SLA / DLP / LCD resin pricing explained
How a SLA / DLP / LCD resin price is assembled, setting by setting, with a worked example priced by the engine itself.
These are the settings that decide how the work is priced, as opposed to the machine that does it or the material it is made from. They are stored with the configuration.
Every one of them shows up in the breakdown when it affects a price, so if a number surprises you, the answer is on the screen.
A worked example
These numbers were computed by the pricing engine against the shipped Resin studio configuration - the one you get if you start from the template. They are regenerated whenever the engine changes, so they cannot drift away from what your own console would show for the same part.
| Line | One part | Ten parts |
|---|---|---|
| Material | €3.49 | €35.16 |
| Production | €6.51 | €43.47 |
| Discounts | - | −€1.13 |
| Total, incl. shipping and VAT | €37.96 | €102.82 |
| Machine time per part | 0 min | 0 min |
Note how the price per part falls with quantity: a batch shares what is done once - a set-up, a program, a whole build on a powder process, the tool in moulding. That is where the quantity break comes from. It is not a discount you are giving away; it is your cost structure, passed on.
Every setting on this page
These are in the same order as the editor, with the same help text. Each one has an anchor, and the ? beside a field in your console links straight to it - so if you are reading this because you clicked one, the setting you were looking at is highlighted.
Quality & hollowing
Layer heightslayer_heightsbasic
The print qualities buyers can choose; the first row is the default.
Price: On LCD / DLP machines the layer count is the main time driver: 25 µm takes twice as long as 50 µm.
Typical: 0.025 / 0.05 / 0.1 mm.
Heightmmbasicyou must set this
Labellabelbasic
Offer hollowinghollowing_offeredbasic
Buyers may choose a hollow part with drain holes.
Price: Hollow parts use far less resin; you charge the file preparation.
Typical: on.
Hollow only abovehollowing_min_volume_cm3
Parts smaller than this are never hollowed, even if the buyer asks.
Price: Hollowing a tiny part saves almost no resin and still costs the file preparation, so below this it would lose you money.
Typical: 20–40 cm³.
Hollow wall thicknesseshollow_walls_mm
Wall thicknesses offered for hollow parts; the first is the default.
Price: Thinner walls save more resin.
Typical: 2 / 3 mm.
Drain holesdrain_holes
How many drain holes you put in a hollowed part.
Price: No direct price effect - but a hollow part without them traps resin, which is a part you would have to remake.
Typical: 2.
Drain-hole diameterdrain_hole_diameter_mm
The diameter of each drain hole.
Price: No direct price effect. Too small and the resin never fully drains; too large and it shows.
Typical: 3–4 mm.
Hollowing file preparationhollowing_prep_min
Preparing a hollowed file: setting the wall, placing drain holes, checking it will actually drain.
Price: Charged once per hollowed model, which is why hollowing is not free even though it saves resin.
Typical: 4–8 min.
Supports, orientation & post-processing
Strut volumesupport_strut_pctbasiccalibratable
Resin actually cured inside the support envelope.
Price: Scales support resin and its removal.
Typical: light 4 % · medium 6 % · heavy 8 %.
This is one of the numbers the calibration tool can fit from jobs you have already run, so you do not have to guess it.
Touch-point pitchsupport_pitch_mm
Spacing of support tips on supported faces.
Price: A tighter pitch means more tips to snip and sand.
Typical: 2–4 mm.
Overhang thresholdsupport_threshold_deg
Overhangs steeper than this, measured from vertical, get supported.
Price: A lower threshold supports more of the part: more resin cured in supports and more time removing them.
Typical: 45°.
Print on a raftraft
Whether parts are printed on a raft rather than straight onto the plate.
Price: A raft adds its own cured resin and its own removal time to every part, but it is what makes the first layers stick.
Typical: On.
Raft thicknessraft_thickness_mm
How thick the raft is.
Price: Cured resin you throw away, on every part on the plate.
Typical: 1.5–3 mm.
Raft outline offsetraft_offset_mm
How far the raft extends past the part's outline.
Price: A wider raft uses more resin and takes a little more room on the plate.
Typical: 2–4 mm.
Support finishing offeredsupport_finishesbasic
How much work on the nibs a buyer may choose between; the first row is the default. Leave it empty to offer no choice and always charge your baseline.
Price: The labour factor scales the removal time below; sanding adds seconds per touch point on top of it. Washing and post-curing are never optional and are not listed here.
Typical: removed 1.0 / left as printed 0.2 / nibs sanded flush 1.0 plus 3.5 s each.
Ididyou must set this
Buyer seeslabelyou must set this
What they getnote
Labourlabour_factoryou must set this
Sandingextra_s_per_touchpoint
Removal: minutes per supported partsupport_removal_base_min
Fixed effort per supported part: cutting supports off and cleaning the marks they leave.
Price: Charged once per supported part, so it is most of the cost of a small resin part.
Typical: 1–3 min.
Removal: seconds per touch pointper_touchpoint_s
Snipping and sanding one support nib.
Price: Multiplied by the touch-point count of the part.
Typical: 1–3 s.
Orientationorientation_policybasic
How the part is oriented on the plate.
Price: Cheapest picks the orientation with the lowest price, usually the shortest one. Keeping the file as sent respects a buyer who oriented it deliberately, and may cost more.
Typical: Cheapest.
Always consider a tilted orientationprefer_tilted
Cost the best 35° tilt alongside the flat candidates.
Price: Tilts trade a taller build for less peel force and fewer large support blocks.
Typical: on.
Wash handling per platewash_min_per_plate
Handling the plate through the wash: draining, transferring, timing, drying.
Price: Charged once per plate and shared by everything on it, which is why a full plate is so much cheaper per part.
Typical: 5–12 min.
Cure handling per platecure_min_per_plate
Handling the plate through post-curing.
Price: Also once per plate. The cure itself is machine time; this is the hands.
Typical: 3–6 min.
File preparation per modelfile_prep_min
Opening the file, orienting it, generating supports and checking the result.
Price: Charged once per model, whatever the quantity - a real part of the cost of a one-off.
Typical: 2–5 min.