Edmonton, Alberta · Canada

tridi

Design it anywhere. Print it next door.

A Canadian network of distributed 3D printing, born in Edmonton. An object is sold online and printed on the verified printer closest to the customer, then delivered under the designer's brand.

Read the plan ↓

01 · How it works

Three steps

  1. 1

    A designer publishes

    An object designed for 3D printing goes on sale online, with the designer's brand.

  2. 2

    The nearest verified node prints it

    The printer closest to the customer receives the job with the designer's parameters. The platform sees and controls the printer.

  3. 3

    It arrives by courier

    Packed with a tridi sticker and the designer's card, shipped with a label generated by the platform.

02 · Who does what

Three actors

Designer

Brings
The design, their brand, their marketing
Gets
A royalty on every unit sold

Node verified printer

Brings
Printer, filament, time, packaging, shipping
Gets
Most of the price

Platform tridi

Brings
Marketplace, payments, job assignment, technical control, contracts
Gets
A small fixed commission

03 · Why it's different

Software, not reviews

3D Hubs died of inconsistent quality between printers.

tridi doesn't rely on reviews: the platform sees and controls the printer. Every node runs software connected to tridi that receives the job with the designer's parameters, reports temperatures and progress, and sends back photos of the first layer and the finished part. No node gets in without passing an admission test.

37% of the world market for printers under 2,500 USD in 2025 went to a single brand, Bambu Lab. The printers are already out there.

04 · The node standard

If one thing is missing, it doesn't get in

Printer

FDM, 1.75 mm filament, 0.4 mm nozzle. 220 × 220 × 220 mm or more, automatic bed levelling, controllable from the platform. Model from 2020 on, or with spare parts available.

tridi agent

Runs on an always-on computer next to the printer. Sends the job, reports status every minute, uploads photos, deletes the file when done.

Camera

Mandatory, pointed at the bed. No camera, no quality control.

Approved filaments

A closed list of PLA and PETG, each with a platform profile. The designer picks material and colour, not loose settings. Filament kept dry.

Admission test

The tridi test piece: a 20 mm cube within ±0.15 mm on X, Y and Z, 45° and 60° overhangs, a 30 mm bridge, 1 mm raised text, clean retraction, a uniform first layer. Repeated every 6 months.

Verification

Verified identity and real address, a signed node agreement, and 10 orders reviewed photo by photo. Two rejected orders in a row suspend the node.

Service level

  • 4 hto accept the order
  • 24 hto start printing
  • 48 hpart ready and photographed
    (prints under 8 h)
  • 3 daysshipped, in business days

05 · One brand, modules inside

Modules

tridi Print

The marketplace: object catalogue, designer stores, upload your design, orders to the node network.

tridi Components

Catalogues of partner stores (filament, printer parts, electronics) connected to the platform, with a dimensions wiki. tridi doesn't buy, stock or ship anything: the partner store sells and ships.

tridi Nodes

The way in for people with a printer: pilot call, admission test, agent, node dashboard.

tridi Design

AI-assisted design and tools for designers. Phase 3.

06 · Pilot

One city, five nodes

Edmonton. Node 0 is a Creality CR-6 SE running OctoPrint, connected on 6 November 2026: the test bench for the whole flow before anyone else joins. Then nodes 1 to 5: north, south, east, west and centre.

12-week goal

  • 5approved nodes
  • 20products in the catalogue
  • 50orders delivered
  • < 5%quality rejections
  • < 3 daysaverage delivery time

What the pilot measures: whether quality holds across different nodes with the same profile, how much a node needs per printer-hour to make it worthwhile, and whether customers pay for "made here".

07 · Money

Where 35 CAD goes

Example: an object with 4 hours of printing and 60 g of PLA, sold to the customer for 35 CAD. Shipping is separate and paid by the customer.

Node material, time, packaging2263%
Designer617%
Platform411%
Payment gateway1.304%
Returns reserve1.705%

The platform sets the node's price by formula (time + material + margin) so the customer sees one price. The node is paid after delivery is confirmed.

08 · Roadmap

Phases 0–3

  1. 0

    Infrastructure and node 0

    Node agent on OctoPrint, the tridi test piece, node 0.

    → One complete order, end to end, on the CR-6 SE

  2. 1

    Minimum marketplace

    Catalogue with commercial licences, payments, assignment to the nearest node, control photos.

    → Edmonton pilot, 5 nodes

  3. 2

    Designer stores

    Contracts, royalties, upload your design.

    → 20 designers, 100 products

  4. 3

    AI design and Components

    AI-assisted design, tridi Components with the dimensions wiki and kits, a second city.

    → Calgary

09 · Talk to us

Have a printer in Edmonton? Design things? Run a store?

This plan is a draft for discussion. Tell us what you think.

Talk to us · jaime@hubi.ca