Understanding the Cost Breakdown Panel
How to read the cost breakdown — the bar chart, per-component costs, and what drives your pricing.
The cost breakdown panel on the right side of the calculator gives you a complete picture of where your money goes. Understanding it helps you price competitively while protecting your margins.
The Breakdown Bar
The coloured bar at the top shows the proportion of each cost component. A healthy breakdown typically looks like: Material 20–35%, Machine 15–25%, Labour 20–35%, Overhead 10–20%. If one segment dominates, it's worth investigating whether you can optimise that component.
Component Details
Below the bar, each component shows its exact dollar amount and the inputs that drive it:
- Material — weight (g) × cost per gram. If your material cost seems high, check your density setting and infill percentage.
- Machine — print time (hours) × printer hourly rate. Faster printers or parallel printing can reduce this.
- Labour — time (hours) × hourly rate. Be honest about how long post-processing actually takes.
- Overhead — flat amount or percentage. Review this monthly to ensure it reflects your actual expenses.
Total and Markup
The total cost is the sum of all four components. Your selling price applies a markup percentage on top. The panel shows both the cost and the sale price so you can see your margin at a glance.
Using the Breakdown for Pricing Decisions
If a client says your price is too high, the breakdown tells you exactly where to look for savings. Maybe you can use a cheaper material, batch multiple parts to reduce per-part overhead, or optimise the print orientation to reduce time. The breakdown turns a vague "too expensive" into actionable numbers.
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