How to Onboard into the JCSFY 3D Print Farm

If you’re looking for a hands‑on 3D print partner in the US—one that can handle specific materials, textures, and slicer settings—this page walks through exactly how to plug into the JCSFY 3D print farm. Our goal is to make production, fulfillment, and automation feel predictable and boring (in a good way) once you’re live.

Below is the same process we use with serious partners like Joshua: validate demand, lock in SKUs and materials, wire up ShipStation, and then let our Central Ohio print farm handle the physical work.

Who This Onboarding Guide Is For

This process is designed for partners who:

• Already sell or plan to sell products online (Etsy, Shopify, etc.).
• Need a US‑based, detail‑oriented 3D print farm to produce and ship their designs.
• Care about specific filaments, textures, and print quality—not just “whatever comes off the printer.”
• Expect to reach at least 10+ orders per month once ramped.

If you’re still experimenting with ideas, we’re happy to run one‑off prints—but this page focuses on the full integration path.

Step 1 – Validate Sales First

Before we wire up automation and onboard lots of SKUs, we want to see that your product sells consistently in your own shop or marketplace. That usually means:

• You’ve already shipped some orders yourself.
• You’ve proven that customers like the product and leave solid feedback.
• You have a sense of which sizes, colors, and options really move.

Once you’re confident there’s real demand, we’ll start the formal onboarding process SKU by SKU.

Step 2 – Assign a 4‑Character SKU Prefix

Every partner gets a unique 4‑character prefix—for example, Joshua’s prefix is JCSF. This prefix appears at the start of every SKU we produce for you.

Example SKUs:

• JCSF-4MM-JAR-LID-WHITE
• JCSF-4MM-JAR-LID-BLACK

Each combination of design, size, and color is its own SKU. We quote, test, and onboard each SKU individually, because every part prints differently and may require its own settings or tuning.

Step 3 – Define SKUs and Materials

For each SKU you want us to produce, we’ll need:

• The exact SKU string (including your prefix).
• The production STL/3MF file and slicer notes if you have them.
• The target material and color (ideally mapped to Polymaker or other common lines we stock).
• Any special requirements: textured plates, surface patterns, or post‑processing needs.

We prefer to work from high‑quality filaments we already trust—vendors like Polymaker—so we can predict how the part will behave across our fleet. Specialty materials and colors outside our normal inventory are possible but may come with separate pricing and MOQs per SKU.

Step 4 – Test Prints and Approval per SKU

Before a SKU is onboarded into automated production, we run it through a short onboarding loop:

1. We generate a quote for the SKU based on estimated time, material, and complexity.
2. We print initial samples on our farm using the intended settings and materials.
3. We review the results, adjust settings as needed, and share photos or ship samples if required.
4. Once you approve, we mark the SKU as production‑ready in our system.

If a SKU hasn’t gone through this process, we won’t run it in production—it protects both you and us from surprises.

Step 5 – Set Up ShipStation and Order Flow

To tie your sales channels into our production queue, we use ShipStation as the hub. You’ll create or use your own ShipStation account and connect your marketplaces (Etsy, Shopify, etc.).

From there, we set up an integration so that approved SKUs with your prefix automatically flow into our 3PL workflow. For each order you send to us, ShipStation must include:

• A valid, approved SKU (including your prefix, e.g., OLAR-…).
• Your prefix in the order metadata so our automation knows the order belongs to your catalog.
• Correct shipping address and service level for the end customer.

We batch work in our farm daily, ship to your customers daily, and invoice you monthly for items that were marked shipped in the previous month.

Step 6 – Typical Lead Times and Volumes

Lead times depend on part complexity, materials, and current load, but a typical pattern for integrated partners looks like:

• Initial SKU onboarding and test prints: usually days, not months, once files are ready.
• Normal production orders: scheduled into our queue within the agreed‑upon service window. We usually send orders out within 2-4 days, but strongly suggest setting your customer expectation to 7 business days. 
• We are set up so our print farm grows as your orders ramp up. Once your SKU is approved, we will do our part in scaling up volume as needed.

If your products really take off, we can scale up capacity by dedicating more of our print farm to your catalog.

Key Benefits of Using the JCSFY US-Based 3D Print Farm Network

Beyond print quality and automation, there are some very practical advantages to routing your US orders through JCSFY:

• Lower shipping costs for US customers, since orders ship domestically instead of crossing borders.
• Faster delivery—most shipments land in roughly 3–5 business days instead of the 3–4 weeks you often see with international fulfillment.
• No import tariffs or foreign VAT headaches for your US buyers, because everything goes out from inside the United States.
• Optional light assembly when a product needs a few simple steps after printing before it’s ready to ship.

The result is a smoother experience for your US customers and fewer moving pieces for you to manage from overseas.

Step 7 – Ongoing Communication and Tuning

Once we’re integrated, we’ll still iterate. New colors, updated geometries, or revised SKUs go through a light version of the onboarding loop so we can adjust profiles and pricing as needed. Our goal is to keep “live” SKUs stable so you can confidently run marketing campaigns without worrying about what customers will receive. From time to time, the cost of materials, or other factors may cause changes to the quoted price per SKU. Any changes will be communicated well in advance so you can accurately predict your costs and pricing. 

Ready to Start Onboarding with the JCSFY Print Farm?

If you’re serious about running your products through a dedicated 3D print farm in the US—and you’re ready to validate demand, define SKUs, and hook up ShipStation—we’d love to talk.

Use our 3D print farm intake form to tell us about your products, current sales volume, and what you’re looking for in a production partner. We’ll follow up with next steps, timelines, and what we’d recommend onboarding first so you can start testing the full JCSFY workflow with real orders.