All businesses / 3D printing service

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a 3d printing service: the real numbers

Prototypes and short runs. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€4,000–€25,000

Hours / week

15–40

First income

~8 wks

Net margin

55%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€700–€3,500+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

The machines run while you do something else, which few businesses here can claim. The printing itself is close to a commodity — the money is in the CAD and the finishing, so without design skill the margin is thin.

The route, in five steps

  1. Sell to engineers and dentists, not to hobbyists
  2. Two reliable printers beat six cheap ones
  3. Charge for the CAD work separately — it is most of the value
  4. Short production runs pay better than one-off prototypes
  5. Post-processing is the hidden hour in every quote

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every 3d printing service pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

printersmaterialsCAD softwarefinishing toolsshipping

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack