How much 3D printing costs in Tbilisi: what makes up the price

The price formula

Part price = material + printer time, plus 5 ₾ setup per order. Material is by weight: PLA and PETG — 0.12 ₾ per gram, ABS — 0.14, flexible TPU — 0.18, carbon-fiber PLA — 0.25. Printer time is 15 ₾ for the first hour, then 3.5 ₾ per hour plus electricity. Both parts carry a 10% reprint reserve: if a part comes out defective, we print it again at our cost. Minimum order — 35 ₾, about $13.

Why time matters more than weight

It seems the price depends on how much plastic goes in, but usually more than half of the cost is printer hours. Walls and fine details print slowly, around 12 grams per hour, while internal infill prints fast, up to 80 grams per hour. That is why a thin-walled 56 g phone case takes 4 hours, and a solid block of the same weight — just over an hour. Our calculator counts walls and infill separately, like a slicer.

Supports: the hidden line

Anything overhanging steeper than 45° prints on scaffolding that is later removed and thrown away. For a phone case printed open side down, supports add 44 g and 3.5 hours — the price almost doubles. The calculator counts them automatically from the file, and before printing we look for the orientation with the fewest.

Real examples

• Beko oven knob, ABS, 12 g, 1 hour — 35 ₾ at the minimum order.
• Dragon egg fidget 9 cm from the catalog, PLA, 113 g, about 4 hours — 40 ₾ at the ready-made toys rate.
• Pixel 9a case with supports, PLA, 100 g, 7.5 hours — about 60 ₾.
• A 20 cm vase in vase mode, PLA, 90 g, 2 hours — about 40 ₾.
• A batch of 50 keychains at 8 g each, 400 g total — 15% off per gram, about 2.5 ₾ apiece.

How to save

• 15% infill instead of 100%: enough strength for decor and toys, weight and time drop several times.
• Scale the model down 20%: weight nearly halves, price drops about 40%.
• Put the flat face down: fewer supports, fewer hours.
• Order in a batch: from 300 g total the gram is 15% cheaper, from 1 kg — 25%, from 3 kg — 35%.
• Choose PLA if the part does not get hot or live outdoors: it is the cheapest and prints fastest.

Where not to save

Walls under 1.2 mm and infill under 10% give a brittle part, and a reprint costs more than you saved. Parts in the sun need PETG or ASA — PLA warps in a car in summer. For food and kids — only PLA or PETG without paint. We tell you at order time if the settings do not fit the job.

How to get the price for your part

Upload the file to the calculator: it shows weight, time, supports and the price in a minute, no registration. If there is no model, send a photo or a link to something similar on Telegram — we find a ready model for free or model it for a separate fee, quoting the complexity in advance.

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