How much does 3d printing cost uk


3D Printer Cost | Blog Article

We were used to thinking about 3D printing as something out of science fiction, but it’s been on our doorsteps for a while now, and it has become more and more affordable over time. 

But how much does it cost to own and successfully operate a 3D printer? 

We have to consider not only the 3D printer cost itself but also the 3D printer filament, the 3D printing software, electricity costs, and the possible upgrades for better printing results. 

Let’s discuss the realistic prices and see how much 3D printing actually costs. 

3D printer cost 

How much does a 3D printer cost? The range of 3D printers is extensive. It starts with a 3D printing pen at about £30,  but 3D printer price depends on a few specifications:

3D printer body material

You can find a low cost 3D printer model for under £200 on the UK market. Those are typically small-sized, have a plastic body, and lack in printing precision.  

With that said, if you are looking for a 3D printer to be used in an educational environment for demonstration, a cheap 3D printer will do the trick. 

If you need a 3D printer that will feature high precision and good filament flow, consider a metal construction.  Metal 3D printer cost will be higher than plastic, starting from  £350- £400 and up. 

Printing size
Desktop printers

3D printer cost will also range depending on printing size. The non-industrial devices are usually referred to as ‘desktop printers’ and have a printing size of 300x300x400mm on average. 

Desktop 3D printer price ranges, as we said, from £200 to about £1000 and more. The expensive 3D printer usually means more precision and less hassle when it comes to part replacements and upgrades. 

Industrial printers 

An industrial-grade 3D printer price UK has to offer can vary from around £1000 up to a few thousand and more. Those are professional devices used in mass manufacturing and are not usually suited for individual use because of their size and price as well. 

Printing Material

3D printers vary in the 3D printing materials they use and the general principle behind printing. The 2 biggest categories are FDM and SLA printers. They are different not only in 3D printer filament but also in technology of the whole process, as well as the price. 

FDM printers

This is the most popular kind of desktop 3D printers on the market and the most affordable one as well. These printers use a filament ‘feeding’ mechanism, which basically melts the filament and uses a precise nozzle to distribute this 3D printer filament and make it into a specific shape. 

The price range we discussed before mostly included FDM printers, so we have to repeat ourselves here. They range from £200 to approximately £1000-£2000, meaning the devices that can be used at home.   

SLA printers

They use a totally different principle to print. The filament is actually a pool of resin, and the device uses UV light to ‘transform’ the resin and make it into shape. These printers are generally higher in precision and are more costly. Starting from around £600 and ranging up to a few thousand as well. 

Also, consider possible update purchases, and replacements that can add up to around  £70-£80. 

Don’t forget, there’s always the option to buy a used 3D printer if you are looking to cut the cost, but check both the seller and the product carefully before making a decision. If you are not particularly tech-savvy, ask someone for help. 

3D printer filament cost 

As we mentioned before, 3D printer filament can range in price and material, so let’s discuss the FDM and SLA printers separately and compare the prices. 

The filament is a large section of expenses, when it comes to 3D printing, as you need a lot of it if you are hoping to print something worthwhile.  

And regardless of the type, it’s always more cost-effective to buy in bulk, if you are planning on using your printer regularly. 

FDM printer filament cost 

FDM printers use a range of materials, from different sorts of plastic to 3D printer wood filament, and 3D printer metal filament. The most popular 3D printer filament types for an FDM printer are PLA and ABS (types of plastic), which cost about £15- £20 for 1KG of filament. 

So how long can you use it for? It basically depends on how much you print. If you are doing a small 100g print, it will cost you about £2 maximum. If you are doing a large 400g-500g print, you will spend about £10. But remember, that you can sometimes cut the cost by doing a hollow shape instead of a solid one. 3D printer filament UK market offers today are multicoloured, have different thicknesses, and are suited for different printers, so you have a wide range to choose from. 

SLA printer filament cost 

As we said before, the SLA 3D printer uses UV sensitive resin to print, and a 500g bottle of this resin costs around £20, so it’s a bit more expensive, but still worth the price considering the detailing and the incredible precision SLA printers provide.  

3D printing software cost

3D printing is a CAD-based (computer-aided design) process, so you need 3D printing design software to create and design the shapes you are hoping to print. If you are not that into the design part, that’s ok too. Today there are online libraries, where you can choose ready designs to print. 

Free CAD software for 3D printing is not that hard to find, but if you are serious about your printing, it’s a good idea to invest money and time into quality design software.  It usually costs cheaper, when paid annually, but monthly payments are around £100 for professional 3D printing software.  

You will also need so-called slicing software, which transforms your designed shape into a multitude of layers for the device to print. That software usually comes with the printer, but again, you can purchase it separately, spending around 50 additional pounds. 

Time and Electricity

This is not that big of a segment of spending, even when it comes to continuous use of a 3D printer. Some models are more energy-efficient than others, but on average the energy consumption is relatively small, the cost comes around to about £60-£100 per year, which is insignificant, compared to device and filament prices, but should be considered nonetheless. 

The process is time-consuming, though. It often takes a few hours to print a relatively small 300x300x300 shape. If you are printing something big, be prepared to spend time on it. 

On the other hand, you can always leave the printer to do its job and get on with your usual schedule. Most of them have power-loss protection built-in, and things like break-resume technology, which will stop the process if the printer is out of filament and you’re not there to feed a new roll in. 

Total Cost 

We’ve discussed all the major items of expenditure in the 3D printing world, so let’s take stock and shortlist all the expenses one more time:

  • 3D Printer –  £200-£1000
  • Filament –  £20 per 1KG
  • Software –  £50-£100 monthly with an option to cut this cost and get free software
  • Electricity –  £60-£100 annually.  

As you can see,  3D printing can be quite affordable and can make an enjoyable and educational pastime not only for yourself but for the whole family. 

3D printing is quite flexible. There’s always a way to cut some costs here and there, and vice versa, invest more if you are planning on doing this professionally. 

Be aware and prepared, when it comes to finances, and 3D printing will not disappoint! 

How Much Does 3D Printing Cost?

When people are looking to buy a 3D printer that they can run themselves, they often ask how much does running a 3D printer cost. There are not many answers out there on the internet, it’s a tricky subject as there are many different denominators.

We will give you base pricing to go off of, so you can compare the costs to see if it’s affordable for you.

Filament Costs

Depending on how much you are going to be printing and what you’re going to be printing, filament prices are definitely important when you’re considering the long term costs of 3D printing. The filament costs will all depend on what type of filament you will be using and how big the objects you will be making are.

I will use our Premium PLA Filament as an example, the product comes with 1KG’s worth of filament. If you’re creating objects with 100 grams worth of filament, you will be spending approximately £1.94 per print. However, if you’re creating objects that are 500 grams worth of filament, it will cost you approximately £9.97 per print.

The cost of filament ultimately depends on what size objects you will be printing and how much filament is being wasted (due to errors or infill levels). The average printer will get through one roll of filament per month.

3D Printer Costs

The first ever payment when you’re looking into 3D printing is for the 3D Printer itself, depending on your skill level, you will need to pick the right 3D Printer for you and the best one for your budget. Luckily, we created a post recently giving you the best budget 3D printers so you can save a lot of time and money when you’re purchasing a 3D printer.

The costs will start to add up if you’re looking to add upgrades to your printer or if you run into problems, for example, nozzle jams. We have a wide range of upgrades and spare parts available, it’s best to look for any potential future upgrades before you purchase the 3d printer. For example, getting a new Creality3D Brass Nozzle costs £12.95, depending on the usage, getting new nozzles every other month will add up to around £77.70.

This will give you a rough estimate of how much you will be spending on upgrades in the future and how much certain aspects will cost to be replaced.

 

Time & Electricity

Depending on if you’re using your 3D printer in business or just at home, the time spent on using the 3D printer will cost money. I will focus more on the electricity costs as this is more of a common cost/worry for potential 3D printers.

The average 3D printer will use the same amount of electricity as a fridge, this should be taken into consideration when you’re going to be using it a lot or will be using it for massive projects. If you are away when a printer completes a project, some printers do often stay in an idle mode, not turning off and using electricity. Bare this in mind if you’re leaving a 3D printer for the day.

The average cost of running a fridge (with a freezer) in the UK is £62 per year. While this is not 100% accurate and a 3D printer is not on 24/7, running a 3D printer would be in the £25-£62 per year bracket (depending on usage).

 

 

Total Cost

While this figure is not entirely accurate, due to the usage amount and what type of projects you will be using it for, the total price is as follows:

 

  • Creality3D Ender 3 Pro3D Printer - £229
  • Premium PLA Filament - £19.94 per 1KG x 12 = £239.28
  • Electricity bill - Depending on usage, between £22 and £62
  • Parts & upgrades - Depending on printer/problems - £77.50 (Brass Nozzles for Creality3D)

 

The total price for the first year of running a 3D Printer (following the prices above) will be around £567. 78.

How does it compare?

The average golf membership in the UK is around £700 - £1,200 per year. 

 

Source - https://golfsupport.com/ 

The average person in the UK spends £1000+ on new clothes per year (depending on income)

The average adult spends over £1000+ per year on takeaways 

3D printing is a relatively inexpensive and accessible hobby to get into, with 3D printer prices always dropping and the community getting bigger, it's definitely turning into a fun hobby that is easy to learn.

Kick start your progress and browse our full range of 3D Printers and 3D Printing Filaments.

 


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Services and prices | 3D printing in Kyiv and Ukraine

3D printing, 3D modeling, 3D scanning, casting/copying in silicone.

3D printing with plastic, photopolymer, PolyJet PA-12, 3D modeling, casting / copying in silicone.

MakerBot Replicator-2

FDM 3D printing with various types of plastics is now the most affordable and popular 3D printing technology that allows you to offer you the most affordable prices with a fairly high print quality. Plastic products are highly durable, chemical resistant, and durable.
We also carry out SLA\DLP 3D printing with various types of photopolymer resins, which allows us to obtain high-quality products with a smooth surface and high resolution immediately after 3D printing. Approximate prices for 3D services are given below.

From now on, we also produce printing using the technology Poly Jet plastic polyamide PA-12, , which allows us to obtain parts of any complexity without the use of supports, while the parts are of high quality and durability

3D printing, price:

FDM fast printing Optimum quality Printing Poly Jet PA-12 Photopolymer printing
Layer 300-400µm Layer 100-200 µm 80 µm layer Layer 16/32/50/100 µm
From 2. 99 UAH\gram From 5 UAH/gram From 17 UAH/gram From 15 UAH/gram
Rapid prototyping, large/extra large items Best value for money High quality, no supports Perfect quality, layer from 16 µm
Plastics ABS PLA PET etc. Plastics ABS PLA PET etc. Polyamide PA-12 Various types of photopolymer resin
3D printing up to 1.5kg/day 3D printing up to 0.75 kg/day Production takes 7-12 days Production takes up to 1-2 days

3D modeling - the cost of creating a 3D model is from 200 UAH, very simple models and geometric primitives are modeled for free, their cost is included in the cost of 3D printing

3D scanning models, and is usually calculated from 700 UAH.

Copy/cast in silicone

Models for printing are accepted in the formats: stl, obj (standard), as well as in Solidwork program formats (3ds, ply, step, stp, igs, etc.) with some clarifications before printing

Features Presses:

Printer InteH 3D XL HIGH \ IntEH 3D XL Long

Press Materials: PLA ABS Pet Hips Elastan and other

Building area: up to 415mm x 650 mm \ 415x675x475 mm 9000
. when printing : 0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4 mm (optional)
The ability to form hollow/partially hollow details and partial internal filling

Printers Makerbot Replicator 2
Printing Materials: PLA, PET

Printers Flashforge Creator Pro \ RePLICATOR REPLICATOR REPLICATOR REPLICATOR printing materials: ABS, HIPS, Neylon, polycarbonat (Pc)

Construction area: up to 255mm x 150mm x 155mm
Positioning accuracy X-Y: 0. 12mm XY: 0.11mm, Z: 0.025mm
Material layer thickness: 0.1/0.2/0.3mm (selectable)
Possibility of using support material (subsequently removed, mechanically or chemically)
Possibility of printing in different colors
Possibility of forming hollow/partially hollow parts and partial internal filling

Printers Ultimaker+ Maxi edition

Print media: PLA, ABS, HIPS, Neylon, polycarbon

Build area: 205mm x 205mm x 420mm (build volume over 16l!)
X-Y positioning accuracy: 0.12 mm XY: 0.11 mm, Z: 0.020 mm
Material layer thickness: 0.05/0.1/0.2/0.3 mm (selectable) removed)
Possibility of forming hollow parts and partial internal filling.

Printers AnyCubic Photon Mono

DLP print technology
Print area 130×82×165 mm
Print area resolution 2560×1620 pixels
The thickness of the layers that the printer prints 0.025-0. 1 mm
Printing materials - photopolymer resin with a wavelength of 395-405 nm, operating temperatures of products up to 250 C, high quality and reliability of products.

The cost of 3D printing depending on the layer thickness (quality):

Layer thickness 0.3 mm - from 2.99 UAH / gram (when ordering from 500 grams, the price is negotiable)
Layer thickness 0.2 mm - from 5.50 UAH /gram (when ordering from 400 grams, the price is negotiable)
Layer thickness 0.1 mm - from 7.50 UAH/gram (when ordering from 200 grams, the price is negotiable)
3D printing with photopolymer — from 15 UAH/gram (when ordering from 100 grams, the price is negotiable)
3D printing Polyjet polyamide RA-12 — from 15 UAH/gram (when ordering from 500 grams, the price is negotiable)

The minimum order amount is 100 UAH - this is due to the fact that even to print a part weighing 1 gram, the printer needs to be prepared - clean the print pad, prepare the platform, recharge the necessary plastic, then remove the part, clean it from supports, etc.

3D modeling

3D modeling is the process of creating a 3-dimensional computer model necessary for the manufacture of a product on a 3D printer.
In 3D modeling, the designer builds a model step by step in the program, based on the dimensions of the object specified by the customer (drawing, sketch, etc.), or the measurements taken on the original product. The cost of work depends on the complexity of the final product.

Cost of 3D modeling from 200 UAH ., very simple models and geometric primitives are modeled free of charge, their cost is included in the cost of 3D printing

3D scanning

software - the geometry of a physical object and its dimensions are analyzed, and based on the data obtained, its three-dimensional computer model is created. The cost of 3D scanning is determined by the complexity of the object to be digitized.

For work we use scanners:

1. Structural light scanner

— size of the scanned object from 30mm to 500mm (large objects are scanned in parts)

— accuracy up to 0.5

illumination

— the size of the scanned object from 250 mm to 2 meters

— accuracy up to 1%

Estimated cost of scanning — from 700 UAH.

Silicone Copy

A technology that allows the production of a part by casting into a silicone mold made from a sample part. Very high accuracy of copying and manufacturing without 3D scanning allows you to make very accurate copies of complex products, but requires a sample, at least partially whole

The cost of manufacturing by copying into silicone is from 250 UAH

We are waiting for your orders!

call (068) 210-22-23, (044) 482-03-89

send files to [email protected]

3D printing of any complexity Kyiv Kharkov Lvov Odessa!

How to order

Save us the idea

Coordination

Prepayment

Get an order

Cost: from 150 UAH
Dates: from 1st day

Print

9000 9000 Price per gram Materials 300 micron 200 micron 100 micron 50 micron 20 micron PLA plastic (more than 30 colors) UAH 4. 9 7 UAH 8 UAH UAH 9.5 14 UAH ABS plastic UAH 4.9 7 UAH 8 UAH UAH 9.5 14 UAH Durable plastics: Co-Pet, PET, PLA+, ABS+, HIPS UAH 5.9 8 UAH 9 UAH 11 UAH 15 UAH High strength plastics: Nylon, PC, PETG, POM, PP, Carbon 7 UAH 10 UAH 12 UAH 16 UAH 18 UAH Flexible plastics: Primalloy, Flexible, TPU, Elastan 7 UAH 10 UAH 12 UAH 16 UAH 18 UAH Decorative laminates: Wood, Bronze, Copper, Aluminium, Brass Filament 13 UAH 15 UAH 18 UAH 20 UAH 24 UAH

3D printing SLA / LFS (SLA / LFS print price can be calculated on request):

3D SLS print (price can be calculated on request):

9000 9000

  • FDM 3D printing
  • SLA/DLP 3D printing

Select STL file

Overview

Your name:

Your phone:

Your E-Mail:

Delivery address:

Select STL file
  • 3DDevice provides “3D printing” service in our 3D printing center.
  • It is possible to order 3D printing from 1 piece to 1000 pieces of serial production and more.
  • The cost of 3D printing: from 3.00 UAH per 1 gram, depending on the complexity, weight and quantity of the product.
  • 3D printing quality: from 15 - 20 microns; 50 microns; 100 microns; 200 microns; 300 microns or more.

3D Printing

We offer 3 types of 3D printing services:

  1. FDM 3D printing is an additive technology in which melted 3D plastic is fed through an extruder and a three-dimensional object is built layer by layer. This is the cheapest way to 3D print layouts, prototypes, decor items, logos, restore machine parts, etc.
  2. In SLA / LFS 3D printing, a layer-by-layer polymerization of a photopolymer (resin) occurs with a high-precision laser beam. This is a more expensive technology, but the quality and functionality of the resulting products are much higher. SLA 3D printing is used in engineering, jewelry, medicine, dentistry, small-scale production for the manufacture of molds for plastic injection, stamping, design and prototyping.
  3. In SLS 3D printing, a high power laser sequentially sinters polymer powder into intricately shaped finished parts, completely without the use of supports. This is an advanced technology that produces functional prototypes, as well as small and medium runs of finished products, including those made from biocompatible materials. We use the Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer for 3D printing, the manufacturing cost of which is an order of magnitude lower than its industrial counterparts.

Materials for 3d printing

☆ 3D printing with any kind of plastic according to your request. The list of materials is listed above in the table.

☆ We will help you find the right material for your needs.

Printed with professional 3D printers:
3D printing type 3D printer model Construction field dimensions Print quality (layer height)
FDM CreatBot 430 400 x 300 x 300 mm Up to 20 µm
KLEMA Pro 250 x 250 x 350 mm Up to 30 µm
KLEMA 500 250 x 250 x 555 mm Up to 40 µm
KLEMA 700 700 x 550 x 500 mm Up to 30 µm
SLA / LFS Formlabs Form 2 145 x 145 x 175 mm Up to 25 µm
Formlabs Form 3 145 x 145 x 185 mm Up to 25 µm
Formlabs Form 3L 335 x 200 x 300 mm Up to 25 µm
SLS Formlabs Fuse 1 165 x 165 x 300 mm Up to 110 µm

It is also possible to order

✓ 3D modeling;
✓ 3D Design;
✓ 3D Scanning;
✓ Creation of a product according to drawings;
✓ Creation of a 3D model from a sample;
✓ Creation of a 3D model from a photo;
✓ Recreate a broken product;
✓ Manufacture of a product according to the description;
✓ Post-processing and painting of finished products;
✓ Small-scale production;
✓ Layout.


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