3D printing cost: the five things that decide it

There is no single price for a 3D print, because two pieces of the same size can take very different amounts of work. What decides the cost is almost always the same five things. Knowing them makes it easier to ask for the right thing, and sometimes to pay less for it.

01Size and volume

The more material a piece uses, and the longer the printer takes to lay it down, the more it costs. Volume matters more than height: a hollow or thin-walled piece can cost far less than a solid one of the same outline.

02Material

Some materials cost more than others, and some are slower to print well. The right one depends on where the piece will live, indoors, outdoors or in a hot car, which we go through in choosing a material for Qatar's heat.

03Time on the printer

Fine detail means thinner layers, and thinner layers mean more of them. A figure with a face that must read up close takes longer than a bracket nobody will look at. Supports, the temporary structure that holds up overhanging parts, add time too, and have to be removed afterwards.

04Finishing

A raw print is the cheapest version of a piece. Filling, sanding, priming and painting by hand is often most of the work on a display piece, and it is priced by the hours it takes rather than by the grams of plastic.

05Design work

If you arrive with a finished 3D file, there is little to add. If you arrive with a sketch or an idea, the design is part of the job, and it is the step that decides whether everything after it goes smoothly.

06How to keep the cost down

• Decide early where the piece will stand and how closely people will look at it
• Ask whether it can be hollow, or printed in a less expensive material
• Keep the finish to what the piece needs: a prototype rarely needs paint
• Order the pieces you need together, rather than one at a time