Additive Manufacturing

3D Printing Cost Per Part: What Actually Drives the Number

Additive manufacturing cost per part includes material, machine time, support removal, and post-processing. Here is how to calculate it and where 3D printing is and is not cost competitive.

Additive manufacturing cost per part = material cost + machine time cost + post-processing cost + quality cost + overhead. Material cost = (part volume + support volume) x material density x material price per kg. For a 45g FDM part (part + supports) in PLA at $22/kg: material cost = 0.045 x $22 = $0.99. Machine time = (build time in hours / parts per build) x machine rate per hour. On an industrial FFF machine at $15/hr with 8 parts in one 6-hour build: machine time = (6/8) x $15 = $11.25 per part.

Material cost by technology: FFF/FDM filament: $15-$50/kg for engineering grades. SLA/DLP resin: $50-$200/kg. SLS nylon powder: $80-$120/kg (with 40-60% reclaim rate reducing effective cost). Metal powder for LPBF (laser powder bed fusion): $50-$400/kg depending on alloy. Support material adds 10-50% to part material volume depending on geometry. Complex overhangs with dense support structures can double effective material cost.

Build density (parts per build) is the biggest cost lever in additive manufacturing. Packing a build platform with 40 parts instead of 8 reduces machine time per part from $11.25 to $2.25. This is why additive manufacturing unit cost drops significantly as batch size increases up to the full build platform capacity. Beyond full platform, a new build is required and cost resets. Unlike injection molding, there is no per-part cost reduction beyond fill one build.

Post-processing is often underestimated. Support removal: 5-45 minutes per part depending on complexity. Surface finishing (sanding, tumbling, media blasting): 10-30 minutes. Functional coatings or heat treatment: varies. For metal AM parts, HIP (hot isostatic pressing) for density and stress relief adds $20-$80 per part. For medical or aerospace parts, NDT inspection and documentation add $50-$200. Total post-processing often exceeds print cost for complex metal parts.

Break-even analysis: additive is most competitive for complex geometries in low volumes. For simple geometries at high volume, injection molding, casting, or machining wins on cost. The crossover point depends on tooling amortization. A $50,000 injection mold amortized over 100,000 parts = $0.50/part tooling. If additive machine time and material = $8/part, break-even is at 100,000/((8-0)/0.50 adjusted for other costs) -- the crossover is typically 500-5,000 parts for plastic parts, depending on geometry.

Published 2026-05-28.