We had a look at Medema Labs’ ROI calculator.
Medema Labs is a spin-out of Oregon State University, where research was done on design for manufacturing and assembly, as well as optimization techniques. This research, in 2019, was taken up in a commercial manner by the researchers, launching Medema Labs.
The company has been developing software aids to the manufacturing industry, specifically for additive manufacturing. One of their tools is the LBPF Part Cost Calculator, which attempts to determine the likely cost of a metal 3D-printed part.
But it’s not a quoting system; there is intelligence behind the scenes here. In fact, CEO Matt Campbell told us the system is AI-based.
The calculator is quite comprehensive and covers virtually every aspect of an LPBF metal 3D print job. While obvious factors such as material costs and printer depreciation are accounted for, there are all kinds of other factors, including annual facility cost, argon consumables, scrap rate, hourly labour, and much more.
The system questions the user about the part and its use and can recommend different metal technologies through its AI training. The evaluation includes not only the 3D printing portion of the work but also the required post-processing.
Ultimately, the user is presented with a chart that shows where the break-even points in the production occur, as you can see at the top. This could be quite valuable to anyone setting up a production line for 3D-printed metal parts.
The calculations involved can be complex and possibly be beyond the capabilities of some manufacturers. This tool can overcome those challenges and provide proper, authoritative answers very quickly.
The interesting part is that Medema Labs is providing this tool to the public at no charge! Anyone can sign up and upload their parts for evaluation.
Note: For those looking to price polymer parts printed on desktop FFF or resin equipment, Fabbaloo offers a similar tool — for free — right here.
Via Medema Labs
