The formulas on MakerCostCalc are educational planning models. Every result depends on the values entered. This page summarizes the main calculations and their limits.
Materials and waste
Cost per gram = spool price ÷ net spool mass. Total filament consumed includes model, supports, purge, and optional extra waste. Material cost is total grams multiplied by cost per gram.
Machine costs
Depreciation per operating hour = equipment purchase price ÷ estimated useful operating hours. Electricity (kWh) = average watts × runtime hours ÷ 1,000. Multiply energy use by the local per-kWh tariff.
Labor and batches
Hands-on labor equals minutes worked ÷ 60 × hourly rate. Shared setup labor is divided by units per production batch. Unattended printer hours are not automatically counted as hands-on labor.
Expected failures
For a failure probability p, expected attempts per good item equal 1 ÷ (1 − p). We apply this adjustment to expected lost material and machine time. Finishing and packaging are normally charged once per successful unit. This simplified model assumes independent attempts with similar resource consumption.
Fees and selling price
Buyer-paid revenue = item price + shipping charged. Profit = revenue − product cost − postage expense − selling fees. Net margin = profit ÷ revenue. A target item price is solved algebraically using the selected fixed and percentage fees, and shipping charged is deducted from the resulting required revenue.
What is not automatically included?
Rent, financing, subscriptions, income tax, VAT or sales tax, regulatory marketplace fees, currency conversion, disputes, returns, shipping insurance, and other overhead may require manual adjustment. Currency selection changes labels only; it is not a foreign-exchange conversion tool.
Fee verification
For Etsy, see the official selling fee overview and payment processing fees by seller country. Verify your account conditions before using a result in a customer quotation.
Laser engraving job pricing
The laser quote first estimates attempted runs from the required completed quantity and a rejection probability. Material, occupied machine hours, electricity, extraction, and active machine-tending work are charged on expected attempts. Artwork and batch preparation happen once; finishing and packaging apply to finished items. The minimum order charge may produce a margin above the input target.
Laser sheet-yield approximation
For rectangular blanks, fit on one axis is floor((usable sheet dimension + gap)/(blank dimension + gap)). The usable sheet excludes edge clearance. The estimator compares unrotated and rotated grids and selected mixed-orientation bands; it does not perform general geometric nesting. Gross utilization divides net rectangle area by purchased sheet area. Actual purchase cost divides the price of whole sheets used by required blank quantity.
Multi-part bills of materials
Every material line uses quantity per finished assembly times purchase cost divided by (1 − component reject rate). The line costs are summed, then assembly labor, other direct costs, allocated overhead, and shared setup are added. A target net-margin selling price is solved after modeled invoice and marketplace fees. Avoid counting the same component both in the BOM and other direct costs.
Print farm cash flow and payback
Theoretical good-unit capacity depends on machine count, available hours, unit runtime, and expected failure probability. Revenue is limited to forecast demand as well as capacity. The model subtracts expected consumables, energy, active labor, selling fees, and monthly upkeep to estimate operating cash surplus. Simple investment payback divides the initial equipment and setup investment by positive monthly cash surplus; it excludes a second machine depreciation expense to avoid double-counting the same upfront capital.
Wholesale prices and retailer margin
Wholesale production cost includes direct unit expenses, selected production overhead, and the order setup fee spread across units. The recommended wholesale quote solves for the maker’s target after-fee net margin. A retailer’s gross margin compares the suggested retail selling price against its wholesale purchase cost before its own operating expenses.