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Calcimator

Post-Processing Cost Estimator

Estimate post-processing time and cost for support removal, finishing, heat treatment, and surface treatment.

Inputs

Results

Total post-process time (hrs)

0.58

Total cost ($)

$14.58

≈ 3 cups of coffee

Cost per part ($)

$14.58

≈ 3 cups of coffee

Manual time per part (min)35
Total manual labor (hrs)0.58
Heat treatment (hrs)0
Surface treatment (hrs)0
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Number of parts, Support removal (min/part), and Sanding/finishing (min/part).
  2. Set Heat treatment (0=No, 1=Yes), Surface treatment (0=No, 1=Yes), and Labor rate ($/hr).
  3. Review Total post-process time (hrs), Total cost ($) ($), and Cost per part ($) ($).
  4. Use Manual time per part (min) and Total manual labor (hrs) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Sanding/finishing (min/part)

Sanding/finishing (min/part)Total post-process time (hrs)Total cost ($)Cost per part ($)
120.45$11.25$11.25
420.95$23.75$23.75
781.55$38.75$38.75
1082.05$51.25$51.25

What each input means

Number of parts
Total parts to post-process in this batch.
Support removal (min/part)
Minutes to remove support structures from each part. Simple parts ~5 min, complex ~30+ min.
Sanding/finishing (min/part)
Minutes for sanding, filing, or other manual finishing per part.
Heat treatment (0=No, 1=Yes)
Whether parts need annealing or stress relief. Common for ABS, Nylon, and metal AM parts.
Surface treatment (0=No, 1=Yes)
Vapor smoothing, painting, plating, or coating. Adds ~10 min/part plus batch setup.
Labor rate ($/hr)
Hourly labor rate for post-processing work.

What each result means

Manual time per part (min)
Support removal + sanding time per part.
Total manual labor (hrs)
Total hands-on labor hours for all parts.
Heat treatment (hrs)
Total oven time including batch cycling.
Surface treatment (hrs)
Total surface finishing time including setup.
Total post-process time (hrs)
Combined time for all post-processing steps.
Total cost ($)
Total post-processing labor cost (unattended time at reduced rate).
Cost per part ($)
Average post-processing cost per part.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Number of parts = 1, Support removal (min/part) = 15, Sanding/finishing (min/part) = 20, Heat treatment (0=No, 1=Yes) = 0 = 6 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total post-process time
    Total post-process time = totalTimeMin / 60
    0.58 = 0.58
  3. Calculate Total cost
    Total cost = manualLaborCost + heatLaborCost + surfaceLaborCost
    14.58 = $14.58
  4. Calculate Cost per part
    Cost per part = totalCost / partCount
    14.58 = $14.58
  5. Calculate Manual time per part
    Manual time per part = supportRemovalMin + sandingFinishingMin
    35 = 35
  6. Calculate Total manual labor
    Total manual labor = round((totalManualMin / 60) * 100) / 100
    0.58 = 0.58

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