Not long ago metal 3D printing was the stuff of aerospace manufacturers and medical equipment makers, but today, it’s everywhere.
Machinists 3D print metal spare parts to keep factories moving, bicycle makers 3D print aluminum and titanium frames, militaries worldwide are 3D printing essential components on the front lines, dentists 3D print bridges, and jewelers now 3D print in precious metals. There isn’t an industry that hasn’t been touched by metal 3D printing because it’s more varied and more accessible than ever before.
Although there’s plenty to be said about metal 3D printing technology, the best metal 3D printers, on-demand services, and materials, here, we talk price. So let’s get started.
From About $1,500 to $1 Million
Yes, it’s a wide range of prices because there are about 10 very different ways to 3D print metal parts. These technology categories are loosely based on whether you’re printing with metal filament, metal powder, or metal wire. There are even metal-infused resins, metal rods, and metal pellets as material options, all producing parts with different attributes and targeting various industries and uses.
Selecting which metal technology to use is a balance of needs. Consider the importance of detail and shape, size, strength, type of metal, cost, printing speed, and volume. All of the current metal 3D printing technologies have pros and cons when it comes to these considerations and, unfortunately, no method 3D prints super-strong parts quickly, cheaply, and perfectly, so pick your priorities.
For a deeper dive into metal 3D printing technologies, check out our guide: 10 Ways to 3D Print Metal.
The Cheapest Way to 3D Print Metal
The entry-level of metal 3D printing technology is FDM, or fused deposition modeling with filament. This is using a plastic filament infused with more than 85% metal powder. In the past three years, its popularity has exploded.
Metal filament for use on desktop 3D printers has expanded access to 3D printing metal for a wide audience that had been priced out of the technology in the past. Today, although it’s still relatively new, printing with metal filament is used for everything from small replacement parts to prototypes. Yes, these are real metal parts applicable for many end-use applications. Once you print with metal filament, you then have to send it to a post-processing facility that removes the plastic from the part then heats it in an oven to solidify the fully metal part.
A key benefit of metal filament is how easy it is to print with on a regular 3D printer. Just note that by “regular,” we mean any FDM printer with a heated bed and a hardened steel nozzle that can reach the required temperatures of at least 180ºC to 220ºC. In theory, this means that you don’t need an expensive machine; you can print it on machines under $200, like an Ender 3 or Anet A8, but there are caveats. To err on the safe side, consider the printers “approved” for metal filament, in other words, the brands that have experimented with metal filament on their machines and provide specific guidance.
For example, recently, several 3D printer makers, including UltiMaker, BCN3D, and Anycubic have launched printer profiles that enable you to print with metal filament on their machines. A printer profile for metal means the printer maker has tested the material on their machine and has devised a menu of settings that enable you to produce parts successfully. Just because a printer doesn’t have a profile for metal doesn’t mean it won’t work, but it may require more guesswork and experimentation, and metal filament isn’t cheap ($150+ per roll).
If you’re already convinced that metal 3D printing will be too costly, remember you can always turn to a 3D printing service bureau, like Craftcloud, to print the parts for you. This is the most economical way and a good test to ensure that whichever technology you choose will meet your expectations.
The most often cited metal filament is two varieties of stainless steel (316L and 17-4 PH) from BASF Forward AM called Ultrafuse Metal filament. The Ultrafuse Metal filament is about $475 for one 3-kilogram spool or about $180 for a 1-kilogram spool. Still, it’s significantly less than buying a dedicated metal printer.
3D printing with metal filament does not produce usable metal parts right from the printer. These parts must go through a debonding step and a sintering step in a furnace which is collectively called post-processing. When you buy your meal filament you’ll usually get a “processing ticket,” which covers the debinding and sintering of 1 kilogram or less of printed parts at a local service provider. You send your printed parts off and the finished metal parts are sent back. We guide you through all the details in our Metal Filament Guide to Real Metal Parts.
More Equipment Than Just a Printer
There are no metal 3D printers that spit out ready-to-use metal parts. At the very least, there’s some cleaning required.
Although we won’t dive into the details of the 10 metal 3D printing technologies here, know that almost all require that you purchase extra equipment. You may need to remove leftover polymer or loose powder from your metal print, sinter your 3D printed part in a furnace ($15,000–$50,000), fill in any pours with additional material, polish it, or more post-processing options.
Many metal 3D printer manufacturers also make these accessory pieces of equipment, and some are even integrated. Be sure to consider the full package of hardware that will add to the bottom line of your purchase.
For more about purchasing a professional 3D printer, read our guide, Business 3D Printers: How to Make a Purchasing Decision.
More Metal 3D Printing Costs to Consider
The price of the machine itself and accessory hardware often represents only a fraction of the overall cost of metal 3D printing. In some cases, the printer’s price may account for less than half of all related expenses. Additional costs include training, software licenses, maintenance, metal materials, and other consumables, such as the tanks of argon or nitrogen gas used in some metal printing chambers.
What Does Metal Material Cost?
We already mentioned that metal filament can cost about $250 to $475 per kilogram for stainless steel, $121 per kilogram for copper, and $832 per kilogram for titanium, which can quickly add up to more than the cost of your 3D printer.
Metal powder and wire used in laser powder bed fusion and other metal 3D printing technologies is a much broader category.
One distinguishing feature to look for is whether your metal 3D printer can use standard metal materials popular for metal injection molding or welding. These metal powders and wires are widely available. Many manufacturers that operate both traditional and additive manufacturing find it cost-efficient to use the same metal material for both applications.
Metal powder can range from $90 to $120 per kilo for stainless steel and around $500 for titanium.
Some applications, however, require finer or more specialized metal powder made specifically for 3D printing. Many aerospace applications require specialized powder and many metal 3D printers only work with these specialized materials.
Metal 3D Printer Discounts, Deals & Packages
When you’re buying an “off the shelf” 3D printer anywhere between $1K and $50K, you’ll usually find a consistent and public sticker price. However, when you get above $50K, and especially when you approach $150K, there can be many factors that affect the final price you’ll actually pay, such as customizations, options, your location vs. where the machine is manufactured (import duties, taxes), how many you’re buying, discounting for education, research, or case study partnerships, long-term agreements, marketing agreements, instillation and training, optional warranties, and more.
The price of one machine with every possible add-on and customization shipping to a high-cost location can be three times the price per unit of a 10-machine order to a major city.
That said, manufacturers should provide you with a ballpark figure for your capital expenditure request upon first contact. OEMs don’t want to spend time and resources serving a potential customer when their machine is clearly out of reach, so early transparency on prices is a win-win. All3DP has created information request boxes throughout our professional section. Fill out these short forms and your pricing request goes directly to the manufacturer.
Metal 3D Printing Services
The bottom line is that metal 3D printing isn’t cheap. This is likely the reason for the boom in metal 3D printing service contractors. It’s not unusual today for a metal part manufacturers, such as machine shops or metal casting operations, to also offer customers metal 3D printing. Traditional metal manufacturing is complemented by metal 3D printing for faster and lower volume parts.
There are dozens of companies worldwide specializing in metal 3D printing. We list the top 10 in our Guide to Metal 3D Printing Services.
Leading the way are several growing on-demand metal 3D printing services, such as Materialise, which opened a new $9.2-million, 3,500-square-meter metal 3D printing facility last year in Germany, or Morf3D, which also opened a new advanced manufacturing center and HQ in Texas. Some metal 3D printing services specialize in one industry, such as Sintavia for aerospace, Cooksongold for precious metal jewelry, or Tangible Solutions for medical implants and surgical tools.
Craftcloud by All3DP isn’t strictly a 3D printing service, it’s a marketplace of 3D printing services that enables you to compare prices and services from different service providers and find the right custom manufacturer at the right price.
With partners around the world, Craftcloud presents you with the best services in terms of price and lead time, with no additional fees. Quotes are generated in real-time based on your uploaded models and location. Using the platform is as simple as any other 3D printing service, but with many more options available. You can choose from common metals like aluminum, titanium, and steel or precious metals like sterling silver and gold. Depending on your selected material, you can also request a particular finish.
Lead image source: 3D Systems via YouTube
License: The text of "How Much Does a Metal 3D Printer Cost?" by All3DP Pro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.