Joining the network: onboarding, order flow, payouts, API access, and obligations.
22 articlesConsistent print quality, honest capacity reporting, communication, and adherence to agreed SLAs on turnaround time.
A stream of matched orders, timely payout, the printability of designs from orders, clear communication of expectations, limited or no setup with sellers, and fair and consistent pricing computed for each design.
We maintain a close relationship with our current partners, and only expand when demand is much higher than the network can handle. Submit an application through the print farm partner form, including sample prints and equipment details, and we'll follow up when the network needs to expand.
Vetting includes a sample print quality review, an equipment capability check, extra capabilities, and basic business verification.
A minimum number of active, reliable printers, good shipping contracts, and consistent material stock on hand. Exact thresholds are assessed case by case during vetting.
At minimum, the core materials your assigned order types require (e.g. PLA/PETG). Other custom materials may be needed for certain orders, which will expand the order SLA and be compensated for the specialty material.
For certain cheap and readily available extra parts, the farm can keep their own stock. In such cases, the compensation is higher.
Jobs are pushed to your dashboard/API queue based on your registered capabilities and current capacity.
Job assigned, printed, quality-checked, packed, shipped, with status updates at each step.
If you're at or above reported capacity, incoming jobs are automatically rerouted to the next best-matched farm in the network. Reach out if the capacity changes or is at limit.
Expected shipping SLAs are 3 to 5 business days for on-demand orders. If custom filament is used, or external hardware that needs to be purchased, talk to an admin as the SLA will be updated accordingly and the customer and seller need to be informed.
For Stock orders, expected time-to-ready is 1 to 2 weeks, depending on stock size.
Payouts can be requested at any time, either via the platform or by a direct admin message. They are usually processed within 2 to 3 business days.
Earnings accrue in your farm wallet once orders are confirmed shipped, or Stocks are completed. All transactions are tracked and available on the wallet page.
If a refund or reprint is due to a farm-side defect, the associated payout is reduced or reversed. No-fault refunds don't affect your payout.
Access to a job queue API for accepting/rejecting jobs, updating status, and reporting stock/capacity. See the full API documentation.
No exclusivity is guaranteed by default. When demand exceeds a partner's capabilities or capacity, unless we can help with expanding capacity, other farms may be onboarded.
Farms are expected to carry their own general liability and equipment insurance. 3DAPI facilitates the partnership but does not insure farm equipment directly.
We check all 3MFs with our prototyping facility, and strive to reject all designs that might endanger your equipment.
All disputes are handled by the 3DAPI team. In general a farm should not have contact with the sellers.
Provide notice, complete any in-flight orders, and receive final payout settlement before deactivation.
No, under no circumstances. Under the signed NDAs and legal documents from the onboarding process, this is grounds for dismissal and may be fully pursued to the extent of the law.