How Much Does 3D Printing Cost? Tips For Reducing Your Manufacturing Costs

With the increasing complexity of manufacturing and a steep rise in customisations, the tools for 3D printing have only become more relevant. The availability of numerous layering materials has made it convenient to craft objects in various shapes, sizes, colours, and rigidities. This is particularly true for industries looking to develop precise and functional enclosures for electronic components, where design flexibility and low-volume production are key. With their low requirements for labour and flexibility in usage, computer-aided designs are now at the forefront of fabrications and enclosures.

The process is also known as additive manufacturing and has many applications, including in aerospace, healthcare, automotive, prototyping, dentistry, and more. The prime focus of 3D printing is enhancing a product's functionality, reducing weight, and controlling manufacturing costs. 

Let’s see how much 3D printing can eventually cost.

Cost of 3D Printing

The expenditure of additive manufacturing can depend on the type of material and the process you use. Based on the materials, here is a general breakdown of costs. 

Note: Prices may fluctuate based on supplier, brand, and material quality. 

Optimising the Design

If you intend to eliminate any extra cost in manufacturing, you must start optimising your design. Here is how you can achieve affordability while maintaining the essence of your design:

• Aim for less material: The easiest hack is to hollow out the design of 3D printed parts. By removing the inner material, you can achieve a lightweight yet durable component. Specifically, if you are using powdered material (like in selective laser sintering and multi-jet fusion), it will be quite convenient. 
• Improve your design: Make sure that your design has gradual transitions between adjoining parts. It will reduce the costs of fixing the product’s cosmetic appeal. If the size of the prototype doesn’t matter, then you can consider thinning or contracting the size. Further, you can make ample use of holes and avoid sharp corners. When it comes to electronic enclosures, ensuring tight yet smooth fittings for switches, ports, and ventilation is essential — optimised design can significantly lower the need for rework.

Reducing the Cost While Manufacturing

Apart from a concise design, you can mould the manufacturing process in a way that will support cutting costs. At subsequent stages of manufacturing, you can do the following: 

• Choose the right material: There are dozens of materials available to support additive manufacturing. While choosing, take into account the exact use of the final product. For instance, if you are manufacturing something that has a simple visual appeal, then cost-effective materials like PA and PLA can be used. For enclosures, materials like ABS or PETG strike a good balance between cost, strength, and thermal resistance.
• Choose the cost-effective process: 3D printing can be done in a variety of ways. To make your product inexpensive, you can opt for technologies like FDM and MJF. Even for visual models and prototyping, these technologies would suffice. However, if your ultimate goal is a high-end finish, you can use expensive ones like DLS and SLS.
• Avoid bulk production: 3D printing works best when you manufacture a single batch or unit. It helps improve the quality and precision of manufacturing by eliminating the chances of defects. Therefore, if you produce a larger batch, you can avoid additive manufacturing. 

Cutting Costs While Finalizing the Product

Unlike what is conventionally believed, you can reduce costs at the finishing stage too. Here is how to do it: 

• Avoid excess waste: Depending on what type of technology you use, you can reduce the waste material and save on the costs. For instance, in FDM, you need support structures while manufacturing. When done, these structures are to be removed, causing unnecessary waste generation that cannot be utilised further. To avoid this, you can opt for MJF or SLS processes. Both these require no such support. 
• Optimise the customisation: Your final 3D-printed parts can require you to incur further costs like vapor polishing (to smoothen the surface) or painting/dyeing (for the desired colour theme). If feasible, you can use FDM or MJF processes that can print colourful designs without having to add them later on. 

3D printing has become a game-changer in modern manufacturing, especially for customised, low-volume applications like electronic enclosures. While it offers flexibility and speed, the costs can vary depending on materials, design, and production methods.

By applying smart design choices, selecting the right materials, and optimising the printing process, manufacturers can significantly reduce expenses without sacrificing quality or functionality.

At Mech Power, we bring these cost-effective solutions to life through our durable and custom 3D solutions, such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) for prototyping and DLP 3D Printing for complex parts. We ensure high-quality and durable solutions for your electronic projects. Now you can also get an instant quote for FDM and DLP 3D Printing.