3D printing price: what it is made of and what changes it

What the price is made of

Material is a smaller part than people expect. With us PLA costs 8 € per kilogram and PETG 9 € per kilogram, and a typical part weighs tens of grams. Most of the price is the time the printer is occupied, its wear, preparation and inspection of the finished pieces.

That is why two things of similar weight often cost different amounts. A dense part with a lot of curves takes longer to print than an equally heavy part with simple surfaces. The basic principle of additive manufacturing is also explained on Wikipedia.

The important thing is that a price cannot be reliably estimated from a photo or from dimensions. Two parts of the same size can cost different amounts depending on how many cavities, curves and overhanging parts they have. That is why we calculate from the model, not from a general price list.

What raises the price most

• Infill. A 40% strength is a much longer print than a light 10%. Standard is 15%.
• Supports. Overhanging parts need supports, which are printed extra and are included in the price.
• More colours. Every colour change adds a purge tower and time.
• Size and height. Doubling the size of a model makes the volume about eight times larger.

Why one piece is cheaper when you order more

The printer has a bed on which several pieces fit at once. When the bed fills up, preparation and warm-up are spread across all the pieces, which is what the entry on a full bed is about. The difference between one piece and fifty tends to be noticeable. For large runs see small batch production.

On the other hand, a very small part does not come out cheap, because the minimum order is 15 € excluding VAT.

How the price is formed with us

After upload we genuinely prepare the model for printing on our server, the same as on the printer. From real grams, print time and the number of pieces on the bed we get the price per piece and the lead time. No estimate based on volume. You can influence the price with the material, the strength, the scale and the quantity, and you see the change at once.

For an order outside the calculator see quote.