What metal 3D printing costs, and what moves the number.

The six things on every metal 3D printing quote.

1. Machine time. The largest line on most quotes. Build time is set by height (each 40 micron layer takes a recoat and a scan, so a 100 mm tall part is 2,500 layers) and by how much area the laser has to melt per layer. A plate full of parts shares the recoat time, which is why nesting cuts unit cost.
2. Powder. You pay for the metal in the part, in the supports, and for a share of what cannot be reused. Inconel 718 powder costs several times what stainless steel does; GRCop-42 is a specialty alloy made in small lots and costs more again.
3. Supports. Overhangs need supports, supports need powder and laser time to build and labour to remove. A part designed with self supporting angles is cheaper in three places at once.
4. Post processing. Stress relief, wire EDM off the plate, support removal, hot isostatic pressing, solution and age, machining, finishing. On a flight part this often costs more than the print. Each step you can genuinely drop, drops the price.
5. Inspection and documentation. Dimensional inspection, material certs and build records are standard. CT scanning, penetrant inspection, witness coupon testing and first article reports are quoted when the program requires them.
6. Quantity. Setup, plate preparation and parameter review are paid once per build. Ten parts on one plate cost far less each than one part on ten plates.

Typical price ranges.

With the caveat that every part is different, here is what people can expect.

If you have been quoted a number far outside these bands, ask what is in it. Sometimes it is a legitimate cost you had not considered, such as a CT scan or a HIP cycle. Sometimes it is a portal pricing your part as if it were stainless.

How to bring the cost down.

• Print shorter. Orient the part so its smallest dimension is vertical. Height is time.
• Design out supports. Chamfer the underside of overhangs to 45 degrees, teardrop horizontal holes, and put flat faces on the plate.
• Hollow what does not carry load. Solid mass is powder and laser time. A lattice or a shelled section can cut both.
• Consolidate. One printed part replaces the assembly, the fasteners, the brazing and the leak check.
• Loosen what you can. Tight tolerances and fine finishes on faces that do not mate cost machining time for no benefit. Specify them only where they matter.
• Batch. Send the whole set of parts at once so they share a plate.
• Pick the alloy for the job. GRCop-42 where the heat flux demands copper; Inconel 718 everywhere else that is hot and loaded.
• Talk to us before the design is frozen. A ten minute review at the CAD stage is where most of the savings are.

When metal 3D printing is the cheaper option.

Against machining: when the geometry is complex, when the material is hard to cut (718 again) and when the volume is low. Against casting: when the tooling would cost more than the parts, when a design change is likely, and when you need it in weeks. Against everything: when the part cannot be made any other way, which for cooling channels and consolidated assemblies is often.

It is not cheaper for simple shapes in volume. If you need five hundred plain bushings, get them machined. We will tell you that too.

What to send for an accurate quote.

• A STEP file. Parasolid, IGES and STL are accepted.
• The material: Inconel 718, GRCop-42, or ask.
• Quantity, including any repeat you expect.
• Critical dimensions and tolerances, with a drawing if you have one.
• Surface finish requirements, and where they apply.
• Heat treatment, HIP, certifications and testing the program requires.
• The date you need it.

With that, an engineer quotes it, usually with a suggested orientation and any design notes that would change the price.