Knowledge base
3D printing
Cost drivers and quoting for FDM, resin, SLS, MJF and metal printing.
Print farm pricing: utilisation, failures and the real hourly rate
How to work out what a print farm hour really costs: utilisation, failed prints, labour per plate and overhead, with a worked example and tables you can reuse.
3D printingWhat drives the cost of metal 3D printing (DMLS and LPBF)
Metal 3D printing cost explained: laser hours, powder, supports, stress relief, plate removal and finishing, with a worked example for a plate of steel parts.
3D printingFDM vs SLA vs SLS: choosing a 3D printing process
FDM, SLA and SLS compared on tolerance, surface finish, strength, cost, lead time and typical parts, with a simple way to choose the right process for a part.
3D printingMJF vs SLS: cost, quality, materials and when to choose each
MJF and SLS both make nylon parts from a powder bed. How they differ on cost per part, surface, colour, materials and lead time, and how to choose between them.
3D printingSLS pricing: build share, packing density, refresh and cool-down
How to price SLS parts from the cost of a whole build: build share, nesting efficiency, packing density, powder refresh and the cool-down most quotes forget.
3D printingResin printing cost: how to price SLA, DLP and MSLA prints
How to price resin prints: layer-based machine time, resin and supports, wash and cure labour, and the tank and screen wear most quotes leave out.
3D printingFDM print time estimation: why volume does not predict it
Two FDM parts with the same volume can take very different times to print. What really sets print time: perimeters, infill, layers, acceleration and travel.
3D printingHow to calculate 3D printing cost, for any process
A 3D printing cost is six lines: material, machine time, labour, post-processing, failures and overhead. How to work out each one, with FDM and SLS examples.
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