About NozzleMath
NozzleMath helps makers, online sellers and print-farm operators estimate what an FDM or resin print costs to produce and what a sustainable selling price might be. The calculators expose each cost input so you can replace defaults with measurements from your own printer and workflow.
What the calculators cover
The 3D printing cost calculator combines material, electricity, machine depreciation and hands-on labor. It adjusts the material, electricity and machine portion for failed-print yield, then keeps markup separate from margin. The price calculator adds design-fee amortization, shipping, marketplace fees and a target margin. Smaller tools isolate filament, resin and electricity costs when you need one part of the model.
Methods and sources
The overall cost structure follows the machine, material, energy and labor categories documented in NIST Special Publication 1176. Electricity is power multiplied by time, converted to kilowatt-hours and multiplied by your rate, using the U.S. Energy Information Administration definition. Each calculator lists its exact references beside the formula it uses.
Inputs are normalized before calculation: grams become kilograms where the material price requires it, watts and hours become kilowatt-hours, and percentages become decimal rates. Yield-adjusted cost divides the cost of an attempt by the successful-print rate. Target-margin pricing divides unit cost by the share of the sale left after the marketplace fee and desired margin.
How the math is checked
Automated tests exercise each cost component separately, verify combined reference cases, distinguish markup from margin, and check fee, failure-rate and unit-conversion boundaries. Separate parser tests cover the supported G-code and STL inputs. Those tests catch code regressions and arithmetic drift; they do not measure your printer's real power draw, lifetime, failure rate or labor time.
Limits of an estimate
A result is only as accurate as the values entered. Slicer estimates, actual material use, standby power, maintenance, consumables, scrap and post-processing vary by machine and job. Marketplace fee schedules can change, and a suggested price does not predict demand or guarantee profit. Use a plug-in energy meter and your own job records when the decision matters; these figures are planning estimates, not quotes or financial advice.
Report a calculation problem
Email [email protected] with the calculator URL, every input you used, the result shown and the result you expected. If you checked another public formula or standard, include its link so the discrepancy can be reproduced.