Maker’s paradise

WAUPACA – There only six places in the United States that are one-stop-shop 3D printing stores, where you can go and buy anything you need for 3D printing, and one of them just moved in to downtown Waupaca.
Lux Layers at 204 North Main Street, opened April 21 and holds an inventory for all you need to 3D print, including supplies and the printers themselves.
They also sell 3D printed products from toys to home décor, the next closest spot to find supplies for this hobby is Chicago or Minneapolis.
Mike and Amanda Ryszkiewicz, owners of Lux Layers, said that was their aim when opening their store front.
“That was really our goal when we opened the store, was to have an all encompassing one-stop resource for everything in 3D printing,” Mike said.

The floor below the store is for hobbyists, also referred to as “makers” in the 3D community, to be able to purchase printers, scanners, filament, replacement parts, essentially everything needed to start 3D printing.
Mike and Amanda said they enjoy the creation of 3D items and found that the demand for these items was quite high.
Mike said he started working with 3D printers when he needed to make a part for an airplane, which cost $600 from the airplane manufacturer.
He then decided to look into 3D printing and was able to buy the printer and the filament for under $150.
He created the part, which was non-structural to the plane, and got it approved by the plane manufacturer and saved himself a lot of money and from there the interest grew.
Today, Mike and Amanda have an army of printers going 24 hours a day seven days a week printing custom orders not only within the community but around the United States.
The ski is the limit on what can be made within the printers, Amanda said, she has seen people print cookie cutters, auto parts for cars and home décor to name just a few.
Mike said 3D printing also has a place in the medical field, with some 3D printers making crowns, prosthetics, braces and casts.
The objective, Mike said, was to be able to recreate and make anything and everything that someone might need.
The storefront can also get quite busy, with a number of 3D printed toys up for sale to which kids are quite excited to buy, Mike said.
“We love seeing those reactions of kids because it puts smiles on their faces and makes it a little bit of a brighter day,” he said. “That’s one of the things that we wanted to do is say ‘we make cool stuff’ and it’s also affordable.”
Aside from the toys, they also sell printed décor, with one of the standout custom orders being able to turn your pictures into a piece of 3D artwork.
In the future they are hoping to do classes on how to get started on a 3D printing journey, what to get and how to set it up as well as how to use the printer in general. They are also planning a grand opening in the near future.
Visit Lux Layers at www.luxlayers.com and they are also present on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.