Small, quick prints
When a part prints fast, printer setup becomes a large share of its cost. Batching spreads that setup across many units.
Three layers, from what you charge down to the printer.
1. What you charge
2. What production costs
3. What manufacturing costs
The production price is guaranteed to be the same across all regions, no matter which production center makes the product.
Shipping is calculated and treated separately from the production price.
See shipping ratesTwo levers make the biggest difference: the design itself, and how it is produced.
Print time and material usage are both part of the pricing formula, so reducing either is usually the easiest and most effective way to lower production costs.
Savings can come from better model geometry or better print settings. Even small optimizations add up when you produce at scale.
Start with your biggest parts
The gains are largest on parts that take 8+ hours to print or use 300g+ of filament.
Common examples
Stocks let you order and pay for a batch of parts in advance. This is always cheaper per product than on demand, because human time and often the printers themselves are used more efficiently. The biggest savings usually come from:
When a part prints fast, printer setup becomes a large share of its cost. Batching spreads that setup across many units.
Printing AMS parts one at a time wastes a lot of filament and takes longer. Batches cut both.
Assembly, post-processing, packaging, or many separate components. Doing these in a batch uses human time far more efficiently.
On 3DAPI, the production price of a product is its estimated manufacturing price plus the 3DAPI commission. The manufacturing price is based on print time, material weight, post-processing time, and a per-plate setup price. You set the sales price, and everything above the production price is your profit. Shipping is calculated separately.
The commission is a percentage of the product sales price and depends on your plan: 10% on Free, 8% on Growth, and 5% on Scale.
No. The production price of a product is guaranteed to be the same across all regions, wherever it is printed. Only shipping varies by destination.
Reduce print time and material use by optimizing the model and print settings, and use Stocks to produce in batches. Batching is always cheaper per product than printing on demand, and has reduced some products to 50%, 30%, or even less of their on-demand cost.
No. Shipping is calculated and charged separately from the production price.