Technology Selection for Production: FDM vs SLA vs SLS — A Total Cost of Ownership Model for Volumes from 1 to 10,000 Units
At 1 unit, FDM is cheapest. At 10,000 units, injection molding dominates. But in the 10–1,000 unit range — the 'additive sweet spot' — technology selection depends on part geometry, material requirements, and surface finish specifications. We build a total cost model incorporating machine amortization, material cost, labor, post-processing, and failure rates, drawing on MDPI Applied Sciences 2025 and industry pricing data.
Untuk volume 10–500 unit dengan geometri kompleks, additive manufacturing menawarkan keunggulan biaya yang tidak bisa ditandingi injection molding. Kami membangun model Total Cost of Ownership.
TCO Model: Per-Part Cost vs Volume
| Volume | FDM | SLA | SLS | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2–8 | $8–25 | $15–40 | FDM |
| 10 | $1.5–5 | $6–15 | $8–20 | FDM |
| 100 | $1–3 | $3–10 | $2–8 | SLS* |
| 1,000+ | $0.5–1.5 | $2–5 | $1–3 | Injection Molding |
*SLS unggul di batch production karena nesting density. Asumsi: part <50mm.
The Additive Sweet Spot
10–500 unit dengan geometri kompleks = AM unggul. Di luar 500 unit, IM mulai unggul karena tooling teramortisasi. Tetapi untuk geometri yang tidak mungkin di-molding (internal channels, lattice), AM tetap pilihan di volume tinggi.
Referensi
- [1] MDPI Applied Sciences 15(4):2245 (2025)
- [2] Formlabs — FDM vs SLA vs SLS
- [3] Protolabs Network — technology comparison
- [4] Stratasys — production FDM economics
- [5] Hubs — 3D printing cost calculator
- [6] Nature Scientific Reports (2025) — technology comparison
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