Two years ago, when Stacey McLeod started her cookie baking business, she had no idea it would lead to an entirely new field: custom cookie cutter production.
Now, with the help of her Ultimaker 2, she's working in full production mode, narrowing her focus and expanding to online sales of her
creations.
3D Printing Helps Cutter Designer Break the Mold
As a manager, mom, and cookie fanatic, Stacey is breaking the mold in the cookie cutter world.
It's not uncommon to find designers creating cutters for their own use, but it's even rarer to find a designer who also produces them for sale.
We caught up with Stacey to find out how 3D printing has enabled her to expand her business from cookies to cutters.
Stacey's Cookie Cutters
From Corporate to Cookies
Born in Toronto, Stacey earned a bachelor's degree in business from university and had a successful career in management.
She eventually settled into suburban life in Mississauga, Canada.After her children were born, she focused on being a mom.And she decided to start her own
cookie business two years ago.
The cookies are very popular in her local community.It started as a side business where she only took as many orders as she could manage around her other
jobs and activities.Every cookie was a special order.
Special Cookies Require Special Cutters
But her special cookies required very special cookie cutters. Stacey would spend hours searching online and driving between stores in search of specific
cookie cutters.She found herself ordering cutters from the US more and more.This came with the hassle of exchange rates, customs, shipping, and taxes, and the cutters still weren't what
she wanted.
What she really wanted was to be able to perfectly create the cutters she envisioned.Designing and 3D printing cutters allows her to realize this.She started
3D printing cookie tools in December 2015 and hasn't looked back since.
In addition to making her own cutters, she quickly found herself doing the same for other cookie makers. "They have an idea, and I design and print it.I am inspired and awed by the
limitlessness.I can make anything."
Pineapple Cookie Design A 3D Printed Pineapple-Shaped Cookie Cutter
3D Printing to the Rescue
Stacey's super-techie husband first introduced her to 3D printing.He showed her time-lapse 3D printing videos on
YouTube and was soon designing pieces and printing them at the local library.When they realized they could use 3D printing to make custom cookie cutters, they knew they had to buy their own 3D printer.
Stacey received her Ultimaker 2 as a Christmas gift in 2015 and hasn't stopped printing since.
Of course, her very first print was a cookie cutter.She admitted, "My first cutter was small, too thin, and it broke quickly, but I was absolutely thrilled to have
created something on my own."
Now the cutters she prints are sturdy, sharp, and durable,but she still has that very first cutter.
Her initial prints were from Thingiverse and other pre-designed files.She graduated to designing her own cutters using the website CookieCaster.com.
Stacey's husband walked her through designing the first cookie cutter in AutoDesk Fusion.She has been easily improving and advancing her designs through trial and error using her
Ultimaker.
The Entrepreneurial Life
Like most people running a business, Stacey finds her biggest challenge is time.Twenty-four hours a day just doesn't seem to be enough to do everything she needs to do.
"I'm a work-from-home mom.My kids are young and busy.I also volunteer at their schools and I work part-time as a lifeguard.I'm trying to do it all while building a
business."
Using her Ultimaker, she can start printing, check the completion time, and then start working until the next object is printed. I never have to worry about
leaving it unattended, and my prints will complete themselves.It runs 24/7, and I'm not always around,
so I need to be confident that I'm coming back to a perfect cutter and not a filament nest.
Stacey at her workplace, printing cookie cutters
Most Advanced
Stacey says her printer is able to "print perfectly."She designs anywhere from 20 to 40 cutters each week and prints each one in 3 to 4 sizes.
The success rate of prints she gets from her Ultimaker exceeds 95%.She isn't ashamed to admit, "My Ultimaker is a very busy machine!It has
had to take trips to the cottage with us in order to keep printing without missing a day."
I listen for the builder plate to lower at night so I can start a new print overnight." Stacey may sleep, but her Ultimaker doesn't."
A Bright Future
After a crazy summer, Stacey is narrowing the focus of her business. 3D printing and Ultimaker will continue to play a major role.She will no longer create custom design cutters for
others.Her new business model includes selling pre-designed cutters that are printed on her Ultimaker.She will design and produce 8 to 10 cutters per
month, instead of producing loads of cookies and custom cutters.
As she sees it, "It makes much more sense to design a cutter once and sell it a hundred times over.I'll keep making cookies forever because I love it so much."
You can follow Stacey's Etsy store.
3D Printed Cookie Cutters on Stacey's Wall
Stacey will also be busy spreading her love of cookies, cookie cutters, and 3D printing.
This fall, she will be teaching cookie decorating courses at the community center.Since a 3D printer is available, she will have her classes design their own cutters on the library computers,
print them, and then use them in class.
"Cookie cutters are a very accessible way to introduce people to 3D printing; they are entirely relatable and practical."
Stacey's story is just one more way in which 3D printing can give you the ability to physically make something that would otherwise be just an idea.
The result is a wide variety of creative and ingenious ideas coming to life.Stacey says that it has changed the way she thinks and solves problems.
In her own words, "You're able to do so much more simply because you can."
Original article link: https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/22436-breaking-the-mold-3d-printed-cookie-cutters