Metal printing (DMLS / SLM) machine guide
Every setting that lives on a Metal printing (DMLS / SLM) machine - what it is, what it does to a price, and what a typical value looks like. This mirrors the machine editor field for field.
A machine in Quotometry is a real machine in your shop. It carries its own hourly rate, its own build volume and its own speeds, and a part is priced on the machine it would actually run on - not on an average of everything you own.
You can have as many as your plan allows, and several configurations can share them through the Library. If you buy another one of the same model, copy it and change the name.
Every setting on this page
These are in the same order as the editor, with the same help text. Each one has an anchor, and the ? beside a field in your console links straight to it - so if you are reading this because you clicked one, the setting you were looking at is highlighted.
Machine: lasers, layers & build
Laserslasersbasic
How many lasers expose the plate at the same time.
Price: More lasers melt faster, so exposure time per part falls.
Typical: 1 (single), 2 (twin), 4 (quad).
Multi-laser efficiencymulti_laser_efficiency_pct
How much of each laser's rate survives overlap zones and lasers waiting for each other. Ignored with one laser.
Price: Multiplies the combined rate: 4 lasers at 85 % are worth 3.4 lasers.
Typical: 80-90 %.
Build rate per laserbuild_rate_cm3_hbasiccalibratable
Metal one laser melts per hour on 316L at this layer thickness, contours and hatch together.
Price: Exposure time is melted volume over this rate, so it drives most of the machine time.
Typical: 5-12 cm³/h (400 W, 30-40 µm).
This is one of the numbers the calibration tool can fit from jobs you have already run, so you do not have to guess it.
Layer thicknesslayer_mmbasic
Powder layer thickness.
Price: Sets the layer count, and every layer costs a recoat.
Typical: 0.03-0.06 mm.
Recoat per layerrecoat_scalibratable
Spreading one layer of powder.
Price: Multiplied by the layer count of the build: on a tall build it is hours.
Typical: 6-12 s.
This is one of the numbers the calibration tool can fit from jobs you have already run, so you do not have to guess it.
Warm-up & inerting per buildwarmup_min
Heating the plate and purging the chamber until oxygen is low enough to start.
Price: Machine time charged once per build and shared by the parts on it.
Typical: 30-90 min.
Cool-down per buildcooldown_min
Time the closed chamber cools before the plate can come out.
Price: Machine time charged once per build.
Typical: 30-120 min.
Purge gas per buildpurge_gas_l
Argon or nitrogen used to inert the chamber at the start of a build.
Price: Priced as the `metal_pbf.gas` consumable, once per build.
Typical: 500-3 000 L.
Gas flow while buildinggas_l_per_h
Inert gas consumed per hour of building.
Price: Priced as `metal_pbf.gas` over the exposure and recoat time.
Typical: 60-300 L/h.
Filter life (0 = untracked)filter_life_builds
Builds one gas-circulation filter lasts. 0 means you do not track it.
Price: Spreads a filter change over the builds it serves, as the `metal_pbf.filter` consumable.
Typical: 5-20 builds.
Plate borderborder_mm
Unusable edge of the plate on every side.
Price: A wider border fits fewer parts, so each carries more of the build's fixed cost.
Typical: 3-10 mm.
Spacing between partspart_spacing_mm
Gap kept between parts on the plate.
Price: A bigger gap fits fewer parts per build.
Typical: 3-8 mm.
Plate utilisation capplate_utilisation_pct
The most of the plate area you are willing to fill.
Price: Below 100 % is realism about recoater clearance and gas flow; it makes each part's share of the build larger.
Typical: 60-80 %.
Runs reactive powdersreactive_powders
Whether this machine is fitted and permitted for titanium and aluminium powders.
Price: Off removes reactive powders from this machine, which may leave a powder without a machine.
Typical: On.
Build preparationbuild_setup_min
Fitting the plate, loading powder, levelling, loading the job.
Price: Charged once per build at the technician rate.
Typical: 45-90 min.
De-powdering per builddepowder_min
Unpacking the plate from the powder and blowing out channels.
Price: Charged once per build at the technician rate.
Typical: 30-60 min.
Sieving per buildsieving_min
Sieving and reconditioning the unused powder for the next build.
Price: Charged once per build at the technician rate.
Typical: 20-45 min.
Plate removal per buildplate_removal_min
Taking the plate out and setting it up on the cut-off machine.
Price: Charged once per build at the technician rate.
Typical: 20-40 min.