Additive Manufacturing Service Bureau Quoting worked example

Support Removal Labor Time at 18% difficult-support allowance: a worked example

This worked example runs the support removal labor time numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 18% difficult-support allowance instead of the typical 25%. Estimate support removal hours from supported parts, removal throughput, and handling allowance.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Supported parts: 36 parts (held at the documented default)
  • Support removal throughput: 0.18 parts / min (held at the documented default)
  • Difficult-support allowance: 18 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 25)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base support removal time = supported parts ÷ support removal throughput.
  • Quoted support removal time works out to 236 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base removal time works out to 200 hr at these inputs.
  • Difficult-support allowance works out to 18 % at these inputs.
  • Support removal throughput works out to 0.18 parts / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where difficult-support allowance sits at 25% and the headline result is 250 hr, this scenario comes in 5.6% below the baseline at 236 hr.
  • Use it when building a quote for any supported AM process — metal LPBF, SLA, or FDM — where post-print support removal is manual. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Quoted support removal time: 236 hr (headline result)
  • Base removal time: 200 hr
  • Difficult-support allowance: 18 %
  • Support removal throughput: 0.18 parts / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Support Removal Labor Time calculator, set difficult-support allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.