Print Time & Filament Cost Estimator
Enter a model volume (or bounding box + fill), layer height, infill, walls, material and your printer's speed/wattage, plus electricity rate — get filament grams and meters, material cost, an estimated print time from a volumetric-flow model, electricity cost, the total, and a ranked 'make it cheaper' list. Every assumption is shown inline.
8 materials × 12 printer presets · updated 2026-05 · computed entirely in your browser
Inputs
Estimate
Make it cheaper
Assumptions used for this estimate
The model, honestly
Mass: we estimate the printed solid volume (your
figure, or bounding-box × fill), split it into a shell (wall loops ×
~line width × surface area, approximated from volume) at 100% density
and an interior at your infill %, then multiply by the material density
from src/data/materials.json. Real parts have small voids,
so grams run a touch high — the safe direction for budgeting.
Time: deposited volume ÷ effective volumetric flow. Flow = layer height × line width × print speed, then capped by the material's max volumetric flow (TPU and CF are flow-limited well below a fast machine's speed — that cap is why). A fixed overhead is added for heat-up, travel and non-print moves. This is deliberately simpler than a slicer's per-segment planner; expect ±15%, more on tall thin parts dominated by travel.
Energy: printer power (W) × time → kWh × your rate. We
use a single average wattage including the heated bed; bed-heavy ABS
prints on a large plate draw more. Override speed and wattage with your
slicer's wall speed and a plug meter for the tightest numbers. Constants
live in src/data/materials.json and
src/data/printer-presets.json (2026-05).