SLA / DLP / LCD resin machine guide
Every setting that lives on a SLA / DLP / LCD resin machine - what it is, what it does to a price, and what a typical value looks like. This mirrors the machine editor field for field.
A machine in Quotometry is a real machine in your shop. It carries its own hourly rate, its own build volume and its own speeds, and a part is priced on the machine it would actually run on - not on an average of everything you own.
You can have as many as your plan allows, and several configurations can share them through the Library. If you buy another one of the same model, copy it and change the name.
Every setting on this page
These are in the same order as the editor, with the same help text. Each one has an anchor, and the ? beside a field in your console links straight to it - so if you are reading this because you clicked one, the setting you were looking at is highlighted.
Machine: exposure & motion
Light sourcetechnologybasic
How a layer is exposed.
Price: LCD / DLP time depends on the layer count only; laser time grows with cross-section.
Typical: LCD.
XY resolutionxy_resolution_um
The size of one pixel on the screen, or the laser spot.
Price: No direct price effect - it is what decides whether a fine feature can be printed at all, and triggers the fine-detail warning.
Typical: 35–80 µm.
Thinnest layerlayer_min_mm
The thinnest layer this machine can print.
Price: No direct price effect - it bounds what you can offer buyers.
Typical: 0.01–0.03 mm.
Thickest layerlayer_max_mm
The thickest layer this machine can print well.
Price: No direct price effect - it bounds what you can offer buyers.
Typical: 0.1–0.2 mm.
Exposure per layerexposure_sbasic
Normal-layer cure time (LCD / DLP).
Price: Directly adds to every layer.
Typical: 1.5–3 s (mono LCD), 6–10 s (RGB).
Bottom-layer exposurebottom_exposure_s
Exposure for the first few layers, which have to stick to the plate.
Price: Much longer than a normal layer, but only for a handful of layers, so it is a fixed cost per plate.
Typical: 20–40 s.
Bottom layersbottom_layers
How many layers get the long bottom exposure.
Price: Each one costs a bottom exposure instead of a normal one.
Typical: 4–6.
Lift distancelift_mm
How far the plate lifts between layers to peel the part off the film.
Price: Multiplied by the layer count, so on a tall part at a fine layer height this is a serious share of the print time.
Typical: 5–8 mm.
Lift speedlift_speed_mm_min
How fast the plate lifts.
Price: Slower lifting is gentler on the part and adds time to every single layer.
Typical: 60–120 mm/min.
Retract speedretract_speed_mm_min
How fast the plate returns after the lift.
Price: Can usually be faster than the lift; still multiplied by the layer count.
Typical: 150–250 mm/min.
Light-off delaylight_off_delay_s
Waiting after the plate settles before the next exposure starts.
Price: A small number multiplied by the layer count - worth getting right on tall parts.
Typical: 0.5–2 s.
Laser scan ratescan_rate_cm2_mincalibratable
How much area a laser machine can draw per minute. Ignored on LCD and DLP.
Price: On a laser machine, time grows with the cross-section area of every layer - unlike a masked machine, where it does not.
Typical: 20–40 cm²/min.
This is one of the numbers the calibration tool can fit from jobs you have already run, so you do not have to guess it.
Laser recoat / peel per layerrecoat_s
Peel and recoat per layer on a laser machine. Ignored on LCD and DLP.
Price: Multiplied by the layer count.
Typical: 6–12 s.
Warm-up per platewarmup_s
Warming the resin and the machine before the first layer.
Price: Charged once per plate.
Typical: 120–300 s.
Peel-force limit (0 = none)max_peel_area_cm2
Largest cross-section parallel to the film you accept.
Price: Bigger sections are tilted or sent to review (DFM `peel_force`).
Typical: 60–100 cm² on LCD.
Tank / film life (0 = untracked)tank_life_layers
How many layers a tank film lasts before it is replaced. 0 means you do not track it.
Price: Spreads the cost of a film across the layers it prints, so it lands on the jobs that actually wore it out.
Typical: 30 000–60 000 layers.
LCD life (0 = untracked)screen_life_h
How many hours the LCD panel lasts. 0 means you do not track it.
Price: Spreads the cost of a panel across the hours it runs. Easy to forget and genuinely expensive.
Typical: 1 500–3 000 h.
Spacing between partsplate_spacing_mm
Gap kept between parts on the plate.
Price: A bigger gap fits fewer parts, so each one carries more of the plate's fixed cost.
Typical: 4–8 mm.
Plate utilisation capplate_utilisation_pct
The most of the plate you are willing to fill.
Price: A cap below 100 % is realism about nesting and suction; it makes each part's share of the plate larger.
Typical: 70–85 %.
Plate preparationplate_prep_min
Levelling, topping up resin, loading the file.
Price: Charged once per plate.
Typical: 1–3 min.
Part removal per plateremoval_per_plate_min
Getting the plate out, draining it and onto the bench.
Price: Charged once per plate, whatever is on it.
Typical: 2–5 min.
Part removal per partremoval_per_part_min
Getting one part off the plate or the raft.
Price: Charged for every part - often the largest single line on a small resin part.
Typical: 0.3–1 min.