3D Print Material Calculator

Material used = outer perimeter shells + solid top/bottom skin + infill inside + supports. A rough estimate for a mostly-solid 80 × 50 × 40 mm figurine at 15% infill is 45–60 g of PLA; a flat 100 cm³ bracket at the same settings can exceed 100 g. Multiply the printed volume by the density (PLA 1.24 g/cm³) once you know the true material volume — not the model volume.

Because perimeters and top/bottom skin are not controlled by the infill setting. On small prints the shell can be most of the material: a 5 cm³ keychain at 15% infill might contain 3 cm³ of solid shell and skin. Volume × infill would predict 0.75 cm³ — a four-fold underestimate.

Divide 1,000 g by the grams per print the calculator reports — then subtract a little for purge, prime towers and failed prints (5–10% is realistic). A print estimated at 40 g usually allows around 23–25 good prints from a 1 kg spool.

A solid resin print displaces roughly its own volume: 1 cm³ of model uses about 1 ml of resin. Add 10–20% for support material, failed pulls and residue left in the tank and FEP film. Hollowing with drain holes and wall thickness around 1.6–2 mm can cut usage by more than half.

Modestly. Gyroid and cubic patterns sit near their stated percentage; 100% “rectilinear” overestimates density claims; lightning infill can cut interior material dramatically for enclosed shapes. Expect ±10% variation between patterns at the same percentage.

Common causes: more perimeters than modelled, a brim or raft (a brim can add 5–15 g on a large-footprint print), supports counted too low, or a denser filament than assumed. Weighing finished prints and comparing is the fastest way to calibrate the estimator for your typical models.

Yes — multiply the model volume or bounding-box estimate by the number of copies, or simply multiply the resulting gram/ml figure. Per-print support percentages stay roughly constant when copies share support structures less, so add a little margin for tightly nested batches.