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3D printer operating costs


How Much Does It Cost To Run A 3d Printer At Home? – Home 3d Prints

Running a 3d printer at home does cost you some money. There is the cost of electricity to run the machine, and there’s the cost of the material being used to produce the model. For some printers, there’s other consumables, like paper towels, isopropyl alcohol or other cleaners and rubber gloves. Plus, there’s a bunch of up-front costs, like the printer itself and any accessories and tools that you use.

All in, a 3d printer can cost as much as $12.00USD per day in consumable materials (that’s including the plastic or resin to make the model you’re printing). If you aren’t printing 100% of the time during a day, then the price falls below that. Operating a printer for 8 hours may only cost $4.00 to $5.00USD for the working day.

DLP resin printers have different operating costs to FDM filament printers. Let’s have a look at the differences so that you can understand the costs of printing objects at home.

Cost of Electricity For Your 3d Printer

Many 3d prints that you do are going to be running for eight hours or more. It’s even common with FDM filament printers to have a print that will take two or even three days to complete. That means that on some of your printing days, you’re actually running the printer for the entire 24 hour period with no break.

Most 3d printers consume around 50 watts per hour, even with a heated bed. Others, to get the bed to heat up quickly, use 120 volt power to heat the bed (the Artillery Sidewinder X1 is an example) and at peak, it can consume 600 watts per hour, but it won’t sustain that, and should drop to 50 to 80 watts per hour once it’s up to temperature.

50 watts per hour is around 1¢ per hour. So estimating double that, and running 24 hours a day, will get you a cost of under 50¢ per day in electricity. For a DLP resin printer, the only thing drawing power is the low wattage UV light source, the tiny control computer and the small amount of power that the z-axis motor requires. For an FDM filament printer, you’re powering the control computer, and the x-, y- and z-axes motors. They really are rather efficient in their electrical use.

Consumable Materials Cost For Your 3d Printer

The obvious cost of a 3d printer is the stuff that you’re making the 3d printed part out of. That’s either filament or liquid resin, depending on the type of printer that you have. The examples below are for PLA filament or standard UV resin. If you use other materials, then likely your costs will be higher. Instead of $50.00USD for standard resin, you may decide to go with AnyCubic’s ECO resin that is safer, lower odor and made from plants. It goes for roughly $75.00USD for a liter, and you can find other resins, depending on your need, for even more money. Filament is the same. Generic PLA can be quite cheap, but different material properties will likely cost a lot more.

Cost of Filament for An FDM Printer

Cura Slicer (when printing with an FDM filament printer) will provide you with a rather good estimate of the length of filament a model will use when it slices a model.   For example, this model building will take XX.XX meters of filament. Your 1kg spool of PLA will have around 330 meters of filament on it. At $25.00 for a spool from Amazon.Com, your cost is 7.6¢ per meter.

A typical “benchy” model (a fairly standard test print) takes about 25 cubic centimeters, or 10 meters of filament. At  7.6¢ per meter, your cost would be around 76¢ for the model in filament cost. If you printed a larger model, your amount of filament used would, of course, go up as well. If a print took longer than 24 hours, using PLA, with a layer height of 0.2mm, you would use somewhere around 120 meters per day, at a cost of around $9.12USD. So, rounding up, if you estimated $10.00USD per day for a full day (24 hours) of printing using PLA, you’d be pretty close.

Cost of Resin for a DLP Printer

As with the Cura Slicer, the ChiTuBox Slicer I use for DLP resin printing will calculate the volume of the resin used and, if you enter the price of the resin in the settings, will calculate the price for the entire print run. I use a price of $50.00 in the settings (and my resin is usually cheaper than that!) I have printed pair of large tanks for a resin cost of $2.35 for the print run.

Remember, just like with the FDM printer, changing the layer height of the print will increase the time, but not the volume of material used. It may look better and have great detail, but it won’t be any more volume (and thus material cost) to one done with less detail.

Other Consumables and Their Costs

For a FDM filament printer, you’ll want some isopropyl alcohol to clean off the build plate (to remove finger oils and other residues). Other than that, repair or replacement parts are the only thing you’ll potentially need. Replacement Bowden tubes and connectors, replacement hot end nozzles and replacement hot end insulating sleeves are generally under $10.00USD each for a set of replacements (enough for several replacements, not just one). 

For a DLP resin printer, you’ll need a little more. Any time you interact with liquid resin, you’ll need to wear Nitrile rubber gloves. This specific type of rubber glove will keep your hands safe from the caustic chemicals of UV resin. You’ll also need a cleaner to clean off your prints. Many recommend isopropyl alcohol to clean the prints, but I use Mean Green cleaner at full strength. It’s cheaper, smells better and isn’t flammable! Water is the second step of the cleaning process, but it’s at least free from the tap.

For any one print, you’ll need a pair of Nitrile rubber gloves. A box of 100 is less than $10.00USD, so a pair is 20¢ and you’re likely doing no more than two prints per day. You’ll go through 3 sheets of paper towel per print (likely) so that adds another 10¢ per print  (348 sheets for $11.00USD comes out to 3.2¢ per sheet, or 10¢ for three). So, with two sets of gloves and 6 paper towel sheets, you’re at a whopping 50¢ for a hard day’s printing.

Non-Consumables For 3d Printers

When you start out, you’ll run into all sorts of one-time purchases that will make your life easier with a 3d printer. Check out the Recommended 3d Printer Gear page here on Home3dPrints.Com: https://home3dprints.com/recommended-3d-printing-gear/. FDM filament printers have less to add, but there are some good recommendations for DLP resin printers: pickle jars to clean the finished prints, parts for a UV curing station and some good side cutters come to mind).

A Model For Charging Others For 3d Printing

If you’re going to start a 3d printing business with your printer, then understanding your costs is a must. The more it costs, the more you’ll want to charge for your service or product. But don’t forget time. It’s our most precious resource, and don’t sell yourself short. 3d printing is an advanced technical skill, and should be paid for accordingly. Not everyone is up to the challenge of 3d printing. You are, and that’s worth something.

Time pricing is much more viable than materials pricing. If you were to print at 0.4mm layer height, you could finish a print far faster than printing at 0. 1mm layer height. But the material amount would be the same. So an estimate by time is far more useful than an estimate by just how much material is used. Multiply this by the your rate, and you have a good estimate for your product or service price.

Related Questions

Can you make money with a 3d printer?

To make money with a 3d printer, you have two main options. You can charge a service fee to print models for customers and ship it to them, or you can produce items for sale in an online or physical shop. Either way will work, but one printer does not have enough capacity to make a full-time living from. It may be a great way, however, to supplement an existing income.

What can I make with a 3d printer at home?

Anything that you can think of that’s plastic and as small as the print bed on your printer can be printed at home. For home-sized DLP resin printers, the items are quite small. The AnyCubic Photon, for example, can produce items to a maximum dimension of 115mm x 65mm x 155mm. FDM filament printers tend to have larger print volumes. For example, the Ender 3 can make objects to a maximum dimension of 220mm x 220mm x 250mm. 

You could print specialty kitchen utensils or tools, models for gaming or displaying, holders, replacement knobs for drawers or phone cases. There are so many things that can be made. Have a look at Thingiverse.Com to see the literally hundreds of thousands of downloadable files for 3d printing. Download and print something today!

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Complete 3D Printing Costs Breakdown; Updated 2022! – 3D Solved

To ensure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck when using 3D printing technology, sometimes, calculating printing costs will be needed, especially if the aim is to market the printed pieces.

The printer’s price can vary a lot because of the wide range of applications that exists. But comparing printer prices won’t always tell you the full story about how much your printed piece will cost.

In this article, we will explore many other factors that will end up impacting the final cost of running a 3D printer, such as material costs for different 3D printing technologies, as well as electricity costs, post-processing materials, and costs related to the previous design of the model.

An active 3D printer costs roughly $0.35 per hour. This not only includes filament consumption (15 cents per hour), but also electricity costs (1.58 cents per hour), nozzle replacement (1 cent per hour), and the amortization of the machine ($0.17 per hour). Conservatively, if you operate the machine 8 hours per day during working days (252 days/year), this translates to a yearly cost of $695.

Once you’ve read this article you will be able to calculate the cost of your production ensuring that you have found a balance between lowering costs and keeping high quality.

Price of the 3D Printer

There are different kinds of printers. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA) are the two most popular and widespread types of 3D printers you can find on the market these days.

While FDM printers work by extruding and depositing layers of melted thermoplastic filament on a print bed, SLA printers use a laser to selectively cure liquid polymer resin, layer by layer, in a process called photopolymerization.

Despite the fact that there exists a wide price range, the lowest cost 3D printers are most often than not FDM ones. This is probably why it is the most widely used 3D printing method among hobbyist 3D printers and for such cases where only relatively simple prototypes in limited numbers are printed. Higher-performance professional and industrial FDM printers are also popular with professionals. Naturally, their costs are significantly higher.

Here are some estimated prices for the different FDM 3D printers categories available:

  •  DIY 3D printer kits: about $200
  •  Hobbyist printers: $500-$1,500
  •  Professional FDM 3D printers:  start at around $2,500
  •  Large-format professional FDM printers: start at around $4,000.

SLA technology used to be available only for the expensive industrial-grade segment, but fortunately, the process has become much more accessible nowadays.

Professional SLA desktop printers start at $3,500 and large-format benchtop printers which offer a bigger build volume are about $11,000. Having said that, it is possible to get high-quality hobbyist SLA printers such as the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro for around $200.

Difference in Print quality between FDM and SLA Printers

Same part printed with an FDM Printer (left) and an SLA printer (right)

FDM printers build pieces by layering molten filament on a print bed. This process makes the resolution defined by the size of the extrusion nozzle since there are voids in between the rounded lines at each layer.

Furthermore, FDM printing produces a mechanical bond between layers. This constructive characteristic affects strength since the interface between layers becomes weak points.

On the other hand, SLA technology uses a different process where liquid resin is cured by a laser to form each layer. This process enables us to achieve much finer details and is more reliable in repeatedly achieving high-quality results. In consequence, we will obtain smooth surfaces, high part precision, and accuracy.

Unlike FDM printers, SLA ones create chemical bonds resulting in fully dense parts which provide high degrees of lateral strength, turning out in isotropic parts.

Costs of Running a 3D Printer

Contrary to what might be thought, the costs of running a 3D printer are not only a matter of how much your 3D printer costs.

This won’t tell you the full story about how much a printed part will cost.

Printing material, electricity consumption, machine maintenance, and post-processing additional materials are some of the factors that will significantly influence the final cost per part.

3D Printing Material Cost (Filament, Resin)

One of the main things to be taken into account when calculating printing costs is the material cost. This, in turn, depends on the cost of the 3D printing material itself, how much material is required to create a given part (including waste),  what the shelf life of the material is, and if there are other elements required for printing the parts.

The usual cost for each PLA, ABS, or PETG is about $20 for a 1Kg spool of 1.75 mm filament.

ABS and PETG are characterized by their durability and impact resistance and PLA by its easy way to use, and its multitude of applications.  

Unlike SLA printers, where you need to consider many additional costs (like Gloves, Isopropyl alcohol, and more), there are no hidden costs when using an FDM printer.

The resin price can vary anywhere from $15 to $45 for 500ml of material, and for 1000ml the price range is between $28 and $80.

For an extensive comparison between filament and resin costs check out this article I wrote on the subject.

Electricity costs

Using an Electricity Usage Monitor to measure the consumption of our Ender 3 v2

The electric power that a printer uses depends primarily on the printer’s brand and size,  the temperature of the heated bed and nozzle, as well as the size of the printed piece. As a reference, the average cost per kWh in North America is 12. 69 cents, which is similar to Europe (12.3 cents), Asia (14.65 cents), and South America (15.18 cents). Electricity costs have a greater impact if you’re located in Oceania, where the cost per kWh is 26 cetns.

For instance, printers with larger heated beds or those which can print at higher temperatures, tend to consume more power.

Comparing it with the price of the filament or resin, electricity doesn’t add that much to the overall cost. However, it might become significant in those cases where you need to print batches or you have a larger amount of machines working.

As an example, in this article, you will find an analysis of how much power an Ender 3 consumes, made by using an Electricity Usage Monitor. 

General Maintenance

3D printers are no different from other machines; they all need preventive maintenance and eventually the need for some part replacement.

Proper-maintained machines will perform as intended, and periods of downtime can be avoided.

However, you still can’t save some parts from wear and tear.

An example of this is the nozzle. They have a major impact on the print’s quality, this is why it is important to keep them clean and replace them when necessary.

In these articles, you will find information about how often you should replace a nozzle, how to replace it, and how to clean an unclogged one.

Other parts that will need replacing over time might be stepper motors, maybe the mainboard at some point, belts, bed springs, ABL sensors, etc.

Additional Materials

There may be other factors affecting the final cost of a specific part. These aren’t strictly related to printing the model but post-processing. 

3D printed parts usually require some post-processing treatment. This can include practices like cleaning or fixing the piece, surface finishing, and coloring. 

When calculating costs, you should consider the price of all the materials involved and the time it takes to perform those treatments.

Within post-processing materials, we can count sandpaper, acetone, paint, brushes, spray paint, etc.

Post-processing can become costly, especially when it’s done by hand and it might be unsustainable in large series production because of the time it takes and the fact that costs of part breakage are included here too.

Software Costs (CAD and Slicers)

Slicers such as Cura or Prusa Slicer are generally free, but Simplify3D, for example, isn’t. You will most probably don’t need to acquire Simplify3d, but just as a reference, its license costs roughly $150.

When trying to learn how to slice and print models, free software like Cura is a great way to start learning the basics and they are also capable of producing high-quality prints.

Becoming experienced with this software, you might require a more comprehensive set of features that may justify an investment.

It’s worth noticing that the quality advantage that paid slicers used to have in the past is continuously getting smaller, and nowadays it is only advisable to pay for a license in very specific cases.

Then there’s CAD software to design the models and those can also be free, but the best ones are generally paid (yearly or monthly payments).

In the following articles, you will find information about different slicers and CAD software.

  • Best slicers for 3d printing
  • Is Tinkercad good for 3d printing?
  • Is fusion 360 good for 3d printing?
  • How to create models for 3d printing?
  • Is Simplify3d worth the cost? Comparing it with Cura and Prusaslicer

Designs you can find online (not always free)

Designing a part from scratch may not always be the best option. There is a large number of digital design files already available online which will save you a lot of time.

Most of them, such as the ones found on Thingiverse (a website dedicated to the sharing of user-created digital design files), are free. You should also check out our own search engine, which aggregates the most relevant results from the most popular sources: https://www. 3dsolved.com

But if you want to print something specific then you might need to pay for the STL file. If this is the case, then consider that the cost per part will be less affected the larger the number of pieces you need to print.

How to calculate the cost of 3D Printing

In this section, we will study an example of how to calculate the cost of owning and running a 3D printer.

Let’s take as an example the Prusa I3 MK3S+ FMD 3D printer whose price is around $1.000. Let’s say you run it for 8Hs a day for two years. Thus, 8 hs * 365 days * 2 years = 5840hs gives us the total number of hours the printer will be running. This is of course a very conservative estimate and does not mean that your printer won’t be usable from there on, but it just serves as a depreciation schedule.

Having done so, you can calculate how much it costs to own the printer per hour (without including electricity, and filament) by dividing the price by the total of hours: $1. 000 / 5840 hs= 17 cents/hour 

To calculate filament cost for a specific model, use Cura to slice the model and it will tell you how much filament you’re going to need, then just calculate the cost based on how much the spool cost. As a ballpark figure, a 3D printer consumes approximately 7.5g of filament per hour when printing at a 0.2mm layer height and at a conservative speed. Assuming that the filament spool costs $20 for 1Kg, this results in a filament cost of 15 cents per hour.

Nozzles should be replaced about every two months if you’re printing for 8hs a day, so you should include that cost. Each brass 0.4 mm diameter nozzle costs $5.78 (average of a few reliable brands). Following the previous example, you would need 12 nozzles in 2 years, which translates to $69.36. Dividing this by the total of hours, you get a 1 cent cost per hour approximately. 

Electricity depends on the country you’re in, and you can check out the full-length article I wrote on the topic. As an example, let’s take the electricity cost in North América which is about 12.69 cents per kWh. This gives us an estimate of 1.58 cents cost per hour and 12.64 cents per day.

General repairs & maintenance depend a lot on the printer, but it shouldn’t be too much unless something like the mainboard gets fried.

The following list sumarises some average 3D printing costs:

  • Average 3D printing costs per hour: printer_depr. + fil_cons. + nozzle_repl. + elect_costs = 34.58 cents / hour
  • Average 3D printing costs per day: $2.76
  • Average 3D printing costs per year: $695
  • Cost of 3D printing a small object (10-15g of filament): 67.5 cents
  • Cost of 3D printing a Phone Case: 27 cents

Use the Prusa Calculator 

This calculator is mostly designed to let you know how much to charge your clients for a printed piece.

You just have to load a gcode file or input the print time and filament weight manually, and it will answer questions like: How much should you charge when 3D printing on demand? Is electricity a major factor in the calculation? What about the return on the total investment and your time?.

How to lower the cost of 3D printing with Slicer Settings

If you’re looking to lower the cost of your prints while also achieving high print quality, you might want to make sure you’re always using the optimal print settings.

Only use Supports when actually needed

In those projects where support structures are needed, you will have to add to the calculation the price of material and the time needed to build those structures, also consider the time and tools that will be needed to post-process the piece.

Sometimes, just reorienting your object inside of the slicing software can help in reducing the need for unnecessary plastic in your print.

Another way of avoiding unnecessary support structures is to increase the angle at which the Slicer starts introducing supports. If you know your printer, you may get by printing 60-degree overhangs without any supports (Cura usually enables them at 45 degrees).

Reduce the infill density

By reducing the infill density, not only will you save more material, but your prints will also finish much faster, which means less printer wear and tear, less electricity consumption, and more output per hour.

You can save material if you completely hollow out the inside of your design. But you must be careful because the printing material you use will require a minimum wall thickness to maintain hull integrity.

Reduce the number of shells/walls

Same as the case of reducing infill density, reducing the number of walls will not only reduce the amount of material used but the processing time too.

Always try to keep a balance between infill and walls number reduction to maintain structural integrity and keep the strength and quality of the piece high.

Print faster

Always trying to avoid neglecting quality and strength printing faster not only will save you time but will also reduce the time that the nozzle and bed are hot, which are the ones that consume the most energy.  

Reduce the Bed temperature

Since bed print heating is performed by long traces of cooper acting as a resistor, higher temperatures mean higher amounts of electricity consumption. As seen this will affect the final cost of the pieces.

Then, only if adhesion is not a problem (mainly working with PLA), you should consider reducing the bed temperature.

Costs of Outsourcing the printing process

The printing farm of Voodoo Manufacturing.

You might not be interested in buying, operating, and maintaining your own 3d printers. In that case, you might consider outsourcing your prints!

This could be a good option if you’re looking to save some time, or maybe if you just need a once-in-a-lifetime print. Outsourcing also has the advantage of giving you access to industrial printers that you could otherwise most probably not be able to use. 

3D printing services can be really expensive because besides all the costs we have already mentioned, they have to account for the industrial printers they use, which are significantly more expensive, and they also have to add profit margin on top of that cost.

Then, if you’re just printing for fun, buying a 3D printer would be the best choice in the long run.

How much does a 3D printer cost?

3D printing is a one-stop solution for a wide range of applications, from high-resolution model production to rapid prototyping, rapid tooling for traditional manufacturing processes, production of aids and end-use models.

However, when you consider investing in a 3D printer, the viability of a solution usually boils down to a simple question: Is it cost-effective for your business? How much does a 3D printer cost and how much time and money can it save your business?

3D printer prices range from $200 to $500,000 depending on the printing process, materials, and complexity of the solution.

In this guide, we'll break down 3D printing costs by technology, compare outsourcing versus in-house manufacturing, list factors to consider when calculating the cost of each model, and look at what else to look for when comparing different solutions. for 3D printing and other production methods.

Interactive

This interactive ROI tool will help you find out how much time and money you can save by 3D printing with a Formlabs 3D printer.

Calculate Your Costs

The three most well-known plastic 3D printing technologies today are Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).

Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages - take a look at the infographic:

Download this high resolution infographic here. Interested in learning more about FDM, SLA and SLS 3D printing technologies? Check out our detailed guide.

Prices for 3D printers have dropped significantly in recent years, and today all three technologies are available in compact, low cost systems.

FDM generally produces models at a lower cost if you only print relatively simple prototypes in limited quantities. SLA technology offers higher resolution and quality, as well as a wide choice of 3D printing materials at a slightly higher price. But this difference is quickly offset when you print complex designs or larger batches due to the less labor-intensive post-processing process. Finally, SLS technology is the most cost effective for medium to high volume production of high quality functional models.

Comparing the total cost of different 3D printers by price tags alone will not give you a complete picture of how the cost of a 3D printer and a printed model will compare. The cost of 3D printing materials and labor significantly affects the cost of a model, depending on the application and your production needs.

Let's look at the different factors and costs for each process.

FDM, also known as Fused Filament Manufacturing (FFF), is a printing method where the parts of a model are made by melting and extruding a thermoplastic filament, which the printer's nozzle applies layer by layer onto the model being made.

FDM is the most popular form of consumer grade 3D printing, fueled by the proliferation of hobbyist 3D printers. However, professional and industrial FDM printers are also popular among professionals.

The cheapest 3D printers are FDM printers. DIY kits for FDM 3D printers start at $200. However, most of these models are more like toys or DIY projects that require a significant amount of time to build, set up and calibrate. The quality of the print largely depends on the success of these operations. In addition, machines require repairs and regular maintenance to keep them working, so they are more suitable for people with a higher engineering education who have a lot of time and patience.

Hobbyist FDM 3D printers cost between $500 and $1,500, come pre-assembled or unassembled, require less setup, but have the same disadvantages as the cheapest 3D printers. More expensive models are capable of large print volumes and work with a wide variety of materials besides low temperature ones such as PLA.

Professional 3D FDM printers start at $2,500 and large format professional FDM printers are available from $4,000. The cost of the most modern industrial FDM printers can exceed 10,000 US dollars. Most of these printers come pre-assembled and calibrated in the box, or they can be automatically calibrated. Printers in this category offer better print quality, a wider range of media, higher print volumes, improved reliability, and ease of use and maintenance. In addition, professional 3D printer manufacturers offer customer support services for troubleshooting.

Material costs for FDM 3D printing range from $50 to $150/kg for most standard and engineering filaments, and $100 to $200/kg for auxiliary materials. There are also cheaper alternatives, but they are of lower quality.

In addition, FDM printing can be very labor intensive. Successful printing of complex models requires support structures that must be removed manually or dissolved in water. To obtain a high quality surface and remove layer lines, lengthy manual post-processing of models, such as sanding, is necessary.

SLA 3D printers use the process of photopolymerization, that is, the conversion of liquid polymers into hardened plastic using a laser. SLA is one of the most popular processes among professionals due to its high resolution, accuracy and material versatility.

Models printed on SLA printers have the highest precision, sharpest detail and smoothest surface possible of any plastic 3D printing technology. But the main advantage of the SLA method is its versatility. SLA polymers have a wide range of optical, mechanical and thermal properties that match those of standard, engineering and industrial thermoplastics.

SLA 3D printers can handle a wide range of resin materials for a wide variety of applications.

SLA used to be used only in large and complex industrial 3D printers costing over $200,000, but the process is now much more affordable. With the Formlabs Form 3+ Printer, businesses can now use industrial quality SLA printing for as little as $3,750. With Form 3L, large format SLA printing starts at just $11,000.

Stereolithographic 3D printers will be shipped in a box assembled and calibrated. These are professional tools that are highly reliable and require virtually no maintenance. Technical support is also always available. It provides troubleshooting in a critical situation (but its probability is extremely small).

Most standard and engineered polymers for SLA technology cost between $149 and $200 per liter.

SLA printers are easy to use and many workflow steps such as rinsing and final curing can be automated to reduce labor costs. Printed models have a high quality surface immediately after printing and require only simple post-processing to remove supporting structures.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printers use a high power laser to sinter fine polymer powder particles. The unsprayed powder supports the model during printing and eliminates the need for special support structures. This makes SLS ideal for complex geometries, including internal features, grooves, thin walls, and negative taper.

Models produced using SLS printing have excellent mechanical characteristics - their strength can be compared with the strength of injection molded parts. As a result, SLS technology is the most popular plastic 3D printing process for industrial applications.

SLS printed nylon models are ideal for a range of functional applications, from consumer product design to healthcare applications.

Like SLA, SLS was previously only available in large format, complex 3D printing systems costing $200,000 or more. With the Formlabs Fuse 1 stereolithography printer, businesses can now solve industrial-scale tasks with SLS technology starting at $18,500. The complete kit, which includes the post-processing and powder recovery system, costs $31,845.

As with SLA printers, stereolithographic printers are shipped assembled and calibrated in the box. They are reliable and can operate 24/7. The package includes in-depth training and fast technical support.

SLS nylon print materials cost about US$100/kg. SLS does not require supporting structures and unused powder can be reused, reducing material costs.

SLS is the least labor-intensive plastic 3D printing process in the production environment, because the printed models are of high quality right away, and to remove excess powder, they simply need to be cleaned.

There are several processes for 3D printing not only plastics but also metals.

Metal FDM printers are similar in design to traditional FDM printers, but use extruded metal rods held together by a resin binder. The finished parts of the model are sintered in an oven to remove the binder.

SLM and DMLS printers are similar to SLS printers, but instead of polymer powders, they fuse metal powder particles layer by layer using a laser. 3D printers based on SLM and DMLS technologies can create strong, precise and complex metal products, making this process ideal for the aerospace, automotive and medical industries.

Prices for metal 3D printers have also begun to decline, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million today. However, these systems are still out of reach for most businesses.

SLA 3D printing is available as an alternative for casting workflows that allow metal models to be produced cheaper and faster than traditional methods and provide greater design freedom.

Technical report

Get design guides for 3D printing samples, see the step-by-step direct investment casting process, and study guides for indirect investment casting and sand casting.

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Different plastic and metal 3D printing processes have unique qualities that make them suitable for different applications. Below is a comparison of different printing technologies.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Stereolithography (SLA) Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Metal FDM Printing Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Direct Metal Sintering (19008) 9008
Permission ★☆ ★ opa ★ ution ★ opa ★cle ★cle ★ MyQUTION
SUMPLE 1112 HICE ★ opa ☆ 1111111 ☆☆☆ 1 ☆ ★ opa
Ease of use x 300 x 600 mm (Desktop and Workshop 3D printers) Up to ~300 x 335 x 200 mm (Desktop and Workshop 3D printers) Up to 165 x 165 x 300 mm (3D - workshop printers) Up to 300 x 200 x 200 mm Up to 400 x 400 x 400 mm
Price range DIY kits for 3D printers start at $200 and hobby printers cost $500-1500. Professional 3D FDM printers start at $2,500, while large format professional FDM printers are available from $4,000. Professional desktop printers start at $3,750 and high-volume large format desktop printers are available from $11,000. Workshop industrial printers start at $18,500 and traditional industrial printers start at $100,000. Metal FDM printers start at $100,000, but complete solutions including an oven are much more expensive. DMLS/SLM solutions start at around $200,000. These printers require special infrastructure conditions, which can further increase costs.
Cost of materials US$50-150/kg for most standard and engineering yarns and US$100-200/kg for auxiliary materials. US$50-150/L for most standard and engineering polymers. US$100/kg for nylon. SLS does not require supporting structures and unused powder can be reused, reducing material costs. Depends on material and technology. Significantly higher than plastic. Depends on material and technology. Significantly higher than plastic.
Labor Manual removal of support structures (soluble support structures may be used in some cases). Long post-processing is required to obtain a high quality surface. Washing and final polymerization (both can be automated). Simple post-processing to remove supporting structures. Easy cleaning to remove excess powder. Washing and sintering (both can be automated). It is possible to use mechanical processing and other types of surface treatment. Stress relief, support structure removal, heat treatment, and mechanical and other surface treatments.
Materials Standard thermoplastics such as ABS, PLA and their various blends. Various polymers (thermosetting plastics). Standard, engineering (similar to ABS and PP, similar to silicone, flexible, heat resistant, rigid), injection molding, dental and medical (biocompatible). Engineering thermoplastics - typically nylon and its composites (nylon 12 biocompatible + sterilizable). Stainless steel, tool steel, inconel, copper, titanium. Stainless steel, tool steel, titanium, cobalt-chromium, copper, aluminium, nickel alloys.
Applications Basic experimental models, low cost rapid prototyping of simple parts. Prototypes with a high level of detail requiring close tolerances and smooth surfaces: molds, tooling, templates, medical models and functional parts. Complex geometries, functional prototypes, low volume production or limited trial production. Strong and durable models, tools and production aids. Strong and durable models with complex geometries; ideal for the aerospace, automotive and medical industries.

When calculating the cost of one model, the cost of ownership of equipment, material costs and labor costs are usually taken into account. It is important to understand the factors that affect each of these cost components, as well as the questions to ask in order to evaluate alternative production methods and uncover hidden costs.

Hardware ownership costs are fixed costs: 3D printer price, service contracts, installation and maintenance. These amounts must be paid whether your printer is idle or produces dozens of models per week.

Add up all projected fixed costs over the lifetime of the equipment, then divide by the number of models you plan to make. As a rule, the higher the performance and efficiency of your 3D printer, the lower the cost of ownership of equipment per model.

In recent years, desktop 3D printers have shown excellent results in reducing the cost of ownership of equipment. With a price 10 to 100 times lower than traditional industrial 3D printers and the ability to produce thousands of models over a lifetime, the cost of ownership can be negligible.

Questions:

  • Are there installation, training or additional initial costs other than the cost of the machine itself?

  • Do I need to sign a (mandatory) service contract? What does it include?

  • What accessories and tools are needed to make the final models?

  • What kind of maintenance is required for the machine to function properly? What is the expected annual maintenance cost? Will it change with an increase in production volumes?

The 3D printing raw materials and consumables you need to create models at an affordable price. These costs largely depend on the number of models you produce.

When calculating the cost of materials, determine how much material is required to create one model, and multiply this figure by the cost of the material. Count the amount of waste and any other consumables. As production grows, the cost of ownership of equipment decreases, and the cost of 3D printing materials tends to become more balanced.

Be sure to check what materials you need to create specific models, as the cost of 3D printing consumables can vary greatly. Please note that some 3D printers only work with their proprietary materials and thus limit your ability to use third party materials.

Questions:

  • What is the cost of each type of 3D printing material?

  • How much material is required to create one particular model, including waste?

  • What is the shelf life of the materials?

  • Do I need other consumables to create models?

  • Can the machine work with third-party materials?

While 3D printing can replace complex traditional manufacturing methods and provide significant time savings, depending on the 3D printing technology, it can still be quite labor intensive.

Professional desktop 3D printers are generally optimized for ease of use. DIY kits for 3D printers and hobby printers often require additional effort to adjust settings, while regular maintenance or material changes on traditional industrial machines can involve time-consuming tasks that require the assistance of a skilled operator.

Post-processing workflows vary depending on the 3D printing process, but in most cases include cleaning up models and removing support structures or excess material. However, there are solutions to automate some specific tasks. For example, Formlabs Form Wash and Form Cure simplify the wash and finish process for Formlabs SLA 3D printers, while Fuse Sift offers a turnkey post-processing and powder recovery system for the Fuse 1 SLS printer.

More complex processes such as SLA and SLS do not take long to achieve high quality models, while FDM models require lengthy manual post-processing to improve quality and remove layer lines.

Questions:

  • What is the whole model production workflow? What specific steps are required to set up printing, change materials, and post-process models?

  • How long does it take to post-process one particular model?

  • Are there any tools or devices available to automate some of these tasks?

Outsource production orders to 3rd party service bureaus or labs when you use 3D printing only occasionally or to produce large models in non-standard materials. Typically, the bureau has several in-house 3D printing processes such as SLA, SLS, FDM, as well as metal 3D printers. They can also provide advice on a variety of materials and offer additional services such as design or improved finishes.

The main disadvantages of outsourcing are the high cost and duration of production. One of the main advantages of 3D printing is its speed compared to traditional production methods. But it is noticeably reduced if the delivery of the model produced by the involved organization takes several days or even weeks. And as demand and capacity grow, the costs of outsourcing are rising rapidly.

Desktop 3D printers are the perfect solution for fast model production. Depending on the number of parts needed and the volume of prints, the investment in a professional 3D printer can pay for itself in just a few months.

With desktop and workshop printers, you can pay for the capacity that matches your business needs and scale your production by adding more devices as demand grows, without the heavy investment of a large format 3D printer. Using multiple 3D printers also allows you to print models from different materials at the same time. But if there is a need for the production of large parts or the use of non-standard materials, service bureaus can come to the rescue.

Investment, material and labor costs are relatively easy to calculate. But what about indirect costs and hard-to-calculate factors that affect your business? Let's look at some of the main considerations when comparing a desktop 3D printer to outsourcing or other manufacturing methods.

Save time: What if you could get products to market a few months faster? Or reduce the delivery time of your products by a few days or weeks? 3D printing simplifies traditional prototyping and manufacturing workflows, helping you save time and stay ahead of the competition.

Top results: 3D printing allows you to create more iterations, overcome failures faster, and produce better end products. Troubleshooting a design early on also helps avoid costly redesign and the use of additional tools.

Interaction: Having high-quality prototypes and models allows you to communicate more effectively with customers, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders. Avoid misunderstandings and costly mistakes.

Intellectual Property Protection: Do you work with confidential information? Making your own models means you don't have to transfer intellectual property (IP) to third parties, reducing the risk of IP leakage or theft.

Usually, calculating cost per part, lead time, and comparing alternatives to see if a solution is right for your business is a tedious task of creating a complex spreadsheet in an attempt to collect all of the often hidden information from a manufacturer.

Use our simple online tool to calculate cost per model and order lead time when printing with a Formlabs stereolithographic 3D printer and compare time and cost savings with other manufacturing methods.

Calculate the cost and time

How to calculate the cost of printing on a 3D printer

For some ideas, 3D printing is the fastest and easiest solution. In some situations, purchasing your own 3D printer can be a good solution, but sometimes it is much more profitable and faster to order the necessary product from a company specializing in 3D printing. Yes, and many owners of a 3D printer are thinking about how to “monetize” their hobby, but how to correctly calculate their costs?

Despite the fact that it is customary to indicate the price per gram of working material, simply multiplying the weight of the model by the cost of 1 gram will be wrong. In addition to the cost of consumables, many more, at first glance, non-obvious costs are added to the price of the product.

Each 3D printing technology uses its own consumables. Let's analyze the most popular and affordable of them.

Available technologies and key differences

Currently, a huge number of 3D devices have appeared, from small desktop ones that fit on the desktop to huge industrial machines. Among the most affordable, 2 technologies can be distinguished - FDM and photopolymer printers (LCD / DLP / SLA).

FDM 3D printing

Today, the most affordable 3D printing technology is FDM. A variety of materials and 3D printers allow FDM to be applied to a wide range of applications.


Schematic operation of FDM printer

A large selection makes it easy to choose a 3D printer for a specific task or find a universal device.

The material for printing is a plastic thread - filament. On the market you can find filament for various tasks, for every “taste” and budget. These can be very inexpensive ABS and PLA plastics or specific ones - conductive, burnable, etc.

Pros:

Cons:

Despite the fact that FDM allows you to print a wide range of plastics with different properties, the technology has some limitations. For example, it is impossible to obtain a perfectly smooth surface, to produce miniature and very thin elements, or to produce parts with very complex internal geometry with high accuracy.

Photopolymer printing

Photopolymer printers can work on one of 3 technologies - SLA, DLP or LCD. These devices will come to the rescue if you need to make a small but very detailed model with many small details.


How photopolymer printers work

As a consumable material, a photopolymer resin hardened by UV radiation is used. Now there is a wide variety of photopolymer resins for every taste. From particularly strong and precise engineering or jewelry resins to soft flexes.

Pros:

  • High print precision

  • Good surface quality

  • A wide variety of printers and consumables

Minuses:

Photopolymer printers have shown themselves well in a variety of industries that require a perfectly smooth surface and high accuracy. They are used in dentistry, the jewelry industry, for making miniature master models for casting, and much more.

Industrial printers

These are already industrial machines, which require a separate room and sometimes certain requirements for ventilation, etc. In this article, we will not analyze these devices in detail, but briefly consider the most popular technologies.

FDM

In addition to desktop devices using FDM technology, industrial printers that work on the same principle are common.

This category includes devices with a large print area (from 30x30x30 cm and more). For example, Raise Pro2 with a print area of ​​30x30x30 cm.


Raise Pro2

Or machines designed for printing with refractory materials (eg PEEK). Such 3D printers usually have an active thermal chamber, and the extruder can be heated above 400 degrees.


CreatBot F160-PEEK for use with refractory plastics

Photopolymer printers

Industrial photopolymer devices usually have a much larger working area, compared to their "home" brothers. In addition, many processes have been optimized and automated for faster operation. On such printers, you can quickly and accurately produce a small batch of models, a large prototype or a master model.


Prismlab Large Area Industrial Resin Printer Family

3DP

3DP - Three-Dimensional Printing (translated as three-dimensional printing) is a logical continuation of conventional two-dimensional printers. Printing is done using nozzles that selectively apply a binder to the material (usually gypsum). A dye can be added to the binder and the model will be colored.

Colored plaster model

Since the plaster model is fragile, a similar principle is used for printing with metals. Only the finished product needs to be treated in an oven to remove the binder and improve strength. But despite the processing, such metal prints will still be inferior in strength to cast products.

MJM

This is a proprietary technology of 3D Systems. MJM is a mix of FDM, 3DP and sometimes SLA (depending on material chosen). Printing is done using a variety of small nozzles (from 96 to 488) located on the head of the machine. The accuracy and quality of the surface of models made in this way is in no way inferior to photopolymer printers.


Models made with MJM technology

Such devices can work with photopolymer resins, wax or thermoplastics. You can combine several materials at once - for example, for complex models, you can use wax as a support.

SLM

SLM is the layer-by-layer sintering of metal powder using a powerful laser. There are several similar technologies - SHS/SLS. The principle of operation is the same, only a thermal print head is used instead of a laser beam.

SLM Turbine

As a material for printing, you can use powders of various metals - gold, stainless steel, aluminum, various alloys, etc.

During printing, the working chamber is filled with an inert gas to prevent oxidation of metals. This allows printing even with titanium powder.

Models made by this method are in no way inferior, and sometimes even superior, to cast products. SLM allows you to produce models with complex internal geometry that cannot be produced by another method (casting or milling).

Cost of 3D printing

The cost of a model usually consists of several factors.

  • Equipment depreciation. The printer, like any machine, requires maintenance and periodic replacement of some parts. During operation, belts gradually stretch, bushings or linear bearings wear out. For example, when bushings or linear bearings are worn; shafts may wear out and need to be replaced.

Cost of materials

The main cost item for a 3D printer is, of course, the printed material.;

FDM (plastic filament)

Since FDM technology is by far the most common, the choice of filaments is very diverse.

  • Engineering plastics are usually nylon with various fillers added to improve the physical characteristics of the finished model. Special cost. plastics starts from 2000r per coil and above. It all depends on the manufacturer and filler (carbon fiber, fiberglass, etc.).

  • Decorative plastics are used to imitate various materials. Plastic can simply be unusually colored (luminous, transparent plastics) or a special filler is added to it (plastics with metal powder). The cost of decorative plastics starts from 1500 rubles per coil and more, depending on the filler.

A big advantage of FDM is the diverse choice of materials to work with. This allows, having one printer, to produce almost any product - from a child's toy to a complex engineering prototype.

Photopolymers (resin)

Photopolymer resin printing technology is becoming more and more accessible. There are many different resins.

  • The cost of ordinary colored resin starts from 2500 rubles per 0.5 kg (volume +/- 0.5 l). You can find a smaller volume of resin (250 gr) on sale. You can buy several different resins in small containers and find out in practice which one is best for a particular model.

  • Engineering resins are resins with increased strength. They can be used not only for printing decorative items, but also for making functional prototypes and models. The cost for 0.5 kg starts from 5900r and above.

  • Special resins - burnable, dental, soft flexes, etc. Depending on the resin, the price for 0.5 kg can start from 4800 rubles and more. It all depends on the characteristics of the resin.

Photopolymer resins have not yet reached such a variety as FDM filaments, but they are surely catching up. Although due to the fact that a liter of resin costs significantly more than a spool of filament, the cost of the product is much higher.

Print examples

FDM

Mag Pull (quick release loop) for G3 magazines.

The model was downloaded for free from an open source (the file can be downloaded here). Printing with engineering carbon-filled plastic (price per spool from 4700 rubles). The weight of the model with support is about 25 grams. Post-processing was not needed. The cost of the finished model is 250 rubles.


Plastic fastener

The file was downloaded from an open source (can be downloaded here). Plastic - carbon-filled nylon (price per coil from 4700r). The weight of the finished product is about 20 grams. Print without post-processing. The total cost is 200 rubles.



Model watch

The model is modeled to order (the cost of modeling is from 1000 rubles). The product is printed on an industrial printer using soluble support. Print without post-processing. The cost of the finished product - from 700 rubles per piece (depends on the number of required products).


Traction prosthesis

The model is taken from an open source (you can download the modified version of the prosthesis here). The weight of the used material is about 600 gr, printed with ABS plastic (the cost of the coil is from 800 r). After printing, post-processing and assembly took place. The total cost of the product - from 3000 r (depends on the print material, support material, filling, etc.).


Pedal layout

Production of a 3D model according to the drawing (from 1000 r). The weight of the finished model is about 200 gr. The product was printed with engineering carbon-filled plastic (the cost of the coil is from 4700 r). Post-processing was not needed. The cost of the finished product is about 3000 rubles.

Photopolymer printers

Model jaws for crowns

Files for printing were obtained using a 3D scanner and finalized in a 3D editor (the cost of scanning is from 3000 r, the cost of manual revision is from 1000 r). Printing on an industrial photopolymer printer. Post-processing is not needed. The cost of the finished product is from 80 r per gram.


Burnout Resin Rings

The model is made to order. Printing on a desktop SLA printer with a burnable polymer. Post-processing is not needed. The cost of the finished product is 200 rubles per product.


Miniatures

The models were bought on the myminifactory website (the cost of the model is from $2). Made with a desktop DLP printer. Post-processing was not required. The cost of the finished figurine is from 70 r per gram.

Custom 3D printing

Many owners of 3D printers are thinking about monetizing their hobby. But you should understand that the price of 3D printing “for yourself” and the price of commercial printing are very different.

When starting to print to order, it is better to have several printers working on different technologies.

Cost of commercial 3D printing

In addition to the cost of the model, to the commercial production of products, you can add:

  • Modeling. Often the client needs not only to make a part, but to pre-model it. It can be a simple cogwheel that doesn't take long to model, or it can be a complex sculpture that takes more time to model than it does to make.

  • Model post-processing. This can be simply the removal of supports, with cleaning of the place of their contact with the product, or a complete processing cycle (puttying, surface grinding, painting, etc.).

It should be borne in mind that it is not always possible to print the model the first time. Sometimes it may take several attempts. And these are additional costs.

What is unprofitable to print

Despite the wide possibilities of 3D printing, there are models that are unprofitable to make on a 3D printer. For such models, it is better to use other manufacturing methods.

Commercial print examples

Jewelry for further casting


Manufacture of promotional items and souvenirs


Piece miniatures or master model for further casting


3D printed model

Profitable to print on a 3D printer:

  • If the item is only sold as an assembly. For example, a small gear broke in the mechanism, but the mechanism is sold only “assembly”. It is much cheaper to make the desired gear on a 3D printer than to buy the entire mechanism.

  • A small batch of parts. Small batches, especially models with complex geometry, are more profitable to produce on a 3D printer than by casting or other methods.

Totals

If you need several models or a small project, sometimes it will be more expedient to outsource manufacturing.

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