Professional 3D printing prices: FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, metal

A printed part has no catalogue price. A quote adds up four blocks: file preparation, printing (machine time and material), post-processing, then inspection and shipping. Depending on the technology, one of the blocks dominates, which is why two quotes for the same part can differ without either being “too expensive”.

• Preparation: mesh repair, orientation, supports, placement on the build plate.
• Printing: machine time multiplied by an hourly rate (depreciation, energy, maintenance, operator), plus the material used, including supports and waste.
• Post-processing: support removal, depowdering, washing, sanding, dyeing, heat treatment, machining rework.
• Inspection and shipping: visual or dimensional checks, packaging, transport.

Fixed costs stay low: no tooling or programming, but often a minimum order. The price of the first part is therefore close to that of the tenth, unless the batch lets you fill a build plate properly. To choose between the two processes, read 3D printing or CNC machining.

Six factors explain most of the differences, whatever the technology, and each one can be discussed with the workshop.

1. Volume

It sets the amount of material used. For the same outer dimensions, a hollow or openwork part uses less than a solid one and is often cheaper.

2. Height

Printing proceeds layer by layer: the taller the part sits in the machine, the more layers there are, and so the more time. In DLP, where each layer is exposed in a single flash, the duration depends mainly on height; in metal, each layer adds a powder-spreading and melting cycle. Orientation also affects supports, appearance and strength: it is the workshop that decides.

3. Material

Metal powders cost far more per kilo than polymers, and titanium or nickel alloys more than stainless steel. Among polymers, an ordinary PLA and a PEEK or PEKK are not in the same price range.

4. Finish

A part as it comes off the printer is the cheapest. Support removal, sanding, bead blasting, dyeing or painting add labour time, sometimes more than the printing itself on a cosmetic part.

5. Quantity

Because fixed costs are low, it matters less than in machining. It mainly reduces the cost of set-ups and repetitive finishing (the same sanding or dyeing sequence applied to a whole batch) and lets you fill the build plate better.

6. Build-plate fill

In SLS and MJF, parts stack in the build chamber without supports, and the cost of a run is mostly the cost of the whole chamber: the denser it is, the more that cost is spread across a large number of parts. In FDM, where parts are deposited one after another, the gain is small. Do not confuse this fill with the internal infill of an FDM part, which affects the material and the time for each part.

Each technology has its own cost driver. The table shows where to look first.

The same file can rank differently from one technology to another: when several suit the application, ask for a price for two of them. To understand how they differ, see the additive manufacturing glossary entry.

Quoting a price per cubic centimetre would be misleading: rates vary with the workshop, the machine, the geometry and the current workload. A few benchmarks are enough. As a guide, a small polymer part of a few cubic centimetres typically costs from a few euros to a few tens of euros, excluding any specific finish and minimum order; the same part in metal, typically from a few tens to a few hundred euros. Use these benchmarks to spot an obvious discrepancy, never to recalculate a quote.

The following example is fictional: it illustrates the effect of build-plate fill, not a price list. Assumptions: a full build chamber costs €800 to run (machine, powder, labour) and can hold 200 parts of this type; finishing costs €3 per part.

In practice, a workshop that completes your batch with other orders shares the chamber differently: the example only describes the mechanism. Ask for prices for several quantities, for example 1, 10 and 50 parts, to see the curve on your own file.

Post-processing is the item most often forgotten, and on a cosmetic part it can exceed the printing cost. Always ask what the price includes.

• Support removal and depowdering: in polymer they are most often included; in metal, the part also has to be separated from the plate (sawing or wire EDM).
• Stress-relief heat treatment: common in metal, to release residual stresses.
• Bead blasting and vibratory finishing: they even out the appearance and soften edges, and are most cost-effective on batches.
• Dyeing, vapour smoothing, sanding, painting: labour time, to be priced by surface area.
• Threaded inserts, tapping, machining of seats: for precise assemblies; see the machining tolerances guide.
• Washing and post-curing: steps specific to SLA.

1. Hollow out solid parts and provide drain holes for powder or resin; the workshop will tell you the minimum diameter.
2. Reduce the height by accepting a flat orientation when appearance and strength allow it.
3. Lighten the finishing: as-printed on non-visible surfaces, careful finishing on cosmetic faces only.
4. Fine-tune your FDM settings: going from a 0.1 mm layer to 0.2 mm halves the number of layers and noticeably cuts print time; a lighter internal infill is often enough for a prototype.
5. Group references in the same material into one order to densify the plate.
6. Merge several parts into one when the shape allows: less assembly, fewer parts to order.

Also allow a standard lead time: an express lead time takes a machine as a priority and comes at a price. If you are aiming for several hundred parts, compare with injection moulding: see the cost of an injection mould.

The orientation of the part on the build plate is a workshop decision that affects both price and quality. It sets the print height, and so the time, as well as the amount of support to remove. It also determines which faces carry support marks and, in FDM, in which direction the part is strongest: it is weaker between layers than within the plane of the layers.

As printed, parts show wider dimensional deviations than a machined part, in the order of a tenth to a few tenths of a millimetre depending on the technology, the size and the material. For a critical bore or seat, plan for machining rework and mention it in your request.

• The 3D file (STEP, STL or 3MF) in millimetres, and a drawing if any dimensions are critical: see the file formats guide.
• The technology and material you want or, failing that, the application (appearance, mechanical, temperature, food contact) so that the workshop can make a suggestion.
• The quantity, with price breaks (1, 10, 50) and any need for series production.
• The functional surfaces: bores, threads, seats to be machined afterwards, expected tolerances.
• The finish: raw, sanded, dyed or painted, colour, visible faces.
• The lead time, the delivery location and, if the part is sensitive, confidentiality.

On Meaflow, posting a request is free and commission-free: several 3D printing suppliers can send you a quote, which you compare and discuss through the messaging system. For a first part to validate, the prototyping page will also help. For what comes next, read from prototype to series production and, if you are developing a hardware product, discover the hardware start-ups sector.