3D printing is a real solution for 3d model making in the real world using melted material. It takes time, labor, and electricity. When we need to 3D printing task, we can evaluate the cost per hour for filaments, power, and labor. So let’s see how much does it cost to 3D print per hour?
The average 3D printing cost will be 17.08$ per hour. Filaments will cost 7$, Power consumption will be 0.05$, and manpower will cost 10.03$ per hour. These values can be changed with the 3d printer, filament type, extruder diameter, and printing speed.
We have to consider each fact separately for the cost evaluation of the 3D printing. We can divide it all into main 3 parts. Those are the cost for the filament, the cost for the power, and the cost for the manpower. Including all these factors, we can have a real idea about the hourly cost. So let’s check all in detail. So let’s keep read on.
Cost For the Filaments
| Filament Type | Cost for 1Kg ($) |
| ABS Filament | 15-20 |
| PLA Filament | 20-30 |
| PET Filament | 20-25 |
| PETT Filament | 20-26 |
| Nylon Filament | 30-40 |
| PVA Filament | 35-40 |
| Sandstone Filament | 20-30 |
| Wood Filament | 25-30 |
| Metal Filament | 20-35 |
| HIPS Filament | 20-25 |
| Magnetic Iron Filament | 20-25 |
| Conductive Filament | 50-100 |
| Carbon Fiber Filament | 40-50 |
| TPE Filament | 25-30 |
| Glow in the Dark Filament | 20-30 |
| Amphora Filament | 30-50 |
Cost For the Filament Per Hour
The filament is the printing material of the 3D printer. It is like ink in the regular printer. Filaments can be melted with the increasing temperature of the nozzle, and then it moves necessary places. When it pours outside, it will be solid. This is the 3D printing process simply.
There are so many filaments in the market. Those are with different properties and different usages. Filaments are available in the market as rolls. There is about 1Kg (2.2lbs) of filaments are available in the market. As well, an average of 1.75 mm diameter filaments is widely available in the market.
The filament is feed into the extruder. Normally extruder is with different diameters. The most standard nozzle sizes are 0.4mm (or 0.35mm). The extruder extrudes the melted filaments.
3D printing nozzle is moving 50mm/s – 100mm/s. and also extruders also moving at this speed. If that is less, the layer thickness will reduce. if it is more, layer thickness will increase due to expansion or compression of the filaments.
So let’s see the cost of material used in 1-hour.
If we use PLA as filament with 0.4mm extruder with 50mm/s printing speed how much materials can we use?
Material amount;
= Printing Speed x Extruder area x Material denisity x 3600s
= 50mm/s x 3.14 * 0.04 * mm3 x 1240 kg/m3 x 3600s
= 0.280 g/hr
So you can observe 0.28g of filaments can be printed per hour. This printed amount can be changed according to the filament types and extruder diameter.
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- Average PLA will cost 25$/kg, so for 1-hour printing, it will cost 7$ of filaments.
Cost for the 3D Printing Power Consumption Per Hour
The 3D printer is powered by electricity. There are many 3D printers available in the market with different power consumptions. The power is used to heat the extruder (nozzle) and moving the arms.
1 Kwh will be 0.1331$ in the USA in 2021. According to the power consumption of your 3D printer, you can calculate the cost for the power per hour.
3D printers and their power cost per hour
| 3D Printer | Power Consumption (W) | Cost Per Hour ($) |
| Original Prusa i3 MK3S+ (ABS) | 240 | 0.04 |
| Biqu B1 (PLA) | 270 | 0.04 |
| Nova3D Bene4 Mono | 30 | 0.01 |
| Flashforge Creator Pro 2 | 320 | 0.05 |
| Peopoly Phenom ( Metal with Acrylic) | 144 | 0.02 |
| Elegoo Mars | 60 | 0.01 |
| Creality Ender 3 | 350 | 0.05 |
| Elegoo Mars 2 | 60 | 0.01 |
| Creality Ender 3 V2 | 270 | 0.04 |
| Original Prusa Mini+ | 160 | 0.03 |
| Elegoo Mars 3 | 72 | 0.01 |
| Artillery Sidewinder X1 V4 | 600 | 0.08 |
When you observe this will realize, the power consumption of the 3D printer is very low in small size domestic usage printers. When the size and capacity are high, the power consumption and its cost will be high.
- Average cost for the 3D printing power consumption per hour is 0.05$.
Cost for the 3D Printing Manpower Per Hour
This is pretty different from the living area. If you hire someone for the task, he will charge according to his country. So let’s see how this can be calculated practically.
Normally the wage of the people of the year is the real factor for this. If a US citizen’s average income is 87,864$ in 2020, it will be 10.03$ for one-hour charging. This can be dependent on the state by state and person to person with their experience and professionality.
If you are out of the USA, these values can be changed. But the whole idea will not be changed.
- Average cost for the 3D printing Manpower is 10.03$
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Other Costs for the 3D Printing
More than that we have to consider the other costs for the hourly cost. If we need to 3D print and ship, we have to spend the shipping cost also. We will change weight and distance. So considering all facts, you can realize how much people cost for successful 3D printing. When you are going to 3D print, these values will be seen like high values. But those are reasonable when we think like this.
