3D printing prices

In plain words:

1. Material. The slicing software works out how many grams of filament your part uses, supports included. A hollow or thin-walled part weighs less than it looks.
2. Print time. The same software estimates how long the printer will be busy. A tall, narrow part takes longer than a flat part of the same weight.
3. Risk. A small margin goes on top of material and print time for prints that fail and have to be redone.
4. Start-up fee. Once per order, for checking your file, slicing, preparing the build plate, finishing and packing.

Several parts in one order share the same start-up fee. If you need three parts, order them together.

Why 3D printing is charged per gram and per hour, and what goes into those rates, is explained in the guide How much does 3D printing cost in Belgium?. The reasoning is there; the rates are here.

Design work is needed when there is no printable file, or when an existing model has to be changed. Redrawing a simple knob usually takes half an hour. What a made-to-measure design involves is on the page about 3D design on request.

A name sign with white letters on a dark plate only changes colour in the top layers: a handful of changes, hardly any waste. A figurine with four colours mixed through every layer changes hundreds of times. Then the purge waste can weigh more than the object itself, and you will see that on the quote.

If the waste is a large share of the total, your quote states how many grams go into the object and how many into purging. That way you decide, figures in hand, whether the fourth colour is worth it. Often the same picture can be had with fewer changes; the three approaches are compared on the services page.

The unit price drops for two reasons. The start-up fee is spread over more parts, and from the first tier the discount comes on top. The tiers are in the rate card above. More about quantities, test pieces and where injection moulding takes over is on the page about prototypes and small batches.

The saving has a cause. The part is printed on the printer's faster speed profile and handed over without finishing: supports are removed, nothing else. The 1 to 2 working days apply to a part or small set that prints within a day; larger jobs get a date in the quote. A fast prototype cannot be combined with the rush surcharge.

What you give up, and when not to choose it, is set out on the page about prototypes and small batches. The rate card above has its row.

Say in your request when you need the part. A twenty-hour print does not get faster for a surcharge: the printer has only one speed. Rush means your order goes to the front of the queue. It applies to standard prints only.