# How to Quote 3D Printed Metal Parts When You Run an Additive Service Bureau > Source: https://netray.co/resources/how-to-quote-3d-printed-metal-parts-service-bureau > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Knowledge Base ## Short answer How additive service bureaus quote 3D printed metal parts: build time, nesting, supports, powder, post-processing and inspection, so each quote protects margin. ## Category ai-automation ## Content **Intro:** To quote a 3D printed metal part, price the share of the build plate it consumes, not the part volume alone: machine time (layer count times recoat and scan time), powder and gas, support removal, heat treatment, plate cut-off, finishing, inspection and a scrap allowance. Most bureaus lose margin because the instant-quote tools price volume and ignore post-processing, which often makes up half the cost. This guide walks through the cost buildup an estimator should run on every laser powder bed fusion RFQ and where the numbers usually go wrong. **Sections:** #### Start With Build Time, Not Part Volume **Body:** On a laser powder bed fusion machine, build time is driven mostly by the number of layers, which is the part height in the build orientation divided by layer thickness (commonly 30 to 60 microns), plus the scan time for the cross-section of every layer. A tall thin part can cost more than a squat part with twice the volume. Orientation therefore changes price: it alters height, support volume, surface finish on critical faces and distortion risk. Estimators should price from the sliced build file or a slicer-derived estimate, then allocate the plate time across all parts nested on it. A quote that uses cubic centimeters times a flat rate hides the orientation decision that actually sets the cost. **Bullets:** - Layer count from build height and layer thickness for the alloy and parameter set - Scan time from the sliced cross-section area per layer - Recoat time per layer, which is fixed and punishes tall builds - Allocation rule for shared plate time across nested parts #### Material, Powder Reuse and Inert Gas **Body:** Powder cost is not the part weight times the powder price. You consume the part, the supports, and a share of powder lost to sieving, spatter and contamination, while the rest returns to the reuse pool and ages. Alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V, Inconel 718, 316L and AlSi10Mg all carry different reuse limits and oxygen pickup behavior, and a customer spec such as ASTM F2924 for Ti-6Al-4V or ASTM F3055 for Inconel 718 may restrict how much reused powder is allowed. Argon or nitrogen consumption scales with build hours, not weight. Track a blended cost per kilogram of consumed powder and an inert gas cost per build hour, and update both when feedstock prices move. #### Post-Processing Is Where Quotes Break **Body:** After the build comes stress relief while still on the plate, wire EDM or band saw removal from the plate, support removal, optional hot isostatic pressing, solution and age treatment, machining of datum and sealing surfaces, blasting or polishing, and cleaning. Each step has a labor time, a queue, and often an outside processor for HIP or heat treat with a minimum lot charge. Estimators who quote only the print cost then discover that a part with internal channels needs hours of manual support removal. Keep a routing template per part family and let the estimator add or remove operations, so the quote mirrors the real traveler. **Bullets:** - Stress relief and plate removal, with EDM wire time per cut length - Support removal labor, scaled by support contact area - Outside HIP or heat treat with minimum lot charges - Finish machining and fixturing for critical features #### Inspection, Certification and Scrap Allowance **Body:** Aerospace and medical customers often require CT scanning, CMM inspection, tensile and density witness coupons built alongside the parts, and a certificate of conformance with powder lot and machine records. Coupons occupy plate space that could have held revenue parts, and testing is usually outsourced per coupon. Build failures also happen: recoater crashes, porosity and distortion are real events, so the quote needs a scrap allowance by alloy and geometry class, informed by your actual failure history rather than a guess. Quote first-article builds at a higher scrap rate than repeat production, and say so in the quote terms. #### When a Simple Quote Tool Is Enough **Body:** If your work is mostly prototypes in one or two alloys, with few post-processing steps, a spreadsheet or the quoting feature in your slicer or a hosted instant-quote tool can be sufficient, and building a custom workflow would not pay back. The case for deeper tooling appears when you run several machine types, quote more than a few dozen RFQs a month, or discover that quoted versus actual margin varies widely by part family. At that point, drawing quoted assumptions against actual build and routing hours from your ERP is what tightens the next quote. **Cta:** Bring three recent additive quotes and their actual build and finishing hours, and Netray can show how a grounded draft quote, built from your own history, compares with what you sent. **Faq:** #### How do you price a part on a shared build plate? **Answer:** Allocate the plate's machine time, powder and gas across parts using a rule you apply consistently, typically by each part's share of scan time plus its share of recoat layers, or by projected footprint if tall parts dominate. Add support, post-processing and inspection per part. Whatever rule you choose, compare allocated to actual plate cost after each build so the rule gets corrected. #### Why do instant-quote tools underprice complex metal parts? **Answer:** They usually key on bounding box or volume and a standard finish. They do not see internal channels that make support removal slow, tight tolerances needing machining, HIP or certification requirements, or inspection by CT. The estimator has to add those operations manually, which is why an experienced human review still matters on metal work. #### What scrap rate should I assume when quoting metal AM? **Answer:** There is no universal number. Use your own build history by alloy and geometry class, and separate first-article from repeat builds. A new geometry on Inconel or titanium deserves a visibly larger allowance than a mature 316L bracket. Review the allowance every quarter against actual failed or reworked builds. ## Related Slugs - manufacturing-costing-methods-comparison - job-shop-erp-comparison-jobboss-e2-proshop-global-shop - ai-quoting-aerospace-defense-manufacturers - machine-learning-quality-defect-detection ## Search terms how to quote 3D printed parts, metal 3D printing quote cost, additive manufacturing quoting, DMLS part cost estimate, LPBF build cost, 3D printing service bureau pricing, AM post-processing cost --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json