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Cost-Per-Part Estimator

Universal

Bottom-up unit cost across machine, material, labor, and post-processing, amortized over parts-per-build. The number you'd quote a customer.

Load preset

Inputs

Machine

h
$/h

Material (per part)

g
g
$/kg
(0–1)

Build & labor

pcs
h
h
$/h
$

Margin

(0–1)

Results

Cost per part (with margin)
342.9$
Cost per part (at cost)
240.0$
Cost per build
1200$
Cost breakdown (per build)$1200
Machine
$800.0 (66.7%)
Material
$150.0 (12.5%)
Labor
$250.0 (20.8%)
Post
$0 (0%)

Formula

Costs roll up at the build level, then divide by parts-per-build. The biggest lever in AM unit cost is N — fitting more parts per cycle amortizes machine and overhead linearly.

C_build = T·rate_machine + m_total·cost_per_kg/1000·waste + (h_setup+h_post)·rate_labor + C_fixed_post C_part = C_build / N C_quoted = C_part / (1 - margin)
T
Build time[h]
m_total
(part + support) × N[g]
waste
1 / (1 − waste fraction)[—]
N
Parts per build[pcs]
margin
Target margin fraction[0–1]

Currency unit is whatever you key in — $, €, £. Powder reuse is approximated by a single waste fraction; for tighter modeling, separate virgin and reused powder streams.

Levers, ranked by impact

  1. 1.Parts per build (N) — direct division. Going from 1 to 5 parts cuts unit cost by ~5× on overhead-dominated builds.
  2. 2.Build time (T) — buy speed via better orientation, larger layer thickness, multi-laser machines.
  3. 3.Machine rate — depreciation + utilization. High utilization is the lever, not equipment choice.
  4. 4.Material — powder cost only dominates for Ti, Ni superalloys, and precious metals.
  5. 5.Post-processing — easy to forget, often 30–50% of metal AM cost (HIP, machining, surface finish).

Sources

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