Metal printing (DMLS / SLM) pricing explained
How a Metal printing (DMLS / SLM) price is assembled, setting by setting, with a worked example priced by the engine itself.
These are the settings that decide how the work is priced, as opposed to the machine that does it or the material it is made from. They are stored with the configuration.
Every one of them shows up in the breakdown when it affects a price, so if a number surprises you, the answer is on the screen.
A worked example
These numbers were computed by the pricing engine against the shipped Metal printing bureau configuration - the one you get if you start from the template. They are regenerated whenever the engine changes, so they cannot drift away from what your own console would show for the same part.
| Line | One part | Ten parts |
|---|---|---|
| Material | €35.22 | €353.84 |
| Production | €657.93 | €5752.58 |
| Finishing | €7.00 | €34.00 |
| Discounts | - | −€161.42 |
| Total, incl. shipping and VAT | €860.43 | €7124.53 |
| Machine time per part | 2 h 40 | 2 h 40 |
Note how the price per part falls with quantity: a batch shares what is done once - a set-up, a program, a whole build on a powder process, the tool in moulding. That is where the quantity break comes from. It is not a discount you are giving away; it is your cost structure, passed on.
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.
Supports & orientation
Overhang thresholdsupport_threshold_degbasic
Overhangs steeper than this, measured from vertical, get supported.
Price: A lower threshold supports more of the part: more metal melted into supports, longer exposure and more removal work.
Typical: 45°.
Support densitysupport_density_pctbasiccalibratable
Metal actually melted inside the support envelope (block and lattice supports are mostly powder).
Price: Scales support powder, support exposure time and the wire-EDM cut area.
Typical: 15-25 %.
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.
Raise off the plateplate_offset_mm
How far the part stands off the plate on block supports so it can be cut off.
Price: Adds layers to every build and support under the whole footprint, so it is a cost on every part.
Typical: 2-5 mm.
Orientationorientation_policybasic
How the part is oriented on the plate.
Price: Cheapest prices the best orientations and takes the lowest. Least support saves removal work and scrap; lowest height saves recoating time.
Typical: Cheapest.
Heavy support aboveheavy_support_pct
Support volume, as a share of the part volume, above which the part counts as heavily supported.
Price: Over it the line carries the heavy-support risk adder and the `heavy_support` finding.
Typical: 40-60 %.
Tall and thin abovemax_aspect_ratio
Largest height over the narrowest footprint side you build without concern.
Price: Over it the line carries the tall-thin risk adder and the `aspect_ratio` finding: slender parts deflect under the recoater.
Typical: 6-10.
Post-processing & preparation
Support removal per partsupport_removal_base_minbasic
Fixed effort per part to take supports off: clamping, first cuts, clean-up.
Price: Charged for every part at the technician rate; metal supports are cut and ground, not snapped.
Typical: 5-15 min.
Support removal per cm²support_removal_min_per_cm2basiccalibratable
Cutting and grinding per cm² of supported area, the base on the plate included.
Price: Multiplied by the supported area of the part: the main labour line on a heavily supported part.
Typical: 0.5-2 min/cm².
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.
Plate cut-off handling per partplate_cutoff_min
Handling one part off the plate at the wire EDM or band saw.
Price: Charged for every part at the technician rate.
Typical: 2-5 min.
Wire-EDM cutting rate (0 = untracked)wire_edm_rate_mm2_min
Cut face the wire EDM cuts per minute when separating parts from the plate. 0 means the cut-off machine is not charged.
Price: Turns the support area at the plate into hours on the EDM, priced as the `metal_pbf.wire_edm` consumable.
Typical: 100-200 mm²/min.
File preparation per modelfile_prep_min
Importing, orienting and checking the file.
Price: Charged once per model at the engineer rate, whatever the quantity.
Typical: 10-20 min.
Support design per modelsupport_design_minbasic
Designing the supports and the build file for a metal part.
Price: Charged once per model at the engineer rate, which is why a one-off metal part carries a real set-up cost.
Typical: 20-60 min.