cubic inch decreases. The Project Wax printer has the highest depreciation per cubic inch of pattern built.


• Maintenance Cost – A signifi cant cost of running a pattern printing operation is the cost of maintenance. Determining actual maintenance costs would be extremely diffi cult. However, a reasonable approximation can be obtained by looking at the cost of the highest level maintenance contract offered by each manufacturer. For those customers


who purchase the contract, it covers most if not all of their maintenance cost. To calculate the cost of maintenance per cubic inch, the monthly cost of the maintenance contract is divided by the total volume of patterns built per month (320 hours per month as calculated above). The result of those calculations is shown in Figure 4. Like depreciation cost, the more hours per month the printer is used, the lower the maintenance cost per cubic inch will be. CastForm has the highest maintenance costs.


•


Total Non-Labor Pattern Cost – To obtain total non-labor pattern cost, we can simply add the three previous costs together and is shown in Figure 5. The Projet has the highest cost per cubic inch of part volume followed by Castform, QuickCast, and Voxeljet. Note that the highest cost is more than 7 times the lowest cost.


At Buntrock Industries we’re more than a supplier – we’re an innovator. We research and develop investment casting materials in the laboratory, and hold patents for shell material systems. You can rely on our expertise, technical support and the quality companies we represent.


Choose investment casting supplies and equipment from Buntrock Industries – and keep your customers fired up.


Observations Several observations can be made: 1.


The least expensive printer, the ProJet 3510 CPX has both the highest capacity cost and operating cost. 2.


The most expensive printer, Voxeljet VX1000 has both the lowest capacity cost and operating cost. 3.


Fibercote ®


Shell Systems Patented World Wide


n Make crack-free shells n Reduce coats


n Increase permeability n Cut cycle times n Improve yields


Capacity cost, depreciation cost, and maintenance cost (but not material cost) are all dependent on the build rate. An increase in build rate will lower both capacity cost and operating cost. Build rate varies signifi cantly depending on the number of parts being built, build orientation and the geometry of the parts being built. As was explained in the fi rst article, average build rates is determined from actual data gathered on a number of machine runs. As more data is gathered, better estimates of average build rates will be determined. As a result, cost data may change.


A great printer with low costs will be Buntrock Industries, Inc.


1176 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185 757.253.2090 | 800.537.6482 | sales@buntrockindustries.com


Automated Systems for: Wax Injection • Wax Assembly Robotic Dipping • Shell Processing • Cut-off and Finishing • Autoclave Systems


Caustic Leaching Systems • Furnaces • Power Grinders • Custom Casting Waxes Patented Shell Systems and Binders for Casting: Aluminum • Bronze • Steel • Superalloys • Titanium


April 2017 ❘ 19 ®


of no value if the patterns it creates cannot reliably be converted into acceptable castings. The ability to convert the patterns into acceptable castings is dependent on characteristics of the patterns.


In the


next issue, those characteristics will be examined.


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