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Cost of Print
Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 9:13 pm
by joecnc2006
I have a Print I am doing it is about 3"x3"x1.5" envelope.
Cura says 12.23m at 34 grams, I wanted to know what to charge for a piece like this and how others charge.
I have seem on some sites $1.50 cm/3 and don't know how to equate it.
Also I have seen setup fees.
Any incite and advice would be great.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:14 am
by Batteau62
I struggle with pricing objects. I use this site to get a rough estimate, then add or subtract as the project requires.
http://3dprintingpricecheck.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:32 am
by mhackney
Excellent, just enter your STL and then scroll to the bottom of the list - gold or platinum!
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:46 am
by jesse
Here's a tool I made for 3d print pricing:
http://jbcse.com/3d-print-cost-estimator.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:56 am
by Batteau62
I have used this! I wasn't aware you had developed it though
Very nice! Thanks for the work!
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 10:39 am
by JohnStack
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 11:03 am
by joecnc2006
I keep getting "an error occurred" with the tool.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 12:45 pm
by gestalt73
I've been pricing my jobs out at $0.25 per cm3 of material on makexyz, as that seems to be the standard there for FDM printing.
That's for 0.20mm layer height.
I've seen printers charge by volume of material + machine time ($10/hour)
I've also seen some other printers charge a $10-$20 set up fee per object.
For my larger projects, I haven't felt the need to charge a set up fee, but for smaller projects, I might have to charge one.
It doesn't make alot of sense for me to invest time in a $5.00 print.
I'm also going to check out both of those two sites, to see what they recommend.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 12:50 pm
by gestalt73
gestalt73 wrote:I've been pricing my jobs out at $0.25 per cm3 of material on makexyz, as that seems to be the standard there for FDM printing.
That's for 0.20mm layer height.
I've seen printers charge by volume of material + machine time ($10/hour)
I've also seen some other printers charge a $10-$20 set up fee per object.
For my larger projects, I haven't felt the need to charge a set up fee, but for smaller projects, I might have to charge one.
It doesn't make alot of sense for me to invest time in a $5.00 print.
What I didn't think about in the beginning but am considering now is the following:
- time on the printer
- materials costs
- electricity
- your time to set up and calibrate the printer and the print
- those times when you need to run the job several times to get it just right
- time taken mail or meet up to deliver the objects.
At the end of the day, unless it's a bro-job with bro-pricing, you should price it to make it worth your time to complete the job.
For me, the money is a nice perk, but I enjoy challenging the machine and myself, and it's great practice work to hone your skills for your own projects.
I'm also going to check out both of those two sites, to see what they recommend.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:42 am
by Generic Default
Slightly off topic, but what do you think will happen to this type of pricing as 3d printers become more common over the next few years?
I've never printed anything that cost me more than $1.50 in plastic because I use trimmer line nylon. $0.25 per gram seems ridiculously expensive to me since each gram costs $0.02. Of course the machine cost and time are the main things to consider, but there is a still a huge markup with $0.25 per gram.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:54 am
by gestalt73
For FFD/FDM printing, I'm not sure that the number of printers in the wild will matter so much as new technologies to automate some of the tuning that has to be done for any print.
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that there more than a dozen variables that I have to take into account for a print.
I've been printing with you guys for almost a year now, and I'm still picking up new things when I tackle new prints.
Even if a future printer had the following automatic functions:
- reliable and repeatable auto levelling
- automatic extrusion multiplier setting
- reliable PID tuning and adjustments to keep hotend +/-1c
- temperature tuning for type, manufacturer, color of filament
There's still everything else.
Now if a new technology comes out to supplant FDM printing on the cheap, that is more accurate and doesn't need all that tuning? That would be the game changer.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:02 am
by Generic Default
Of those four problems you listed, the only one that annoys me is leveling. And that's because I move my printer a lot! The other three are never even a factor for me. My setup just works consistently and I only need to change the filament diameter when I switch to trimmer line, but even then it doesn't make a noticeable difference in the print.
The setup cost is the biggest factor, small prints are easy but there is no reason to do them for anyone who is self-employed and wants to make a decent amount of money in a day.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:44 am
by astroboy907
Generic Default wrote:The setup cost is the biggest factor, small prints are easy but there is no reason to do them for anyone who is self-employed and wants to make a decent amount of money in a day.
Time to buy a printer....
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:52 pm
by predawnsky
I found this one on thingiverse
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:29310" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:22 pm
by predawnsky
what do you do if you make the print larger than what it is how would you put that into the calculations
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:35 pm
by christspringer271
Anyone here looking for great output designs in their 3d printing, I am currently using
http://www.allthat3d.com 3d printing pens, and it gives me a great and creative design which I put as final touch design to all of my 3d print outputs! You can try it as well.
Re: Cost of Print
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:36 pm
by IMBoring25
Generic Default wrote:Slightly off topic, but what do you think will happen to this type of pricing as 3d printers become more common over the next few years?
I've never printed anything that cost me more than $1.50 in plastic because I use trimmer line nylon. $0.25 per gram seems ridiculously expensive to me since each gram costs $0.02. Of course the machine cost and time are the main things to consider, but there is a still a huge markup with $0.25 per gram.
That's not the only cost though. It's the most obvious one, but you need the electricity to run the machine, the replacement parts to maintain it, and your time to run it. You're also amortizing the cost of the machine and time to build it and they have to outbid what else you could be doing with the machine (opportunity cost). I haven't even done any for-hire prints yet because I don't run my machines unattended and I have enough personal projects to keep them busy when I'm home and awake.