Additive · Live
Metal 3D printing quote software: DMLS and LPBF pricing
Price DMLS, SLM and LPBF parts from melted volume, recoats, gas, powder, supports and plate cut-off. Every metal line goes to your review by default.
- Process
- Metal AM
- Family
- Additive
- Input
- Mesh, STEP
- Status
- Live
The price follows the physics.
A metal powder-bed price is laser time, powder and a long tail of post-processing. Laser hours follow the volume melted, part and supports, at a build rate that depends on the alloy and the number of lasers; recoating adds time per layer, shared by everything on the plate. Then come the steps a polymer print never needs: stress relief, cutting parts off the plate, removing supports welded to the part, and often heat treatment, machining of critical faces and inspection. Quote from volume alone and you price the easy part of the job.
- 01
Laser time
Melted volume, supports included, divided by an effective build rate for the alloy and the number of lasers.
- 02
Supports
In metal they are mandatory: they anchor the part against residual stress and conduct heat away, and they are cut and ground off by hand.
- 03
Powder and inert gas
Metal powder is expensive per kilogram, some is lost each build, and the chamber runs under inert gas throughout.
- 04
Build plate and plate removal
Parts are fused to a plate that is cut off, often by wire EDM, and resurfaced for the next build.
- 05
Heat treatment and HIP
Stress relief is mandatory for some alloys, and HIP or heat treatment add furnace cycles and outside-vendor lead time.
- 06
Machining and inspection
Critical faces are often finish-machined, and regulated parts carry inspection and certificates.
Measured from the file. Priced on your machines.
Measured from the geometry
- Height, footprint and supports in each orientation. Supported area at your overhang threshold sets support volume and removal labour; height sets the layers and recoats. The cheapest orientation on each machine is priced.
- Part volume. With the support envelope and the raise off the plate, it is the melted volume that exposure time is computed from.
- Wall thickness and clearances. Walls thinner than the powder allows warn, and so do gaps narrow enough for powder to sinter across.
- Small features and closed cavities. Curved detail below the powder’s limit is reported; a cavity that traps powder goes to review.
- Largest cross-section and slenderness. A slice above the powder’s largest solid section warns of residual stress; a part taller than your aspect-ratio limit warns and carries the tall-thin risk adder.
Configured by you
- Lasers, multi-laser efficiency and build rate per laser. Per machine. Exposure time is melted volume over the combined rate, and the build rate is calibratable.
- Layer thickness, recoat per layer, warm-up and cool-down. The per-layer and per-build machine time that the parts on a plate share.
- Purge gas per build, gas flow while building and filter life. Priced as gas and filter consumables, so they are not hidden in the hourly rate.
- Overhang threshold, support density and raise off the plate. How much support is melted, and how much area is cut and ground off afterwards.
- Support removal per cm², plate cut-off and wire-EDM cutting rate. The hand-work and the cut-off machine hours each part carries.
- Build-rate factor, powder loss and stress relief is mandatory. Per powder: how fast the alloy builds against 316L, what each build loses, and whether a stress-relief cycle is charged per build.
- Support design per model. Engineering charged once per model, which is why a one-off metal part carries a real set-up cost.
What your buyer sees
- Their part in the viewer, with the powders you run and the post-processing you price as options: bead blasting, stress relief, HIP, heat treatment, polishing, anodising, inspection reports and certificates in the shipped configuration.
- An estimate that goes to your review before it becomes an order. The shipped configuration reviews every metal line, a rule you switch off once you trust the numbers.
- Machining of critical faces as an option that always sends the line to review.
- Warnings for thin walls, narrow gaps, tall thin parts and large solid sections; trapped powder goes to review.
Parts that share a plate share recoat time, gas, the plate itself and the stress-relief cycle, so a full plate is far cheaper per part than a single part. Laser time per part does not shrink, and support removal and inspection stay per part, so the curve flattens once the plate is full.
Typical materials
- 316L stainless steel
- 17-4 PH stainless steel
- AlSi10Mg aluminium
- Ti6Al4V titanium
- Inconel 718 and 625
- Cobalt-chrome
- Maraging tool steel
- Copper alloys
Typical parts
- Aerospace brackets and manifolds
- Conformally cooled mould inserts
- Medical and dental implants
- Heat exchangers and lattice structures
- Consolidated assemblies
Estimate: the shop confirms this price before the order is final, as its template asks.
Estimate: the shop confirms this price before the order is final, as its template asks.
Both priced by the real engine for the sample bracket against the Metal printing bureau template that ships with Quotometry.
Pricing metal am, in depth
How to calculate 3D printing cost, for any process
A 3D printing cost is six lines: material, machine time, labour, post-processing, failures and overhead. How to work out each one, with FDM and SLS examples.
Knowledge baseDesign for 3D printing: walls, overhangs, holes, clearances and orientation
The design rules that decide whether a 3D printed part works and what it costs, with typical limits for FDM, SLA, SLS and MJF in one table.
Knowledge baseWhat drives the cost of metal 3D printing (DMLS and LPBF)
Metal 3D printing cost explained: laser hours, powder, supports, stress relief, plate removal and finishing, with a worked example for a plate of steel parts.
Metal AM quoting, answered
Can I quote metal 3D printing with Quotometry today?
Yes. Metal powder-bed fusion prices end to end in the widget: melted volume over your lasers’ build rate, recoats, gas, powder, supports, plate cut-off and the post-processing you offer. The shipped configuration sends every metal line to your review by default, so the buyer sees an estimate and your engineer confirms it. Electron-beam melting is not a separate process and should not be priced with these settings.
Why is every metal order reviewed by default?
Because a metal job carries risks a polymer print does not: residual stress, support access, orientation choices that change post-processing, and certification. The estimate does not see scan paths, the supports you would really design, or holes that need support inside. So the shipped configuration reviews every line, with a rule you can switch off once its prices match your own.
What makes metal printing so expensive?
The machine and the powder are costly, but much of the cost comes after the print: stress relief, cutting parts off the plate, removing supports fused to the part, heat treatment and machining. A quote that prices only laser time and powder can miss a large part of the real cost of the job.
Does the price include supports?
Yes. Supports in metal are not optional, so the estimate melts the support envelope at your support density in exposure time, charges removal per square centimetre of supported area, and prices the cut-off on the wire EDM. An orientation that reduces supported area shows up directly in the price, and Quotometry prices the cheapest one on each machine.
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