Methodology
Keep material selection and cost math inspectable.
The planner separates required part properties, material-family evidence, printer readiness, slicer mass, planned waste, spool size, and price so each decision remains visible.
Core equations
Base batch mass: slicer mass per part × print quantity.
Planned filament: base batch mass × (1 + planned waste percentage).
Existing inventory consumed: the smaller of compatible filament entered on hand and the planned batch consumption.
New filament required: planned batch consumption − compatible existing inventory consumed.
Whole spools to purchase: new filament required ÷ spool net weight, rounded up; zero when compatible inventory covers the batch.
Cash required: whole spools to purchase × entered price per spool in the selected currency.
Ending compatible inventory: opening compatible inventory + purchased spool net weight − planned batch consumption.
Filament length: mass ÷ density ÷ circular cross-sectional area. Density is bounded to 0.80–2.00 g/cm³ for the ordinary polymer routes covered by this planner; use the selected spool’s data-sheet value.
Property gate: a route stays in the exact-match set only when it covers every selected flex, stiffness, impact, temperature, environment, and finish requirement.
Candidate order: exact property matches are ranked from the maintained qualitative material matrix. Processing complexity is a small tie-breaker; missing printer equipment never weakens or replaces a part requirement.
Printer readiness: hotend temperature, heated bed, enclosure, and hardened-nozzle checks run after the property gate. A valid material can therefore remain first while the result names the capability change needed to print it.
Conflict state: when no maintained family preserves the selected combination, the closest routes expose their property gaps. Cost and purchase handoffs remain paused until the requirement conflict is resolved.
Qualitative material matrix
What the levels mean: low, balanced, and property-led levels are decision categories derived from the linked manufacturer descriptions and technical data. They keep unlike test methods from being presented as directly comparable laboratory numbers.
What stays specific: the selected spool's technical sheet and printer profile remain the setup record for temperatures, surface preparation, drying, ventilation, and calibration.
Seller quote equations
Electricity: total slicer print hours × average printer watts ÷ 1,000 × entered energy price per kWh.
Machine allowance: total slicer print hours × entered machine-hour allowance.
Labor: (job setup minutes + per-part post-processing minutes × quantity) ÷ 60 × entered labor rate.
Failure provision: entered failure percentage × material value, electricity, and machine allowance. Packaging is applied after this repeat-production exposure.
Cost basis: material value + electricity + machine allowance + labor + failure provision + packaging.
Seller quote: cost basis ÷ (1 − platform-fee share − target-profit share). Both shares are defined against the final quote, and their combined value is bounded below 100%.
Spool inventory boundaries
Record identity: each local record stores one material family, original net weight, measured remaining grams, readiness state, purchase currency, purchase value, and update time. It contains no free-form name or notes.
Ready remainder: the sum of remaining grams from matching-material records explicitly marked ready for planning.
Condition-check remainder: matching grams that remain visible but cannot reduce the confirmed shortfall until their physical state is checked.
Known remaining value: original purchase price × measured remainder ÷ original net weight, summed only for matching records in the selected currency.
Budget handoff: material identity, selected currency, planned final batch grams, and confirmed-ready remainder move into the batch estimator. Stored record IDs, timestamps, and condition-check grams do not enter the URL.
Use the result
Use the selected material manufacturer’s current profile and the printer documentation for setup. The planner keeps the property, preparation, and material-budget decisions together before that calibration step.
Continue planning
Apply the material and budget rules to a print.
Editorial record
Maintained by Make Your Own Tools to turn “Plan a print” into a defined material fit, spool inventory, hardware preparation, and print cost. The references below provide the technical context for this planning path. Its calculation rules and planning assumptions are documented in the methodology, and affected calculations pass regression checks before the review date advances.
- Last reviewed
- Evidence set
- 9 primary references