Dimension Printer Hour Cost?? 2

[behindpropellers]

What do you charge other companies for dimension printer use?
What do you charge internally for tax purposes?

Thanks

Tim

 

[ctopher]

I may be missing something.
What is "dimension printer"?

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 1.1
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)
ctopher's blog

 

[4zengineering]

I think he's referring to a 3D printer.

 

[CADGemini]

This may not apply but when I was running an SLA machine for a prototyping company we used to charge 2-2.5 times the material cost per cubic inch. Some places charge more because of the overhead but if it is just yourself you can charge less per cubic inch. You may want to start high at first and then tailor your formula until you are at a competitive rate.

Best Regards,
Jon Knabenschuh

Gemini CAD Solutions

http://www.geminicadworks.com

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Solidworks 2007

 

[behindpropellers]

Chris-

Dimension makes 3D sla printers that are designed for engineering office use. We are 100% happy we bought it.

http://www.dimensionprinting.com/

 

[rollupswx]

Dimension is a company name and therefore first letter should be capitalized. Even so your initial question would have been hard to understand for many/most.
Maybe something like, "How much do you charge for a rapid prototype using a Dimension 3D printer..."

Dimension does NOT make a 3D sla (stereo lithography apparatus) printer. The technology their printer uses is called FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling).

There are already many companies in the business of producing RP models. Simply request quotes on a few jobs and you will be in the ballpark. Figure your costs and what you can offer to customers and you should be in business.

 

[dgowans]

Tim,

To follow up on rollupswx's post, you should be able to get a quick benchmark from

http://www.redeyerpm.com.

They offer online quotes from the STL files you provide.

That being said, I've been told by a different service bureau that $25/hr is a good number to use when charging external customers. For internal tax purposes I'd ask someone in your accounting group.

 

[Bester2]

Tim,

I have always used

http://www.xpress3d.com

when ordering rp parts. Their site is good to check out because it will give you multiple quotes using different types of RP processes. That way you can gage what is being charged in the industry for each process. I have also noticed that the price can change dramatically depending how busy a shop is.



Brian
SW 2007 SP 5.0

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

http://www.quickparts.com

is an RP supplier I have had good service from.

 

[ctopher]

behindpropellers,
Sorry, I had forgotten about that company.
When I read your post I thought you meant something else.
Thanks.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 1.1
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)
ctopher's blog

 

[behindpropellers]

Chris

I thought about that after I posted, and of course you cannot edit the posts on here after you have submitted them.

Thanks for all of the links, I quoted a sample part at the places above and came out with a cost comparison of $20-$23 an hour for our machine to run.


Thanks again.

Tim

 

[Theophilus]

Keep in mind companies like Redeye charge a minimum amount per order as well ($250 for Redeye, for example). So if you get a quote you'll want to surpass that threshold or your numbers won't work. Also--you'll want to consider having a minimum as well if you do this service for others.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

What did you dream? It's all right--we told you what to dream.
--Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine

 

[behindpropellers]

Jeff-

I did not know that. The parts I sent to quote were large, so they came out at $400.00+.

Were really not trying to start a business with the machine, just figure out a number for tax purposes and occasionally some of the machine shops I work with will have me run a part.

Tim