Additive Manufacturing worked example

Additive Quote Price with quoted am selling price of 15,500 $: a worked example

Push quoted am selling price up to 15,500 $ and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. a service bureau estimator needs to check whether a 3D printing quote is profitable

The inputs for this scenario

  • Quoted AM selling price: 15,500 $ (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 6,200)
  • Estimated AM job cost: 4,100 $ (unchanged)
  • Margin reference price: 6,200 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Margin dollars = quoted selling price - estimated job cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 184 % margin for gross margin, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11,400 $ for margin dollars.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15,500 $ for quoted selling price.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,100 $ for estimated job cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where quoted am selling price sits at 6,200 $ and the headline result is 33.87 % margin, this scenario comes in 443% above the baseline at 184 % margin.
  • It computes gross margin in dollars and as a percentage from the quoted selling price, the estimated job cost, and a margin reference price. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Gross margin: 184 % margin (headline result)
  • Margin dollars: 11,400 $
  • Quoted selling price: 15,500 $
  • Estimated job cost: 4,100 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Additive Quote Price calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.