Background
I'm having terrible adhesion problems on my new 3D Printer. It's keeping me from making progress on other projects that rely on 3D printed parts. While researching a fix I discovered that this is a universal problem among hobbyists, and everyone has their own solution including glue mixtures, taping schemes, heated beds of varied temperatures, cleaning solutions, various print bed materials, calibration routines, etc. I understand that everyone has a slightly different build, and those builds will add variation. But I think that excuse is over-used because of the lack of usable data. The common theme seems to be people trying one thing after another until they find something that works. Very unscientific.I really don't want to take a "shotgun" approach to this problem, but I don't really want to use my free time systematically designing and running experiments to collect the necessary scientific data. It would require a force gauge which costs around $100 for a decent unit, and I would rather burn that extra money on something more fun.
As an engineer I get this type of data from companies who are dedicated to performing experiments to collect data on heat capacities, enthalpies, transfer coefficients, etc. etc. etc. We just pay someone else to collect the data. I haven't found an entity in the 3D Printing world that has undertaken the science of all these little problems that hobbyists face.
The Idea
Since I'm losing my job in June 2015 I'll have some free time. I could probably dedicate myself to a systematic study of 3D Printing problems. I'd design and perform experiments on print adhesion using different substrates, temperatures, filaments, surface treatments, etc. Then I could publish and hopefully sell the information to pay for my time and the capitol required to perform the studies.My big concern is how to distribute the content in a manner that will help pay for the time and capitol invested into the project. I'm a big believer in publishing this stuff for free, but there's so much work to be done I don't think I could afford to go unpaid for that long. Maybe I could get funding up front via KickStarter so I can reduce the risk of recovering a personal investment. That would also help reduce the risk of people just copying and redistributing the content. If it was paid for up front then I could just post the results for free. Otherwise I'd have to look into a distribution method to protect the copyright, like a website or cell phone app.
You define well the entrepreneur's dilemma. It is a leap-of-faith and you can only make that leap if you are willing to absorb the loss if it fails. We know only too well those who leapt and succeeded but those who failed are forgotten to the world. Who knows the percentage of success - I rather suspect it is small. BUT progress depends on it. Follow Your Passion!
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