If you’re running a 3D printing service or a product development company where you’re quoting customers on digital fabrication services, you’re most probably pricing wrong.
Complications with Additive Manufacturing quoting
Predominantly 3D printing/Additive Manufacturing business owners undersell their services. The whys and wherefores are either a combination or one of the following:
● They don’t normally consider all of the supplementary components that go into running a business.
● They usually charge merely based on the volume of the CAD model not giving thought to numerical price fluctuations.
● Taking their slicer output of time to print and material usage too strict without substantially evaluating those variables and considering #1 above.
You could use a client-centered approach to correctly price 3D printed parts and projects that can possibly account for all aspects of the business (human/machine time, machine devaluation, software, facility cost) , the size of the job, and the unique characteristic of the parts.
Also, there is a good chance you don’t take into account: the manual time it takes to prep, slice, validate, evaluate how to plate up and pull off parts; the total costs for software execution of those tasks; how long it actually takes to print parts accounting for machine depreciation.
We decided to start a company to help 3D printing and fabrication companies better manage projects, including how to price. We began building the solution.
That solution is Layers.app
Layers.app is a software platform for 3D printing and digital fabrication companies to better collaborate with their clients throughout the entire lifecycle of the project, from start to finish.
Our software features a suite of integrated tools that ensure project workflows are completed both optimally and efficiently. The tools include a “Public Auto quoter”, an online 3D viewer, a file sharing and messaging portal, and a payment portal. All of those tools are connected and work with each other so that the process is streamlined and made incredibly easy for both the business and the client.
Our Auto quoter doesn’t just quote, the quote flows into the project workflow so that all relevant parties are set up for success. We like to tell our clients, “You’re not in the business of quoting, you’re in the business of executing projects for your customers.” That’s what our software enables you to do, and that attitude embodies the whole ethos of Layers.app.
Finally, back to our holistic methodology on how to price 3D printing projects that accounts for all aspects of the business. What you need to do is find a base understanding of your true underlying business costs and determine the price given what margin is most optimal for your business.
You can also play around with our 3d printing pricing calculator that we developed to complement our new methodology.
Or you can simply reach out and contact us for a free consultation. We can talk about pricing, we can talk about Layers.app, or both. We’ve installed Layers.app with many different 3D fabrication shops all around the world and have a tremendous amount of insight on the industry that we’re more than happy to talk about.
If you’re looking to ensure you’re pricing correctly, or how to better your 3D printing business, contact us to learn more. We’re looking forward to speaking with you.
