Why does your 3D printed part cost that much
Additive manufacturing is an increasingly viable option for many types of parts and prototypes but how do the companies providing 3D printing come up with the prices? Even though 3D printing opens up the possibility of complex part designs the process of quoting a part is thankfully quite simple. There are three main approaches; 1. Cubic cm or cubic inch, these are the favoured costing methods used in Europe and the US for FDM, SLA and SLS 3D printing . Basically, a box is drawn around your part, and the volume of the said box is calculated. The service provider will then have a rate per unit they use to calculate the cost of your part. Generally, this rate has already factored in any support material which might be needed. 2. Cost per gram, this is the most common method of quoting used in China again for, SLA, FDM and SLS. The quoting process is pretty simple, work out the weight of the part using the ...