Print farm and business basics
Balance machine capacity, failures, hands-on labour and margin before accepting a batch order.
From observation to a working decision
A print farm is a repeatable production workflow, even if it starts with two machines. Available hours, yield, handling time and quality checks matter as much as nominal print speed. Use assumptions you can replace with records.
Try the experiment
Plan identical 4-hour jobs within one daily window. Each failed attempt consumes the full machine time and material. Expected good parts are a long-run average, not a promise for tomorrow.
Your task
Reach at least 8 expected good parts per day while reserving a 30% margin. Adjust capacity and yield before promising a delivery date.
Complete attempts/day
6
Expected good parts/day
5.1
Material per attempt
1.600 JOD
Machine per attempt
1.400 JOD
Production per good part
3.529 JOD
Labour per sale
1.000 JOD
Cost per good part
5.029 JOD
Price for target margin
6.287 JOD
Keep experimenting: the target is not met yet.
Illustrative inputs in JOD, not current market prices. Jobs are 4 hours each. This model does not schedule overnight carryover or extra labour on failures.
Capacity is a schedule
A printer available for 10 hours fits two complete 4-hour jobs in this model, not two and a half deliverable parts. Multiply complete attempts by the number of machines, then apply yield. Real schedules also need changeovers, cooling, unloading and downtime.
Cost the work you actually do
Use total sliced grams including supports and purge, plus machine hours, hands-on preparation/finishing and packaging. Here machine rate is an assumed combined electricity, wear and upkeep rate. Failed full attempts increase production cost per good part. Handling labour is charged once per sale in this simplified model.
Margin and quality
A 30% margin means profit is 30% of selling price: price = cost ÷ 0.70. Adding 30% to cost is a markup and produces a different margin. Before taking a batch, approve a sample, record material/profile revisions, define an acceptance check and allow reprint capacity.
Recognize it in the workshop
Terms to keep
- Yield
- The fraction of attempts accepted as good parts.
- Margin
- Profit divided by selling price.
- Utilization
- How much available machine time is actually scheduled.
Use it on your next print
Time a real job from preparation to packing, then compare the slicer estimate with measured machine hours and rejected parts. Replace the exercise inputs before making a quote. Fees, tax, shipping, demand and financing are outside this teaching model.
Check yourself
Pick an answer for each question.
1. Cost is 7 and target margin is 30%. Price is…
2. One printer, 10 hours and 4-hour jobs fit…
3. Why keep a sample and profile revision?
Sources (2)
- Print pricing: material, labour, machine and upkeep · Prusa Research
- John Abella — CC BY 2.0 (reference photograph) · Wikimedia Commons
Figures such as temperatures and drying times are typical ranges. Always check the label on your own spool and your printer manufacturer's guidance.