Weight estimate for print orders

[inestyne]

Any chance we get a volume+material weight estimator on 3dhub?

Pretty please?

[MB3D]

By looking for the plastic on Wikipedia you can find out about the density of the plastic, that you’re using. With the given volume you can calculate the weight. Just multiply the density with the volume and you got your weight (usually in gramms). Cheers, Marius Breuer

[Arnoldas]

Indeed it’d be interesting to add something like a calculator feature, but I wonder do you need this often? And what do use it for?
The best is indeed to use the method that Marius describes

[Left]

I check the weight in my slicer software. This is also more accurate. Since it also calculates the support, infill and base if needed.

[MB3D]

With a bit of basic knowledge you can calculate either one of filament length used, weight and volume, by knowing one of those (and the material density). @Arnoldas I’ll go ahead and make a small excel chart with a program to calculate the above mentioned variables. I guess that should be a decent solution until such calculator is implemented in 3dHubs.

[petervl]

Thanks for the suggestion @inestyne I have discussed this with the team and we’d like to ask for a bit more info around why you’d need this and how you’d use it.

Best,

Pete

[steven_10]

it would help when ordering filament for a specific job, as spools are usually sold by weight, prime example is colorfabb. you buy a 1kg or 750g spool.

Would also help when choosing a spool to use when printing, so if you have a load of half used spools, you can simply pop them on the scales and see if theres enough for the job!

That’s how I would use it if it were added to a hub.

[Joe_Harper]

i think it is crucial that you add a calculation that will estimate the price of parts based on the clients required infill. It has happened in over half of my customers here that they need parts requiring 50% or higher infill and your estimated cost is based on 20%… that is over double the material for infill than your estimate and that can lead to either disappointed customers or less profitable (Or money losing!) Hubs. Neither of those situations is good for this community.

[Left]

If users always can choose the infill, don’t you think the customer will choose the minimum of infill to reduce the cost of the prints.

In this case I think it would be more interesting that the customer is aware of the 20 percent infill, and if they need more, or the model requests more infill, they get a note, there will be some extra costs to in the order.

In most cases I could choose the infill for the prints ordered in my hub, 'cause the customer has no idea about this.

[Joe_Harper]

Actually, I completely disagree. As i stated above, I have had half of my customers request a more solid part at increased cost without issue. However, calculating the pricing for the extra filament takes a bit of time and it would be easier if it was built-in.

If the feature was implemented appropriately such as with an image of what the infill would look like and a description of what the best use of the infill percentage would be (Such as 20% - Great for models you need to hold touch and feel but not appropriate for working prototypes. 50% - ok for working prototypes that are under manual forces, likely not strong enough for serious torque or impact, 100% - as close to injection molded parts as a 3D printer can achieve, etc…) This would be a benefit to both hubs and customers.

To overcome the issue you cite above we should make 20% the minimum at the current base price. just offer the increased fill as a premium option.

[Left]

I understand the issue, and of course i agree, the price setting will be accurate.

On the other hand I have a strong feeling, the more features you add, the more complex its going to be for the average user.

It seems we both have different kind of clients. So Its nice to see some other insights

[Joe_Harper]

I also agree with your point in your original post about making customers more aware of the standard infill that is included in the stock price point. One must dig pretty deep on the site to see that the standard price point is based on a lower infill.

[kevinstonehouse]

It makes it easier to decide what to print with if the end weight could be estimated for each of the possible material choices.