What 3D Gloop does

3D Gloop! is a St. Louis-based specialty chemicals company that manufactures adhesive compounds engineered for the plastics used in desktop FDM 3D printing. Founded in 2018 by Andrew Mayhall and Andrew Martinussen after the founders' personal experimentation with 3D printing dating to 2012, the company launched commercially via a Kickstarter campaign at the East Coast Rep Rap Festival and has since grown into a bootstrapped, founder-controlled operation selling tens of thousands of bottles per year.

The company's core technology is a proprietary "Science Sauce" synthetic elastomer loaded with nano-particles constructed from the same plastic family being bonded. Rather than relying on mechanical adhesion like generic CA glues or epoxies, the formulation rapidly polymerizes to chemically weld 3D-printed parts together. The product line is segmented by plastic family — PLA Gloop!, PET-G Gloop!, and ABS/ASA Gloop! — with each variant optimized for its target filament. The same product performs three functions (fusing, surface smoothing, and bed adhesion), allowing users to consolidate multiple specialty consumables into one. Bulk MEGA packaging (500ml/950ml) addresses large-format printer operators, and an aerosol Spray Gloop! variant is in development.

The revenue model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce through 3dgloop.com, with publicly disclosed unit pricing (75ml from $24.99, 120ml around $29.99 sale/$34.99 original, MEGA bulk from $89.99), supplemented by branded merchandise (T-shirts from $24.99) and recently introduced Foundational Supporter tiered packages ($250/$500/$1,500) that bundle community/brand engagement perks. Distribution has historically included an international stockist network (currently paused) and global direct shipping. The customer base is a long-tail of hobbyist and prosumer desktop FDM printer users (CR-10s, LulzBot, Prusa, etc.), with secondary segments in large-format operators, open-frame ABS/ASA users seeking enclosure-free printing, and education-sector workshops. Marketing relies on content (How-To blog, YouTube creator partnerships), organic social (Twitter/X, Facebook, Pinterest), email capture, and grassroots maker-festival exposure. In 2025 the company purchased a ~10,000 sq. ft. headquarters facility in St. Louis, a roughly 10x expansion from its prior house-based operation, with plans for a public showroom and expanded production capacity.

Name

3D Gloop

Legal name

3D Gloop!

Website

https://3dgloop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

3D Gloop! manufactures proprietary plastic-family-specific adhesives (PLA, PET-G, ABS/ASA) that chemically weld, smooth, and bed-adhere desktop FDM 3D prints. The bootstrapped St. Louis company sells direct to hobbyists, makers, large-format printer operators, and educational users globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

3D Printing Adhesives

akta.pro primary industry

Polymer Filaments (FDM/FFF) (IMAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Polymer 3D Printing Service Bureaus (FDM/FFF, SLA/DLP, SLS/MJF) (IMAAADAA)

Keywords

• 3D printing adhesives
• FDM bed adhesion
• Plastic welding adhesive
• 3D print post-processing
• Specialty filament glue

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Bottled adhesive sales (PLA, PET-G, ABS/ASA): Core retail revenue from 75ml and 120ml bottles of Gloop adhesive, sold one-time per purchase through the company storefront.
2. MEGA bulk packaging (500ml and 950ml): Larger-format MEGA Gloop containers (500ml starting at $89.99 and 950ml) sold to high-volume users and institutions as one-time purchases.
3. Foundational Supporter packages: Tiered one-time contribution packages at $250, $500, and $1,500 that bundle swag (T-shirts, 63mm prints, 42mm prints, 21mm prints) with brand support.
4. Branded merchandise (T-shirts): Branded apparel starting from $24.99 sold alongside products; functions as both merchandise and community/brand-building revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

3D Gloop formulates, manufactures, and sells a proprietary line of solvent-based adhesive compounds specifically engineered for FDM 3D printing plastics, with separate variants for PLA, PET-G, and ABS/ASA filaments. Each variant chemically welds (fuses) printed parts together, smooths layer lines, and provides bed adhesion to glass, metal, or taped build plates. The products are sold in retail bottles (15ml, 75ml, 120ml) and MEGA bulk containers (500ml, 950ml) directly to 3D printer users via the company's own online storefront and reseller network.

Product overview

3D Gloop! is a single-product-line brand offering a unified family of solvent-based adhesive compounds specifically engineered for 3D printing, with each formulation tailored to a specific plastic family. The core product platform comprises three specialty adhesives — PLA Gloop!, ABS/ASA Gloop!, and PET-G Gloop! — each formulated to fuse, smooth, and bond 3D prints of its target material. These core products are available in multiple bottle sizes (15ml, 75ml, 120ml), and PLA and ABS variants additionally come in MEGA Gloop! bulk packaging (500ml/950ml) for industrial coverage. An aerosol version, Spray Gloop! ("Glooped!"), has been announced but not yet released. The product line is supplemented by brand merchandise (Gloop! T-Shirts in three designs) and Foundational Supporter packages ($250/$500/$1,500) that allow backers to have their name immortalized in the new showroom floor in exchange for lifetime discounts and early product access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLA Gloop!: Adhesive specifically formulated for PLA 3D printing filament.
• ABS / ASA Gloop!
• PET-G Gloop!
• MEGA Gloop!
• Spray Gloop! (Glooped!)

Products and services

• PLA Gloop! Adhesive compound specifically formulated for PLA 3D printing filaments, used for bed adhesion, fusing PLA prints together, and smoothing print surfaces; available in 15ml, 75ml, 120ml, and MEGA bulk sizes for desktop FDM 3D printer users.
• ABS/ASA Gloop! Reformulated adhesive designed for ABS and ASA 3D printing filaments, enabling ABS printing on open-frame printers with room-temperature build plates; available in 120ml and MEGA bulk sizes for desktop FDM 3D printer users.
• PET-G Gloop! Adhesive formulated for PETG and Co-Polyester based 3D printing filaments, used for fusing PETG prints together and as a bed adhesive on glass, metal, or taped build platforms; available in 75ml and 120ml bottle sizes.
• MEGA Gloop! Bulk packaging of 3D Gloop! in 500ml (16oz) and 950ml (32oz) sizes for industrial coverage; available only for PLA and ABS formulas and ships only within the contiguous 48 United States due to regulatory changes.
• Gloop! T-Shirts Branded merchandise t-shirts available in three styles (Elemental, Gloop! Love, Glueru) in sizes Small through 3X-Large; sold alongside products as brand and community revenue.
• Foundational Supporter Packages (21mm / 42mm / 63mm) Tiered Foundational Supporter packages at $250 (21mm), $500 (42mm), and $1,500 (63mm) that bundle supporter name placement in the new showroom floor with lifetime discounts and early access to new product launches.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3-month warranty on products
• +5 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PrintaLot: PrintaLot produces a specialty bed adhesion liquid for 3D printing, offering a near-identical value proposition to 3D Gloop's PLA/PETG Gloop — a brush-on liquid consumable that improves first-layer stick. Directly comparable use case, customer profile, and SKU model.
• Magigoo (Thoughtful3D): Magigoo is the most direct competitor to 3D Gloop — it makes purpose-built bed adhesion sticks and pens for FDM 3D printing across multiple material families (PLA, ABS, PETG, PC, PP). Same target customer (desktop 3D printer users), same core function (reliable first-layer adhesion), and similar specialty consumable business model.
• 3DLac: 3DLac makes bed adhesion sprays and sticks marketed specifically to the FDM 3D printing community, competing head-to-head with 3D Gloop on the same workflow problem. Both brands sell globally and target hobbyist and prosumer desktop printer users.

Others

• Slice Engineering: Slice Engineering makes 3D printer nozzles, hotends, and accessory consumables (including cleaning filaments) for the prosumer FDM market. It is an ecosystem peer targeting overlapping maker and engineering customers, though not directly competing in the adhesive category.
• Polymaker: Polymaker is a leading 3D printing filament brand whose materials (PolyMax, PolyLite, etc.) are the substrates 3D Gloop is formulated to bond. It is a complementary ecosystem participant — not a direct adhesive competitor — but a likely distribution or co-marketing partner given shared end customers.
• eSUN (eSun Industrial): eSUN is a large-scale 3D printing filament and resin manufacturer whose broad material portfolio overlaps with the substrates Gloop is engineered for. It is an ecosystem participant rather than a direct adhesive competitor, and could become a distribution or white-label partner.
• Prusa Polymers (Prusa Research): Prusa Polymers makes filaments for the popular Prusa printer ecosystem, which 3D Gloop explicitly supports (PRUSA mentioned among compatible printers). Prusa is an adjacent 3D printing hardware/material incumbent rather than an adhesive competitor, but represents a potential OEM partnership channel.

Broad incumbents

• Gorilla Glue Company: Gorilla Glue is a major consumer adhesives brand whose CA and epoxy products are widely used by 3D printing hobbyists as substitutes for specialty adhesives like Gloop. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping end-use but no 3D-printing-specific specialization.
• Elmer's Products: Elmer's is a household consumer adhesives brand (white glue, glue sticks, specialty adhesives). While not focused on 3D printing, its broad retail distribution and brand familiarity position it as a default substitute, particularly in the educational segment 3D Gloop targets.
• Henkel (Loctite): Henkel owns the Loctite brand, the dominant industrial adhesives franchise globally. Although Loctite does not specialize in 3D-printing-specific formulations, it offers CA glues and epoxies that 3D Gloop explicitly positions against, and could enter the 3D printing consumables niche with its scale and distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/3dgloop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3D Gloop