Print on Demand Price Software.

[3DprintGermany 0]

Hallo everybody,

I have a 3D print on demand service and want to make a Website where you can Drag and Drop a .Stl file in and get the Price for this model.

Does Cura have a extension for Web Developers or something like this or do you know how i could do this?

Thanks in advance.

[Smithy 904]

Hi

there is no API or something like that, but you can use Cura also from the command line with tons of parameters. Search the forum here for some posts about it.

 

So you could call the command line cura from your webpage to slice the file. If this is really accurate enough to calculate pricing and such things, I don't know...

[Jaka3d 0]

Hi everybody,

 

I have one question for those who prints on demand for your customers (not friend - printing per litres 😄 ).

What is your cost per hour for printing on yours Ultimaker S series machines with different materials (PLA, ABS, Nylon GF, with/without support) and how do you calculate price for printing?

[Smithy 904]

I calculate the following things:

• Material costs in gram + 20% (to be on the safe side)
• Costs per hour to print which includes amortization and maintenance costs (print cores, Bowden, glass plate,...)
• Electricity costs
• Preparation 
• Post-processing

It is hard to find a good balance and it depends if you want to calculate the correct way or if you just want to have a realistic price. Costs per hour is the biggest problem in my opinion. Normally you would say I print x hours per day/week/year and I want to print with this printer 3 years. Then you can calculate the real costs per hour/minute but you have to add also the maintenance costs in the calculation. But when you don't print 20 hours per day, you will get costs per hour that are really high and nobody will pay the price you have calculated.

 

Electricity costs are neglectable normally, but I add it too.

 

Preparation is the part where you load the filament, prepare the printer, and slice the model. So depending on the complexity of the model, it can vary.

 

Postprocessing depends also on the model. Do you need to remove support material, do you need to sand off something and so on.

 

But I do it only as a hobby, not a real business. So if you have a business you need to add more things in the calculation and most important whether you also want to earn something or just cover your own costs.

 

You can also do a calculation for some sample models and then check the price you would pay at 3dhubs or similar sites. To get a feeling if you are too cheap or too expensive.

 

Hope it helps a little bit.