Comment by dragonwriter
2 months ago
> A Bambu A1 mini (which is sufficient for the level of detail needed for these figurines) is about $200, which breaks even after 10 sets.
$200 for a printer does not break even at 10 sets if the sets are $20 unless the cost per unit printed is $0.
Also resin printer would be better comparison, far better for printing small detail models
Well you can get a roll of PLA for 10€, which is 1kg. I'm not sure how big these sets are but the material cost per unit is basically zero for things this small.
Where? I see them for 30-40.
Valid question if you haven’t been in 3D printing. Also depends heavily on the country.
In the US, it’s common to get quality generic PLA for $15 per kg. Buy several spools at once in a package deal and the price can fall to $11-12 per kg. Wait for a sale and buy a 10-pack and I’ve been getting PLA under $10 per kg. It’s very cheap.
For toys I’d prefer to spend a little more on PLA Pro or Plus, which means it has modifiers added for better impact resistance. This helps a lot with small toys I print for the kids.
I can easily find 4kg for $40-45 online, or if I am patient I can grab 1kg for $10-12 on sale.
You may be looking at more advanced materials like carbon fiber or fiberglass reinforced filament for printing larger parts that take a load/stress.
All I had to do was search "PLA filament" on Amazon and results started at $11USD
2kg packs on Amazon that go for around $20, eSun and similar.
And time of the operator is $0 per hour as well
Which it is. Unless you would actually be getting paid for that time (which you wouldn't in most cases), the opportunity cost is $0.
Well said. I’m often nonplussed at these calculations of some fairly high hourly rate that we seemingly all should be able to command at will at anytime in unlimited supply. Well, I can’t.
You get paid in happiness of having and doing a hobby that brings peace and joy :))
If you would otherwise be doing anything with positive expected utility in that time, the opportunity cost is >$0.
The fact that the analysis can be carried out in monetary units (because we don't have a good direct measure of utility) doesn't mean that receiving money itself is the only source of utility that needs to be considered.
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Most of the time my time spend operating my A1 Mini is... maybe 2-3 minutes per plate? Drag and drop into Bambu Studio, run the slicer, send the job to the printer, come back in 4 hours and grab my prints. I might need to break off the supports and clean them up - but with an injection molded kit I'd be snipping the sprues, cleaning up mold lines with a knife and gluing the models together anyway.
The commericial overhead rate for an SLA printer is about $5 a plate - the washing and curing steps can be largely automated, or even if they are done manually, it's not that much work.
People who 3D print as a hobby often derive enjoyment from time spent on the printing process. It’s another layer of hobby on top of the hobbies you’re printing
Yeah a lot of my friends legitimately enjoy the art of making or modifying models in Blender, and the science of testing different print profiles, materials and processes.
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