Additive Manufacturing Service Bureau Quoting worked example

AM Labor Burden Time at 23% documentation and handling allowance: a worked example

What does the result look like when documentation and handling allowance reaches 23%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. an operations lead needs operator labor hours for a quote or production schedule

The inputs for this scenario

  • Build jobs or post-processing tasks in the batch: 24 tasks (unchanged)
  • Operator handling throughput: 0.22 tasks / min (unchanged)
  • Documentation and handling allowance: 23 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 20)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base AM labor burden = jobs or build tasks รท operator handling throughput) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 134 hr for quoted am labor burden, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 109 hr for base labor burden.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 23 % for documentation/handling allowance.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.22 tasks / min for operator handling throughput.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where documentation and handling allowance sits at 20% and the headline result is 131 hr, this scenario comes in 2.5% above the baseline at 134 hr.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when documentation and handling allowance is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes a single steady handling throughput; if tasks vary wildly in difficulty, such as light de-powdering versus heavy support removal, split the batch and run each task type at its own rate.

Results at a glance

  • Quoted AM labor burden: 134 hr (headline result)
  • Base labor burden: 109 hr
  • Documentation/handling allowance: 23 %
  • Operator handling throughput: 0.22 tasks / min

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live AM Labor Burden Time calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.