07/18/2026
Happy Friday Everyone😻
It's been a crazy-busy 🤪 and ridiculous-hot week 🥵
📰The News-news📰
It's been a busy & productive week! We passed an incredible milestone this week - 3,000 students helped since Three Dee came into being 🙀. In the 610 days since we began, this averages out to nearly 5 people helped per day! 😹 That's an incredible number, and we are intensely proud of this achievement. Helping people start their 3D printing journey is why we're here, and we're over the moon seeing this measure of our success!
Me and the Boss have talked about it, and we've decided we're going to host a sale event to commemorate this milestone. Once we've nailed down the details, we'll let you know and kick this off 😸
There are two more items I want to cover, one belonging exclusively to Three Dee, and another belonging to the 3D Printing Community as a whole 🧐
First, we're approaching a stage where a number of maintenance needs are converging 😿 We still have some equipment down, monthly maintenance items are piled sky-high, and our Annual maintenance cycle is almost here. The final factor is a big need to reorganize our workspace for greater efficiency, getting the most and the best out of our hardware. 🤓
What this means is we have a need for an extensive down-time cycle that will greatly effect our usual production cycle. This level of service isn't going to be completed in hours or even days. 🥺
I'm forming a plan to take the print farm offline in stages, so that we're not fully down, but we have the elbow room we need to get this work done. 😤 Each machine in our swarm is going to need at least 5 hours of attention for inspections, cleaning, and servicing. Four of our machines are in need of more intense attention, and will take 8 hours plus.
What this will also mean is that special orders will have to go on hold until we can finish the maintenance, repairs, and reorganization. 🥹 Our plan is to start this cycle next week, if I can finish the plan in time, or the week after if I can't.
That plan includes a production plan that will keep us bringing new and fresh work to you, just with less variety than we usually bring.
We'll keep you posted as matters develop.
Last, I want to talk about a legislative trend that's working its way through several states. I try to steer clear of politics, and any of you who's spent time in conversation with me knows how I feel about making weapons.
However, there are three very important matters that all legislators need to keep foremost in mind:
Innocent until proven guilty.
Punishment comes after the crime. Never before it.
It's not the tool's fault when it has been misused. We don't put breathalyzer interlocks on all cars because so few drive impaired. We don't punish all firearm owners for the negligence or crimes of another firearm owner.
Many ridiculous, unenforceable, and rights-damaging laws are being proposed or have even been passed. If you 3D print or not, please watch carefully and help us reel in the egregious before it gets out of hand.
For now, a happier subject...
😻😹🤩🥳NEW PRODUCTS🥳🤩😹😻
This week was largely consumed by a mythical creature near and dear to me, but we'll cover that last.
First, I revisited the whimsy of the snails I first introduced you to a few weeks ago 🐌Expecting those to idly delight you, I only made a few. I was hugely - and pleasantly 😸- surprised by how you all took to them. This week, I visited them with brilliant new colors and materials, though they came out a little more... psychedelic than I'd planned... They are pretty, don't you think?
But I didn't stop there... 😈 I just took delivery of a new roll of Blood Charcoal - for those that don't know, one of my favorite specialty filaments - and I was thinking I wanted a snail that was less pretty and more... Metal. The first pass was good, but looked more Lord of Darkness from Legend... 👹 So that's how we ended up with another with the Skeletor-look 💀
However, the spotlight goes to a special myth this weekend. The myth of the Phoenix is important to me for a number of reasons. Representing second chances, it's a myth that's always spoken to me. However, now, it carries even greater import. The myth of the Phoenix reminds me to get up when I fall, literally and figuratively. I spent several hours, making these just so, because nothing else will do 🐦🔥
For now, it's time for me to call it a day. Come see us tomorrow in Building 3, #72, 73, 74, and 31 - at the Tri-Cities Flea Market. If you're coming in the front door, look for our blinking sign in the distance, all the way down in the corner where you turn towards building 4, right across from Sweet Talkz.
Coming in the back door, turn left, go around the corner, and you'll find us right across from Bill's Coins/ Kingsport Coin and Jewelry.
You guys Be Safe, watch the weather (Hot with a low chance of rain Saturday, with Sunday following on with thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon!), and we'll see you tomorrow 😻
