Additive Manufacturing worked example

Support Material Cost with support material quantity of 650 g: a worked example

Push support material quantity up to 650 g and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. an estimator or AM engineer needs to compare support-heavy orientations or quote support material separately

The inputs for this scenario

  • Support material quantity: 650 g (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 260)
  • Support material cost: 0.08 $ / g (unchanged)
  • Support removal labor: 75 $ (unchanged)
  • Support processing overhead: 20 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Support material cost = support quantity × support material cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 147 $ for total support cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.23 $ / g for support cost per gram.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 52 $ for support material cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 95 $ for removal and overhead.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where support material quantity sits at 260 g and the headline result is 116 $, this scenario comes in 26.94% above the baseline at 147 $.
  • It calculates the material cost of support (grams times cost per gram), then adds removal labor and processing overhead for a total support cost and a blended cost per gram. 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

  • Total support cost: 147 $ (headline result)
  • Support cost per gram: 0.23 $ / g
  • Support material cost: 52 $
  • Removal and overhead: 95 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Support Material Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.