Cost Estimate

To estimate costs for SLA prints using Formlabs Form2 and Form3 printers this requires slicing your parts in their software called Preform; Available for free at formlabs.com/software. Once you have downloaded the software you can open or drag and drop your STL, 3MF or OBJ files into Preform. First you will want to select the printer type under “job setup” in the right-hand menu; select Form3/3+ and then choose material and layer thickness and press “Apply.” On the left-hand menu you will see orientation and support buttons, with all of the parts selected do the auto orient and auto support options under each of these menu items. Once oriented and supported the software will then estimate how many milliliters (mL) of resin is required in the menu on the right-hand side under “Volume.” Take this number and plug it into the quantity beside the resin of your choice in the form below to calculate the estimated cost. If you would like to submit a sliced file for printing your .FORM file is required.

For more information on using Preform checkout Formlab’s Youtube Channel, they have posted a wealth of information including this in depth video on printing in soft materials.
 

To estimate costs for PLA prints using Bambu Lab printers this requires slicing your parts in their software Bambu Studio.

Bambu Studio
Available for free at bambulab.com/en/download/studio. During initial setup of the software you can select the X1C printer with 0.6mm nozzle and the P1S printer with 0.4mm nozzle. This will set you up with their default template for our printers. Once you choose slice all plates the software will give you a summary of the material usage in meters and grams as well as the price based on their brand pricing. This is a good estimate.

For more information on using Bambu Studio…

• Bambu Studio 101 @ItsMeaDMaDe – This helpful video will show you all the software functions!
• Bambu Lab Wiki – A very thorough resource!

To estimate costs for PLA prints using MakerGear M3 printers this requires slicing your parts in a compatible software like PrusaSlicer or Cura.

PrusaSlicer
Available for free at prusa3d.com/software. During initial setup of the software you can unselect the Prusa printer and select Makergear M3 with the 0.35mm nozzle, PLA material and eSun brand. This will set you up with their default template for our printers. Open your files in STL, 3MF, OBJ, STEP or AMF format. Use the 3D editor view (CTRL+5) to orient the part to minimize overhangs. In the right-hand toolbox at top under “Print settings” choose “0.25mm Speed” for our default layer thickness. For most parts under the supports drop-down menu it is appropriate to choose “Everywhere.” If you want to try Organic / Tree supports switch to Advanced or Expert Settings (change this in the toolbar at the top of the screen) and then you will have Support Style options and can select Organic Support (under Print Settings menu tab, Support Material, Options…). To choose custom surfaces to support you can use the “Paint-on supports” tool in the left-hand menu bar of the 3D editor view. In the right-hand toolbox choose your preferred infill or leave it at default “15%.” Press the “Slice now” button at the bottom-right of the screen to slice the part and this will then bring you to the Slice Preview (CTRL+6). Under the “Sliced Info” display on the bottom of the right-hand menu you will now find the estimated material usage and cost. We prefer to slice for you to avoid any incorrect settings that may damage the printer but if you would like to submit a sliced file for review we would require both your Project file (.3MF) and your .GCODE file.

For more information on using PrusaSlicer …

• Prusa’s Youtube Channel
• PrusaSlicer Help – very in depth!
• Organic or Tree Supports – use these to optimize support structures!

Cura
Available for free at ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura. During initial setup of the software you can select other brand of printer and Makergear M2. Press the file folder icon at the top of the screen to import your files in STL, 3MF, or OBJ format. In the same toolbar as the file icon you will see the printer, materials and then the print settings options. Make sure Makergear M2 is selected and choose material eSUN PLA+ Black. For the print settings in the right-hand toolbox choose one of the profiles from Fine, Draft or Extra Fast depending on the layer thickness desired. Below the profile options you will see all of the customizable settings. Set the infill percentage and pattern under Infill. For most parts under the Supports menu it is appropriate to check “generate support” and under Support Placement “Everywhere.” If you want to try Organic / Tree supports switch to Advanced or Expert Settings (change this in the hamburger menu under where you chose the Profile, to the right of Search box) and then you will have Support Type options and can select Tree Support. Use the left-hand menu bar to move, scale and orient the parts. If you don’t want support on a particular surface you have to use the Support Blocker tool (last one on the left-hand menu bar). At the bottom right of the screen press “Slice.” Press “Preview” to make sure your part is well supported. At the top of the screen you can press “Prepare” to exit the “Preview” screen. At the bottom right of the screen you will now find the estimated material usage in meters, use our calculator below to estimate cost.

Note: Since the Cura profile is for the M2 model and not our M3 printers we recommend using PrusaSlicer if you’d like to slice for printing.

For more information on using Cura …

• Ultimaker’s Youtube Channel
• Cura Support Topics
• Learn more about optimizing support structures!

To estimate costs for FDM prints using Stratasys UPRINT and F123 Series printers this requires slicing your parts in their software called GrabCAD Print; Available for free at grabcad.com/print. Once the software is installed you can drag and drop or “add models” into the project, STL/3MF/OBJ/STEP as well as several CAD file formats are accepted file types. You should first select a printer template at the bottom-right of the screen. EPIC has both Uprint SE and Uprint SE Plus machines as well as F123 series printers F370 and F370CR. You will see as you select the templates the build envelope size on the preview screen will change. The menu items on the right-hand side allow you to select units, material and to auto orient the part. The first button “model info” lets you choose the units for your model. The second button “tray settings” lets you choose your material and slice height, 0.01in is the default. The third button “Model Settings” is where you choose your infill, Sparse – High Density is default, note you can set different infill settings for each part so select all to change all of the parts. The fourth button is “Support Settings,” leave this on the default “SMART” setting. Select all of your parts and press the “Orient” button (looks like a cube with curved arrows) and press “Auto Orient.” If your parts are outside of the build plate or overlapping you can use the “Arrange” button (looks like two cubes with straight arrows) to auto arrange the tray and/or project. To see the estimated material and support usage press the “Estimate” link at the bottom of the screen to the left of the “Select a printer” dropdown. Once slicing is complete a pop-up will display the estimated usage. If the units in the estimate are not cubic inches you can change the display units to inches from the preferences menu, under units control. If you would like to submit a sliced file for printing your .PRINT file is required.

For more information on using GrabCAD Print checkout GrabCAD’s Youtube Channel