Additive technologies are becoming increasingly popular. No wonder, as additive manufacturing has saved many companies a lot of money. If you want to find out what determines the price of 3D printing services, read the article below. It explains not only what determines the 3D printing cost, but also describes how you can save your money due to additive manufacturing and whether it is worth buying your own 3D printer.
Is it possible to get a price list for 3D printing?
We got accustomed to getting a predetermined price list for goods and services. Therefore, we usually expect that, for example, we will find on the service provider’s website a tab with a price list to find out how much the service we are interested in costs. However, there are services which require individual pricing due to the complex multiple factors affecting the final cost. This is definitely the case with 3D printing services. To find out the exact price of the service, it is best to contact the service provider directly by sending a model of the product you want to print. After getting to know the details of the project and customer expectations, experts will be able to provide the cost of the service. And is it possible to get it simplified to find out the price and order a 3D print in just a few minutes? It is certainly possible. Professional providers of 3D printing services share the software to estimate the cost of 3D prints in a few minutes. All you need to do is to upload a 3D model in a specified format and get to know in a few minutes how much you will have to pay.
What factors affect the price of a 3D print?
The price of making a model through additive manufacturing is primarily affected by the printing parameters, primarily the material used, its consumption related to the dimensions of the object and the infill pattern, or the layer height, as well as the number of prints needed. The second important criterion is the type of technology used (MJF, SLA/LFS, FDM) and the printing time, that is, the printer operating hours. In addition, there are the costs of preparation for printing, i.e., appropriate machine settings (e.g., temperature, speed, and other parameters).
When mentioning the above factors affecting the price, we assume that you already have a ready model. However, this is not always the case. If you want to order more services, such as preparation or optimization of a CAD model, possible 3D scanning, or reverse engineering to create a digital 3D model, you should consider additional costs. Their range is also wide, so it is best to contact the contractor directly to get your needs identified and get an optimal offer, prepared both in terms of costs and other parameters.
What do you save by using additive technologies? Why is it worth outsourcing 3D printing?
When calculating the costs related to the manufacturing process, we always finally come to the fundamental issue, i.e., the question about the profitability of the chosen method. Based on our many years of experience in cooperation with customers from various industries, we can say that the choice of additive technologies to produce an object is the best possible solution, reducing costs and shortening the time consumed. Saving money and time means the biggest advantage guaranteed by 3D printing compared to traditional manufacturing technologies. Choosing 3D printing is definitely worth it in the case when no serial production and very high-quality surfaces are required, but the priority is the ability to create objects of exceptionally advanced shape.
When calculating costs, you should consider whether it is worth buying your own 3D printer or outsourcing the printing. You can buy a 3D printer even with little money, but it will not be an industrial-class device and its capabilities will be incomparably smaller. In turn, the creation of a professional machine park is associated with very high expenses. If you use 3D printing occasionally, the investment in own 3D printer will also not pay off. You should remember that 3D printer is not everything, as there are also costs of training in operation or employing an experienced operator. Many companies, including even large corporations, find that outsourcing finally saves money.
We hope that the above information will be useful for you while calculating and optimizing costs. After all, it is economic considerations that are one of the most important factors to determine the viability of a project.
