3D printer power consumption - what will my energy bills be?

It is important for any manufacturing company to know the true cost of each part. Therefore, it is important to calculate the following variables when using a 3D printer:

How much does 3D printing cost for 1 hour?

If we know the energy cost for 1 hour, we can easily calculate how much each type of part consumes depending on the printing time.

For example, let's look at the printer BCN3D Epsilon W50 , which has a maximum consumption of 840W per hour. Let's also assume that we print with both extruders and with PAHT CF15, a filament that must be printed at a higher temperature of 280°C, so we use as many watts as possible. If we take into account that the average price per kWh (above the limit) in 2024 in Poland is approximately PLN 1.06, the maximum amount you will spend with Epsilon W50 is PLN 0.89/h.

In turn, if we were to print taking into account power consumption below the limit, one hour of printing would cost us a maximum of PLN 0.67 per hour. Please note that these prices are for when the printer would use the maximum amount of power possible. The electrical cost for a normal print on Epsilon W50 may be less than PLN 0.36/h - very affordable!

How to calculate the energy consumption of your 3D printer?

We've just seen the maximum price you can pay for an hour of printing on the Epsilon W50, but let's see what else affects your 3D printer's power consumption:

• Printer model: There are other 3D printers that consume much more than BCN3D 3D printers, reaching up to 1700W, so having a machine with low energy efficiency can double your energy costs, reaching even more than PLN 2 per hour.
• Filament: Each material must be printed at a different temperature, for example PLA melts at 200° C, and ABS at 240°C. Therefore, printing with PLA instead of ABS will reduce energy consumption.
• Print Speed: Faster printing will significantly reduce the overall energy cost of the part, but will increase energy consumption per hour because the print heads will need more electricity to move faster.

How to reduce the energy consumption of a 3D printer?

By following the recommendations below, you can reduce your energy cost per part by 80%, thanks to IDEX technology and software introduced by BCN3D:

• Duplicate/Mirror Printing: Printing with two extruders simultaneously not only cuts printing time in half, but also significantly reduces energy consumption, using the same printing surface, the same rod moving in the Y direction ( X axis) and the same electronic components.
• Printing with recommended profiles: When you use BCN3D Stratos slicer, you will notice that each material has different configurations. These configurations have been researched and tested in the BCN3D lab to ensure results are excellent, fast and efficient.
• Below the limit printing: If you only need to print occasionally, you can do so within your power consumption limit using the free BCN3D Cloud tool.

In conclusion, 3D printer power consumption is a cost that should be taken into account, but it is not so high that it constitutes an obstacle to using this technology. TensaBelt uses "in-house" 3D printers rather than other traditional methods for faster and more efficient prototyping. However, the manufacturer of BCN3D is trying to reduce these costs further by using very efficient printers, with IDEX and BCN3D Cloud technology.

Now that you know how to minimize these costs, it's time to start printing! Find out more about the Epsilon W50 model, Smart Cabinet and other 3D printers in our Global3D store.