Pricing · Lead Times · UK

3D Printing Pricing & Lead Times

We price on the volume of material in your part — and we will show you the arithmetic. Your CAD gives us a volume in cm³, the grade’s density turns that into grams, and the material cost follows from there. Three lead time tiers priced openly, every finishing option published as a percentage, and instant online pricing on up to 100,000 parts.

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3D printing cost UK · how 3D printing is priced · express 3D printing lead times · instant 3D printing quote · 024 7736 0144

cm³

The unit everything starts from

Lead time tiers, priced openly

Free

Shot blasting & black dyeing

100,000

Parts priced instantly

How the number is worked out

Your part is priced by how much material is in it

Most bureaux treat pricing as a black box. It is not complicated, and knowing the model tells you exactly where to push if the number comes back higher than you wanted.

Volume in cm³ × material density = weight in grams

Weight in grams × cost per gram of that grade = the material cost of your part

That material figure is the foundation of the price. Machine and build time, the share of the bed your part occupies, the lead time tier you choose, and any finishing beyond the standard then sit on top of it — but the volume of material is what moves the number most, and it is the part you control.

One thing we ask for first: your email address

The quote tool asks you to enter an email address before it prices your file, and we would rather explain that than have you hit it unannounced. It is not a lead-capture gate dressed up as a feature — you are uploading proprietary CAD, and we need every file that enters our systems to be attributable to someone. That is what our Cyber Essentials certification and our ISO 9001 traceability require, and it is how we can tell you months later exactly which file a batch of parts came from. Your files stay inside our own systems and nothing is brokered out. If you would rather have an NDA in place before you upload anything, say so first and we will arrange it.

We take the volume from your CAD

Not the bounding box — the actual solid volume of the model, in cubic centimetres. This is why a hollowed part and a solid one of identical outside dimensions price very differently, and why complexity itself costs nothing: an intricate lattice with less material in it is cheaper than the plain block it replaced.

Density converts volume into grams

Every grade has a published density, so the conversion is fixed and checkable. MJF PA 12 is 1.01 g/cm³, so an 80 cm³ part is about 81 g of material. A denser grade at the same geometry weighs more and therefore costs more — our SLA flame-retardant resin is 1.25 g/cm³, which is roughly a quarter more material for the identical part.

Cost per gram depends on the grade

An unfilled nylon and a carbon-filled composite are not the same price per gram, and a specialty resin is different again. This is why specifying a high-performance grade for a part that never sees load costs money for nothing — tell us what it actually has to survive and we will recommend the cheapest grade that does it.

Machine time and build space sit on top

On the powder processes you are effectively buying a share of the build. A tall part blocks that Z height for everything else even if it is slim, so parts that nest efficiently price better than parts that waste the space around them.

Quantity spreads the build across more parts

Unit cost falls as the bed fills, which is why additive gets genuinely competitive at volume rather than only at prototype quantities. A full bed is a cheap bed — and it is why ordering 500 in one go beats ordering 100 five times.

Then the lead time tier and any extra finishing

Express adds 50%, economy takes 10% off. Shot blasting and black dyeing are included at no cost; vibro polishing, vapour smoothing, inserts and A-class paint are each a defined percentage. All set out in full below.

Lead time tiers

Speed is a price you choose, not a queue you join

Three tiers, and we publish exactly what each does to the number. If the date is not critical, economy is a straightforward 10% off the same part in the same grade.

Express

1–3 days

SLS, FDM and SLA only

+50% on the price

For a deadline that genuinely will not move. Your parts get priority on the build schedule, which means we cannot wait to nest them efficiently alongside other work — that is what you are paying the premium for.

Standard

5–7 days

All four processes

Normal pricing

The default, and the right answer for most jobs. Enough time for us to plan the build properly, and the tier every price you see quoted is based on unless you choose otherwise.

Economy

10–15 days

All four processes

−10% on the price

Give us the flexibility to fit your parts into builds where the space would otherwise go to waste, and we will pass the saving back. Ideal for stock replenishment, non-urgent spares and anything where the date is soft.

Express is not available on MJF. That process runs standard or economy only. If a deadline is tight and MJF was the plan, talk to us — SLS PA12 covers a great deal of the same ground and does run express. Lead times are working days from order confirmation, and finishing, machining and assembly are additional to the print time.

Finishing costs

Every finish, priced as a percentage

Two of them cost nothing at all. The rest scale with the job rather than landing as a flat fee on a small order. Everything below is done in-house on our own finishing floor.

Finish	Cost	What it does
Shot blasting	Included	Cleans and evens the surface after depowdering. Standard on powder-bed parts at no additional cost.
Black dyeing	Included	A uniform black finish on SLS and MJF nylon, reaching internal geometry and adding no measurable wall thickness. No cost.
Threaded inserts	+5%	For up to 10 inserts per part. Above that, we will quote it. Gives durable metal threads rather than tapping into polymer.
Vibro polishing	From +10%	Tumbled finish for a smoother, more consistent surface across a batch. Longer cycles for a finer result are priced accordingly.
Vapour smoothing	+25%	Reflows the surface to a sealed, semi-gloss finish. Changes surface geometry slightly, so flag critical dimensions.
A-class painting	+25–50%	Show-surface paint to automotive standard. Where it lands in that range depends on the size of the part and the finish you specify.
Assembly, bonding & machining	Quoted	Bonded sections beyond the build envelope, machined critical features, and full assembly.

All percentages are of the part cost, which has two useful consequences. Because shot blasting and dyeing are included, a black SLS or MJF part with a clean, even surface costs exactly the same as an unfinished one — which is why we treat dyed black as the sensible default rather than an upsell. And because the rest are proportional, hollowing a part to reduce its material cost reduces its finishing cost with it.

Worked through

The same bracket, three ways

One geometry, showing how the material figure moves. These are material weights, not prices — for the actual number, run it through the instant quote.

A bracket at 80 cm³ solid, printed in MJF PA 12 (1.01 g/cm³)

Solid, as designed — 80 cm³≈ 81 g of material

Shelled to an even wall, roughly half the volume — 40 cm³≈ 40 g of material

Same part, same strength where it matters, ribbed to compensatehalf the material

The same 80 cm³ geometry, different grades

MJF PA 12 — 1.01 g/cm³≈ 81 g

MJF PA 11 Gen2 — 1.04 g/cm³≈ 83 g

SLA ESD — 1.116 g/cm³≈ 89 g

SLA Flame-Retardant — 1.25 g/cm³≈ 100 g

Densities are published on every material datasheet with the test method cited, so you can run this arithmetic yourself before you even send us the file. Cost per gram differs by grade on top of the weight difference shown here.

Bringing the number down

Six ways to make the same part cheaper

All of these are things we would raise at design review anyway. Doing them before you quote just gets you there faster.

Hollow it

The single biggest lever, because you are paying for cm³ — and because every finish is charged as a percentage of part cost, a lighter part is cheaper to finish too. Shell to an even wall, add ribs, and remember the drain holes.

Take the economy lead time

10% off for giving us 10–15 days instead of 5–7. If the date is soft — stock replenishment, spares, anything not blocking a build — this is free money.

Order the batch in one go

A batch that packs into a single build costs less per part than the same total split across separate builds. If you know the annual volume, tell us — it changes how we plan the job.

Match the grade to the job

Both the density and the cost per gram change with the grade. Tell us what the part actually has to survive and we will recommend the cheapest grade that does it, rather than the strongest one available.

Only paint what gets seen

A-class paint at +25–50% is the most expensive thing you can do to a part, and it is money wasted on an internal bracket. Shot blasting and dyeing cost nothing — if a clean uniform black part does the job, you are already done.

Send a STEP file

It costs nothing and avoids the rework loop entirely — we can adjust geometry cleanly, add drain holes or machining stock, and mesh at the right resolution. See file preparation.

By process

Lead times and build envelopes

Which tiers each process supports, and the largest single piece it will produce.

Process	Express +50%	Standard	Economy −10%	Build envelope
SLS	1–3 days	5–7 days	10–15 days	165 × 165 × 300 mm · 490 × 490 × 740 mm for PA12-CF
FDM	1–3 days	5–7 days	10–15 days	500 × 500 × 900 mm · 340 × 320 × 340 mm for PPA-CF
SLA	1–3 days	5–7 days	10–15 days	353 × 196 × 350 mm
MJF	—	5–7 days	10–15 days	380 × 284 × 380 mm

Parts larger than the envelopes above are printed in sections, bonded and finished in-house, which adds time — send the overall dimensions with the enquiry and we will confirm against your date before you order.

Ordering at volume

Production quantities and repeat orders

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Priced instantly to 100,000 parts

Volume pricing is available through the quote tool rather than behind a sales conversation, so you can model the economics of a programme before you commit to it.

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Economy stacks with volume

If you are ordering a large batch and the date is not critical, the 10% economy discount applies on top of the volume pricing — worth planning for on scheduled replenishment.

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Trade accounts

If you order regularly we will set up an account with a dedicated account manager and part history held on it, so repeat batches do not need re-quoting or re-specifying from scratch.

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Consistency across builds

Under our ISO 9001 system, with PPAP 1–4 approval available for programmes that need documented process control rather than a certificate of conformity.

Honest limits

When we will tell you not to print it

We would rather lose a job than take money for the wrong process.

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Very high volumes of simple parts

Additive gets cheaper as the bed fills, but injection moulding still wins on unit cost for simple geometry at true production volume. If the tooling pays back over your programme, we will say so.

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Parts that are mostly solid block

You are paying for cm³. A large solid part with no opportunity to hollow it is often better machined from stock, and we will tell you rather than quote it.

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Tolerances the process cannot hold

Our standard is ±0.3 mm to 100 mm. If the drawing needs hundredths across the whole part, that is near-net plus machining, or it belongs on a mill. See tolerances & accuracy.

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Deadlines even express cannot meet

Express is 1–3 days on three of the four processes and does not exist on MJF. If your date is not achievable we will say so at enquiry rather than take the order, take the premium, and miss it.

FAQ

Pricing & lead time FAQ

How is 3D printing priced?

On the volume of material in your part. We take the solid volume from your CAD in cubic centimetres, multiply by the published density of the grade to get the weight in grams, and the material cost follows from the cost per gram of that grade. Machine and build time, the share of the bed your part occupies, the lead time tier you choose and any finishing beyond the standard then sit on top. The material volume is what moves the number most, and it is the part you control.

What are your lead times and what do they cost?

Three tiers. Express is 1 to 3 days at 50% above the standard price, available on SLS, FDM and SLA. Standard is 5 to 7 days at normal pricing, on all four processes. Economy is 10 to 15 days at 10% below standard pricing, also on all four. Express is not available on MJF. Lead times are working days from order confirmation, and finishing, machining and assembly are additional to the print time.

How much does finishing cost?

Shot blasting and black dyeing are included at no extra cost, so a clean, uniform black nylon part costs the same as an unfinished one. Beyond that, everything is a percentage of the part cost: threaded inserts 5% for up to 10 per part, vibro polishing from 10%, vapour smoothing 25%, and A-class painting 25 to 50% depending on the size of the part and the finish specified. Bonding, machining and assembly are quoted per job.

Why is A-class painting the most expensive finish?

Because it is the most work. Show-surface paint to automotive standard means preparation, primer, colour, lacquer and inspection, with rectification if any stage is not right. It lands between 25 and 50% of the part cost depending on how large the part is and what finish you specify. If the surface is not seen in service, one of the cheaper finishes almost always does the job.

Why does express cost 50% more?

Because it costs us capacity. On the powder processes in particular, the economics depend on filling a build efficiently, and a job that has to go on the next available machine cannot wait to be nested alongside other work. You are paying for that priority, and we would rather price it openly than pretend speed is free. If the date is not critical, standard or economy will always be better value.

How do I get the economy discount?

Choose the 10 to 15 day tier at quote. It gives us the flexibility to fit your parts into builds where the space would otherwise go to waste, and we pass 10% of that saving back. It suits stock replenishment, non-urgent spares and anything where the date is soft, and it applies on top of volume pricing on larger batches.

Do I have to give my email address to get a price?

Yes, and we would rather tell you that here than have you find out after uploading. The reason is traceability, not marketing: you are sending us proprietary CAD, and every file that enters our systems has to be attributable to someone. That is what our Cyber Essentials certification and our ISO 9001 traceability require, and it is why we can tell you months later exactly which file a batch of parts came from. Your files stay inside our own systems and nothing is brokered out to a third party. If you would prefer an NDA in place before uploading anything, contact us first and we will arrange it.

Why does the material grade change the price for the same part?

Two reasons, and they compound. Denser grades put more grams into the identical geometry - MJF PA 12 is 1.01 g/cm3 while our SLA flame-retardant resin is 1.25 g/cm3, so the same 80 cm3 part is about 81 g in one and 100 g in the other. On top of that, the cost per gram differs by grade, because an unfilled nylon is not priced like a carbon-filled composite or a specialty resin.

Why does complexity not increase the price?

Because the machine builds layer by layer regardless of how intricate the geometry is, and we price on material volume rather than on features. A simple block and a complex lattice of the same volume cost broadly the same. This is the fundamental difference from machining, where every extra feature is another operation. It means weight-saving geometry, internal channels and consolidated assemblies are effectively free - and it means hollowing a part is the most effective way to reduce its cost.

How can I work out roughly what my part will weigh?

Take the solid volume of your model in cubic centimetres from your CAD package, and multiply it by the density of the grade. Every density is published on our material datasheets with the test method cited, so you can do the arithmetic before you send us anything. For the actual price, run the file through the instant quote tool - it accounts for build space, quantity, lead time tier and finishing as well as the material.

Do you offer volume discounts?

Unit cost falls as quantity rises, and that pricing is available instantly through the quote tool on quantities up to 100,000 parts rather than being held behind a sales conversation. On the powder processes it is driven by how efficiently the batch packs into a build - a full bed is a cheap bed - so ordering a batch in one go generally beats splitting it across separate orders. The 10% economy discount applies on top if the date is flexible.

Ready when you are

Send the CAD. Get a price, not a sales call.

Instant online pricing on up to 100,000 parts across SLS, MJF, FDM and SLA, with a free design review on every quote. You will be asked for an email address so the file is traceable to you — that is the only thing standing between you and the number.

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Printed, finished and inspected at our own ISO 9001 facility in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. Mon–Thurs 8am–4pm, Fri 8am–2pm. Call 024 7736 0144 or email hello@ryse3d.com.