Printory – Inventory Management for 3D Printing

As a 3D printing hobbyist myself, I understood the inventory chaos firsthand. Dozens of filament spools across different materials (PLA, PETG, TPU), colors, and brands—all tracked manually in spreadsheets that quickly became outdated. The pain point was acute: starting a print only to discover the spool was empty, or wasting time searching through bins for the right color.

From my own experience and observing the 3D printing community, the problem was clear: existing tools were either too complex or too simplistic. What was needed was something frictionless—scan a QR code, see inventory status, done.

Beyond solving a personal pain point, I saw this as an opportunity to validate rapid development workflows. Could I build a functional, production-ready app efficiently? And could I architect it for reusability across other inventory domains? These became the core technical objectives alongside the product vision.

I built a functional prototype rapidly, focusing on core features first. This wasn't a clickable mockup—it was a real mobile app with working QR code scanning, local storage, and responsive UI. The streamlined development approach allowed me to validate the concept quickly and iterate based on real usage.

The architecture prioritized reusability from day one. I abstracted core patterns—data models, UI components, state management—anticipating that this inventory tracking logic could be adapted to other domains beyond 3D printing. This forward-thinking design would later prove critical when building HydroMate and Verdant Lab.

I deployed a working version to my phone early in the process. I could scan QR codes on filament spools, add them to inventory, log usage, and receive low-stock alerts. The focus on functional prototypes over static mockups enabled faster validation and better product decisions.

Real-device testing revealed insights that desktop prototypes could never capture. Camera permissions, QR scanning angles, lighting conditions, and latency issues became immediately apparent when testing on actual iOS and Android devices in real storage environments.

I iterated rapidly on the scanning experience: optimized QR detection algorithms, added visual feedback for successful scans, improved low-light performance, and refined the camera framing UI. These mobile-specific refinements pushed the QR scan success rate to 98%—validating the technical feasibility of camera-based workflows.

Beta testers appreciated the frictionless experience: scan once to add a spool, scan again to log usage. No typing, no manual forms—just point, scan, done. This validation confirmed that QR-based inventory tracking could work at scale, informing future product decisions for other functional prototypes.

After two months of iteration and refinement, Printory entered closed testing on Google Play Store with 12 active users managing hundreds of filament spools. The app proved that focused development could deliver production-ready products in compressed timelines—without sacrificing quality or user experience.

More importantly, Printory established a reusable component architecture that became the foundation for subsequent functional prototypes. The data models, UI patterns, and state management logic were successfully adapted for HydroMate (hydroponic tracking) and Verdant Lab (plant genetics research)—validating the architectural investment.

The project demonstrated a fundamental shift in how I approach product development: functional prototypes over static mockups, real-device validation over desktop simulations, and reusable architecture over single-use implementations. These principles continue to guide my design and development workflows.