Additive Manufacturing calculator
Print Failure Cost Calculator
Failed prints consume material, machine time, operator effort, and post-processing capacity even when no sellable part ships. This calculator estimates the dollar exposure from failed builds or failed parts so quotes and corrective actions include real failure cost.
What this calculator does
- Estimate cost exposure from failed additive builds or rejected parts, including material, labor, and overhead recovery.
- a quality manager or service bureau owner needs to quantify the cost of failed AM jobs
- Returns expected or actual cost tied to failed additive prints.
Formula used
- Failed print cost = failed prints × cost per failed print
- Total failure cost = failed print cost + recovery labor + overhead burden
Inputs explained
- Failed prints or builds: undefined
- Cost per failed print: undefined
- Recovery labor/setup: undefined
- Failure overhead burden: undefined
How to use the result
- Use it for NCRs, warranty review, quote risk allowance, process improvement, and root-cause prioritization.
- It does not identify failure cause; warping, recoater crashes, support failure, resin separation, and parameter errors need separate analysis.
Common questions
- Should machine time be in cost per failure? Yes, include machine time, material, and direct labor consumed by each failed print.
- What if a build partially succeeds? Count only rejected parts or allocate build-level failure cost across the failed share.
- Can this justify a process change? Yes. Compare failure cost with the cost of better validation, maintenance, fixtures, or process controls.
- Should customer penalties be included? Include expedite freight, credits, or penalties in overhead if they are part of the failure exposure.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.