if.

But I just started advertising, so I'm, I'm literally, when we get off here, I'm gonna tell like, fucking everybody I know about this cuz Okay. Here, let me ex, let me explain where like, I think that this is interesting is like, I feel like there's a lot of people I. Who make 3D printing content. And I feel like people really love to like, kind of like, have like unique cool things.

 Either like they put their logo on there or it's like something that's like eye catching in the video a subscription club maybe for like, uh, different, like, I don't know.

I'm not, I'm not sure, but I, I like your idea a lot. I think it's really good. Uh, Yeah, it could be a thing like if you want, you could also do double-sided. Like, you know, one side, you got one image on the other side, you got another image. There's, there's a lot can that can be done. Um, yeah. I'm also thinking about doing like with the build plates, kind of, um, doing like a subscription thing.

Cause I know that works good. People like, uh, subscriptions cuz not everybody's into 3D modeling. And if you can create some great models, you can, it really like, Is good value for everybody, you know? Yeah. But with the build plates, yeah, you could, I'm thinking about doing a combination like maybe where you buy a build plate, you get like a couple months of subscription with it.

Okay. Would be cool. Yeah, that's perfect type thing. But yeah, definitely ideas to be had, but you gotta scale into it. For sure. That's cool. I'm, I'm excited about your idea. I like it. Thank you. I'm gonna look back in a year. I'm gonna be like, oh, like we had 'em on now it's like this major thing. So it's gonna be cool.

I hope it, I hope it takes off. I really do hope it takes off. Yeah, I think it will. Have you been to like any of the, uh, rep rap festivals at all? No, I haven't. Um, they just had the, I think it was the Rocky Mountain one, which is out in Colorado. I'm in Arizona, so Uhhuh, it wasn't, um, too far from me.

And I, some people were like, oh, are you gonna go? But in full transparency, I'm, I'm fucking socially awkward.  I'm not like,  a big, uh, talker in real life. So I, I did think about going and I was like, you know what? That's. Honestly sounds like my personal version of hell. So I, I did not go, 

You say you don't like talking, but you do podcasts. I, I know it's, uh, it's funny you say that. This was, uh, like selfishly, I actually, I had started a podcast. It's like, well, it's a good way for me to, uh, like get outta my comfort zone and talk to people all the time.

So it's, uh, it's, it's been a good thing.  I think  you'd be right at home, uh, with the. 3D printed crowd for sure. Like, I, I went and it was pretty fun. Like, and you see a lot of, um, see a lot of cool stuff and I'm sure a lot of the similar people go to like the same events.

So you see similar faces and make friends and see cool, cool stuff. I went to the, uh, the one in, um, Goshen, Indiana. Mm-hmm. That went last year. I'll probably go again this year, but it's a lot of fun. Sure. Yeah. People seem to love it. So, uh, I think, uh, maybe by the time it rolls around next year, maybe I will, uh, I'll venture out and I'll go.

I, I feel like I know a lot of people who do 3D printing, so I would definitely know people there and it, it would probably be a good time. I'll have to, I'll have to buncher out.  Now for you, we kind of, you know, you have the projects that you're working on now, you've seen some of your other projects.

Do you have like anything kind of. I guess in the back of your mind that is, uh, coming up for you or anything that you're excited about or maybe like have wanted to work on, but is just been like a little bit of too big of a project to bite off at the time? Um, well I just got monetized on YouTube literally.

Oh, nice. Yesterday. Oh, great. And I, some of my YouTube videos have been doing like a lot better. I've been posting a lot. So I'm excited to kind of get into. Like, uh, a content schedule on YouTube where I'm like creating, like, I kind of wanna get to where I can post like one video a week and it's like a completely different project.

Okay. Every single week. And then, yeah, I'm, I'm excited to kind of grow, uh, a YouTube channel. I think be where my mind space is at right now., that's super exciting. Well, congratulations on getting monetized. Um. Mm-hmm.  I think maybe like four years ago you said you started making content.

Is that, does that timeline line up or? Five. Four or five. Okay. Yeah, so like TikTok wasn't really, uh, I don't think it was a thing back then. Did you like, initially set out maybe with like, the goal of doing YouTube mostly and then like, kind of just fell into TikTok? Um, well, Like I said, I had that, that, uh, bong business and I ran that for a few years and I, um, invested in some cryptocurrency, like at a good time.

Oh, okay. Yeah. And so then I kind of like sold the business and since I sold the business, I've been kind of looking for another thing to generate money in a similar, similar way. Um, so I've just kind of been spent the last, uh, year or so, uh, You know, posting and cr like looking for that next thing. I guess, like creating a bunch of, I've tried to create a bunch of different products and at the same time like started to build like a social media following at the same time just kind of looking for my next business, I guess.

Um, but yeah, um, I didn't really at first expect to get as good of, um, uh, Feedback or not good of. I didn't expect to get so many followers right away on TikTok. Like I posted one video and it blew up and it's kind of like almost to the point where like I'm like, okay, is that even real? You know? Because how many of these people are like bots, you know?

Yeah. There's no really way to tell and. I don't know. The thing that scares me about TikTok in particular the most is that big red button in a TikTok office that says Go viral. And that guy that's just like hitting that go viral button, it's so weird, um, that someone's just in control of like, what channels get views and like if you're new, they'll give you more views so you stay.

Longer. Yeah. It's, it's so weird. And then I watched like the, um, like the hearing with the TikTok ceo and like the whole time, like all our representatives are like, we, we know you have the data, like grilling them on like, you, you have our data. And like they're like, give us the data and that, and they're not even, they didn't even acknowledge the fact that.

They can like control whose voices get amplified and vice like the opposite. Like, you know, silence at literally the push of a button like that was not even mentioned. It's kind of weird to me. I'm like speaking a little out of my area of expertise, so bear with me. But like, you know, everybody talks about like their concerns with TikTok and what's happening with the data there and this and that, the next thing. Mm-hmm. But like, you know, it's, I feel like it almost gets sweeped under the rug and people pretend like that's not happening on other Yeah.

Uh, other apps that there's not like data being collected or things exactly like that. So, uh, I don't think, yeah, I, the data is even like, The problem at all. Um, cause like if you look, like, if you look at like Charlie Demilio, right? Like what is, should you get famous for just like doing some like average dance, right?

And suddenly like every single girl in America thinks they can get, be famous by doing like an average dance. They probably were just amplifying her voice by. You know, like to the max. Yeah. And then encouraging behavior and like, people, it's, it's just like weird manipulative Yeah. Yeah. Stuff. And I feel like our representatives have no fucking clue about any of that.

You know, like I watched the hearing, I'm like, what the fuck? Like, it's just so weird being like a creator and knowing what is possible and how, I don't know. Uh, It's, uh, it reminds me back of like when they were having the Facebook trials and Mark Zuckerberg would come in and they'd be like, well, if you're not charging people, how are you making money?

And it's just like, they're so out of touch with Uhhuh. The reality of like, I, it's, yeah, it's interesting like how the laws get made by people who clearly don't know what's happening. So I think they just need, like, they don't need a banned TikTok, they just need a freaking algorithm law or something where you can't, yeah.

You know, just willynilly say, all right, this guy, we agree with his opinion button. He's like in the front page of everybody's stuff. You know, like, that seems like violates some freedom of speech and stuff like that. I don't, I'm not like a freaking lawyer, but just seems weird. That's why I don't know TikTok, it's, and I don't know where to like say anything like this because, you know, it's not like, There's a hundred other talkers in my region, you know, doing stuff that I can go talk to.

Like, it's more of like something you bring up on a podcast, not like I can go to, well I guess I could go to freaking lawmaker and talk about it, but I don't know. I just think it's good to talk about it cuz you know, who else are you gonna talk about it with?

Yeah. No, I, I agree. I think it's, uh, it's kinda like you were saying, just how it can have such an influence on the world. And like, I, there's like this weird statistic that, I don't know exactly what it's, but it goes around when we were young, like people would be like, oh, I wanna be a firefighter or a doctor, this or that, and everybody's like, oh, I wanna be a talker.

And it's, uh, It's like interesting just how that Yeah. Uh, you know, shapes what society looks like and what people, I guess pursue as like being important and, uh, yeah. Mm-hmm. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Pursue as being important, especially when they think other people think that this is important. Yeah.

You know, like when that's, that's where it's deceptive, you know, like if you have a bunch of, they amplify this certain view and. Other people think that other people value that they'll start to value it. So it's, it's like super just, I don't know, something needs to be done about it. That's what I think.

Yeah. No, I agree. I agree. It's interesting, uh, it's interesting to hear you say that I have, it's like, not something I've really talked about with other people. Like you said, it's, uh, I don't know a lot of people in like my personal life who make content. So it's not uhhuh not typically something that like I talk about on the day to day with people.

Yeah, no, definitely not. You don't hear it. And like what's weird is like, I looked up, so you know what heating is, right? Like that's the word that described like the button that they can press and it just makes your video go viral. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So like there was like a New York Times post about it on like the first of the January, 2023.

Right. And I looked up, you know, Post since then about it, and there's been nothing since January even talking about, unlike any of these news sites, when you search up TikTok Heating, there's nothing since that first post about it. I'm like, what the heck? That's so weird. Like that's, that should be if Twitter, if some guy at Twitter was like amplifying views or Instagram like they could control, if Elon Musk could control, you know, who got views on Twitter, people would be fucking.

Outraged and just like, you know, losing their mind. And then on TikTok it's like, what? Like it literally everybody, like 300 million people have this downloaded and they can control what points of view get amplified and no one's talking about it. It's weird. I think it's weird. It's, uh, it's, I guess, you know, it's something weird overall with the internet of how, uh, information sometimes can get buried and other information can get brought to the top, it's a weird world that we live in now. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Definitely. But it's fun though, like you can't, so then, well, then you start like getting too sucked up into it and you're like, all right, I just gotta live my fucking life. Like, You don't really, you know, it's conspiracy theories podcast talk like, yeah, what, what are you gonna do about it?

Like, yeah. It's, uh, I feel like that's like a, a weird line to have to walk is like, uh, how much should you care about something that is, I don't, yeah, I don't even know. You know? It's, uh, yeah, it's weird. That affects you, but not, you know, but not actually, yeah, just a choice. I don't know. That's why. You know, maybe focus on other things like YouTube and stuff like that.

That's where I'm at with it. But still probably post on TikTok as well. Cuz like if I have short videos I might as well post them on everywhere just cuz you know, it makes sense. You, you post 'em on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and Facebook makes sense to, you know, if you have a video, might as well get everybody to see it, you know, so, yeah.

So trying not to think too much about it. It's an interesting time with making content. I think, uh, I'm starting to see, I don't know if you've started to see this, but I've started to see like, uh, some information about like, uh, Instagram, like starting to prioritize, like images again more than like shorts and YouTube.

Uh, oh, I think I saw that. They're starting to, they're actually on related to when I started this, but, um, they're starting to like push for podcasts to be like a big thing on their platform. So, um, oh, I'm seeing like a lot of, uh, I, I don't know how like accurate this is, but I'm starting to see platforms talk about like, not getting away from short form, but like for a while I think that was like everything that everybody was focusing on and, uh, yeah.

Yeah, it's interesting to see how that's like, kind of, I, I think like the big thing driving is just like there's, it's not super easy to monetize. Like people don't wanna watch a 32nd ad in between watching a 15 second, so Yeah. Yeah, yeah. There was kind of like a race to the bottom, like everybody was like, oh, everybody's watching this.

And then, yeah, it's not, not easy to monetize it and. I know it fucks with your intention span a little bit. Yeah, probably. Who knows? But you do learn a lot of cool stuff. I don't know. Yeah, it's like a, it's a double-edged sword. I definitely have learned a lot of, uh, strange things I would've never known if it wasn't for TikTok, but, uh I'd be lying if I said it didn't burn out my attention span.

I know, like, yeah, I used, like you, I used to watch like a 10 minute YouTube video and I was like, oh, this is a super short video. Now. If I watch a 10 minute YouTube video, I'm like skipping through. Half the video, I'm like, oh, let's give another 32nd video. Sometimes I find myself just like going like this, and I'm like, what the fuck?

You know, like, yeah, you gotta like remind yourself not to like go back and it's like, am I even the one watching these videos or is it just like an autonomic. Response. You just, you know, but it's, it is what it is. Yeah. And it's, you do like for all the bad stuff that it brings. Like it also, you know, you learn so much shit that you would never know, like cool things that, you know, just make your life better.

Like you get, um, you know, life tips and like food recipes and. Stuff like that. So it's double-edged sword like you were saying. Yeah, it's, uh, like you said, it's, it's one of those weird things. Like, I definitely spend way too much time sitting on, uh, TikTok every day, but then like, cause it's your job, right?

Yeah. You know, I think about it though, and I'm like, uh, I like feel bad about it. I'm like, oh, I spend all this time. But then like, I think about it and like, it sounds fucking lame, but I'm like, oh, I met all these like, cool people and like, I've like made like just like. Just like built like relationships with people that like I never would've met and like learned all this stuff Uhhuh.

So I'm like, you know, there, there's a good side and a bad side to it. I don't know how you balance like, and justify what, uh, what's worth and not worth it., it is what it is. I just, you just, I just try to live, you know? Yeah. Have a good time.

For sure. For sure. Here for a good time. Not a long time. I was just wondering, what's that? Uh, electronic, uh, lightning thing back there. The pulsing? Yeah. I have to just, I, I think, uh, my frame rate with my camera might be messed up cuz this used to not happen, but I have, uh, it's, it's literally just lights.

Like it's a normal light bulb over here and then it looks cool. I have a bunch of plants in my office. It's, uh, some grow lights over here. But yeah, it's, uh, yeah, like you said, kind of like lightning, uh, going on in the background. So it's, uh, it looks great. Yeah. You got your 3D printer back there. Two. What kind?

Is that a snap maker? What kind of Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a, those fan maker. I've seen those. Is it good? I like it. It's, uh, I'm, I'm biased cuz they sent it to me so I didn't buy it with my own money. Uh, so I think, I think it's good for a free printer, but, um, no, it's good. El el el go sent me one. It was, it was awesome.

Oh yeah, yeah. Great. Okay. So yeah, um, it's, it's a good 3D printer. Like, it's not the bamboo, like it's not super fast or anything special like that. What I love about it is it's a three in one, so it's a 3D printer, it's a laser engraver, and it's a cnc, which I, I love like messing around with that stuff. So I think it's really cool.

Um, do you, it's like, do you c and see a lot? Not as much as I should. Uh, I, I actually, for this one I have, uh, you probably can't see, but right back there I have the Snap Maker three and one original, which is a little smaller. Um, that was the first one that I got. I actually, I bought that one myself. But, um, I was doing like some CNC stuff with that.

And since I've gotten this one, I've actually never used the CNC function on here. But yeah, I, it's, it's a cool machine. In case you ever need to see and see something, you will be ready for it. Like, yes, yes, absolutely. Are you, uh, you seem like very enthused about C and C. Are you a c and C person?

No, I've never c and see anything. It just seems like, um, more of a, it seems like, uh, like an intense engineering thing and you don't seem like, uh, like you're into like intense engineer. I, I just thought it was, you don't think I could be intense into intense engineering? I'm not, that's not what I'm saying.

It's just like, No, no, it's cool. It's cool. I've seen your channel, like I don't see you like pumping out like AI robots that. Have like the mechanical arms. Well, you never know. In the near future you might be surprised, but, um, yeah, it's, uh, yeah. Honestly, the biggest thing that prevents me from using, um, the CNC function here is just, it's so fucking loud and I, uh, oh, I'm sure.

Yeah. It's, it is really fucking loud and it's, it's slow too. So like I said, I work from home. This is like my. Office that I work in. So Uhhuh, I have to like plan when I'm gonna use like, unless I like took it outside, I guess I could take it outside, but like I have to strategically like plan when I'm gonna run something cuz like it's so loud.

You wouldn't wanna run it while like you're sleeping. But also I can't run it while I'm working. Just turn a fan on. Yeah. Yeah. I guess got the C N C, the neighbors complaining you're seeing, seeing in your living room. I know it's, uh, my, so your workspace, my house is turned into like an industrial manufacturing facility, which I, I kind of enjoy, but it's, uh, that's tight.

It's, that's tight. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Well, Blake, I had a great time talking to you. Uh, I feel like I could have talked to you for like another two hours about Yeah. Random shit. Here. You'll have to have me on again, and I can, yeah. When, when you're famous from, um, your build plate business, uh, I will reach out to your secretary and we'll try and book you again for this.

Uh, but, uh, for people who, for of whatever reason, don't follow you, can you tell people where they can find you on the internet? Uh, Blake 3D cake. Uh, on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok. Yeah. And uh, probably GitHub too. Look up, uh, open spectrum. That's like the Colorizer thing that I made. But yeah, like 3D cake mostly.

Just dive in. You'll probably find me. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again for taking time outta You're ready to come on here. And with that said, that is Meet the Makers.