shaepways pricing

[Al Johnson]

On Wednesday 11 January 2012 15:19:46 Alexander Lehner wrote:
> The FAQ says
> 
> http://www.shapeways.com/support/pricing
> 
> "Material pricing
> Our pricing is based upon the actual amount of material used in your
> product and the material you choose to use. So, the actual volume of your
> finished product not the volume of the bounding box determines the price."
> 
> And in my case, for frosted ultra detail they say:
> 
> $5.00 startup + $3.49/cm3
> 
> I paid $40 without tax, so that would be around 10cm^3 material.
> My kitchen balance says 12 gram, and the plastic was heavier than water
> (greetings from Archimedes!).
> 
> On the other hand, the design is around 12x6x1 cm, which is 72cm^3,
> so I guess, the pricing is really related to the used material, maybe on
> complex constructions with support material slightly more.

That would put the wall thickness somewhere round 1.5mm. There's probably 
scope for reducing the volume, say by giving it a golfball texture or even 
just reducing the thickness of the flat part. That bit doesn't really need to 
be stiff or strong because it's well supported by the next layer down, and it 
would make the part quite a lot cheaper.