3D printing for the masses is still in the early stages. It is not like downloading a 200 page rules PDF and wanting to have it color printed and bound. Easy to get an estimate fort hat type of work from any local printing shop, and the prices will probably be pretty close.
3D printers still have issues. They need to be "dialed in" and then kept that way by monitoring and often, making adjustments. Every time a printed piece is removed from a print bed you have a chance that you mess witht he level of the bed, requiring you do so again. You might not think so, and then the next print comes out lopsided, so you make your corrections and try again.
Lots of potentially wasted plastic on prints that failed.
Also, some "printing hubs" are professionals, who have expanded into the business and can buy stuff in bulk. They will take waste into account when they come up with a price, and their overhead, and salary, etc. Won't be cheap.
Some hubs are "Bob" who started out as a hobby, and now has three printers in his basement. He is just trying to pay off the printers, his prices may be a lot less. No salary, no overhead, just the cost of the plastic and the wear and tear on his machines.
I've backed a number of 3D projects recently, and the mnakers will say things like "based on a $20 USD spool of filament, each dungeon tile piece will cost .50 cents to print on average. So you can do a quick calculation and decide that comes to $5 USD for a large room. Great.
Bob in his basement might charge you $10 USD-15 to account for waste, and shipping. That pro business may charge you $20 USD-$25 to account for other factors.
And now you look at TGHOSE prices and thing no way, that is too expensive for one room of a dungeon (or one building on a street where you need 8 buildings).
I don't see how any of these companies could "pair up" with a hub and have that generate any business, because the extra expenses would turn the terrain pieces from easily affordable to expensive.
Until 3D printing can be like printing paper, easy to do, no hassles, and easy to cost project, this is mostly a do-it-yourself business. For yourself.
The exception might be that if you have several gaming buddies, one may have the desire to be the tech guy, and you all pool your resources to get a printer, back some projects, and start printing terrain.
