Additive Manufacturing Service Bureau Quoting worked example

Service Bureau Capacity at 99% printer uptime and availability: a worked example

This scenario runs the service bureau capacity calculation on the strong side: 99% printer uptime and availability, with every other input held at its documented default. a production scheduler needs expected good parts for a quote window or delivery promise

The inputs for this scenario

  • Good parts nested per build cycle: 48 parts / cycle (unchanged)
  • Build cycles available in the period: 14 cycles (unchanged)
  • Printer uptime / availability: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 88)
  • Accepted part yield after inspection: 94 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Gross service bureau capacity = parts per cycle × available build cycles) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 625 parts for good quote capacity, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 672 parts for gross build capacity.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 6.72 parts for printer availability loss.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 39.92 parts for rejected part loss.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where printer uptime and availability sits at 88% and the headline result is 556 parts, this scenario comes in 12.5% above the baseline at 625 parts.
  • Use it during capacity planning, when committing a delivery date on a large order, or when deciding whether to add a printer versus outsource overflow. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Good quote capacity: 625 parts (headline result)
  • Gross build capacity: 672 parts
  • Printer availability loss: 6.72 parts
  • Rejected part loss: 39.92 parts

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Service Bureau Capacity calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.