3D Printing Sensitivity Analysis Formula
Learn how the calculator estimates scenario profit from commercial 3D printing volume, price, cost and failure-rate changes.
This calculation compares baseline monthly profit with a proposed production scenario. It estimates saleable jobs after failures, applies revenue only to successful jobs, applies variable costs to every attempted job, and then subtracts fixed costs.
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Projected Monthly Profit
Where:
The projected profit is the revenue from successful scenario jobs minus costs incurred for all attempted jobs and fixed monthly costs.
Variables Explained
| Variable | What It Means | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| scenarioRevenue - Scenario revenue | Revenue expected from successfully completed and saleable jobs in the proposed scenario. | currency |
| scenarioVariableCosts - Scenario variable costs | Material and other variable costs across every attempted scenario job, including failed jobs. | currency |
| monthlyFixedCosts - Monthly fixed costs | Costs assumed to stay constant during the month, such as rent, software and salaried staff. | currency |
| monthlyPrintJobs - Monthly print jobs | Baseline number of attempted print jobs or production runs per month. | number |
| volumeChange - Expected volume change | Percentage increase or decrease applied to baseline attempted jobs. | percent |
| sellingPricePerJob - Selling price per successful job | Average revenue received for each successful saleable job before the scenario price change. | currency |
| priceChange - Expected price change | Percentage change in the average selling price. | percent |
| materialCostPerJob - Material cost per attempted job | Average material and expected waste cost for each attempted job before the scenario change. | currency |
| materialCostChange - Expected material cost change | Percentage change in material cost per attempted job. | percent |
| scenarioFailureRate - Scenario failure rate | Percentage of attempted scenario jobs expected to fail and earn no revenue. | percent |
Step-by-Step Calculation
Adjust attempted job volume
Apply the expected percentage change in monthly attempted jobs.
scenarioPrintJobs = monthlyPrintJobs * (1 + volumeChange / 100)
Adjust selling price and material cost
Update the average selling price and material cost using the scenario percentages.
scenarioSellingPrice = sellingPricePerJob * (1 + priceChange / 100); scenarioMaterialCost = materialCostPerJob * (1 + materialCostChange / 100)
Estimate successful jobs
Only jobs that do not fail are treated as successful, saleable output.
scenarioSuccessfulJobs = scenarioPrintJobs * (1 - scenarioFailureRate / 100)
Calculate scenario revenue
Revenue is based on successful jobs rather than all attempted jobs.
scenarioRevenue = scenarioSuccessfulJobs * scenarioSellingPrice
Calculate scenario variable costs
Variable costs apply to every attempt because failed jobs can still use material, labour and machine time.
scenarioVariableCosts = scenarioPrintJobs * (scenarioMaterialCost + otherVariableCostPerJob)
Calculate profit and margin
Subtract total variable and fixed costs from revenue, then express profit as a share of revenue.
scenarioProfit = scenarioRevenue - scenarioVariableCosts - monthlyFixedCosts; scenarioProfitMargin = scenarioProfit / scenarioRevenue * 100
Example: Higher demand with fewer print failures
Scenario attempted jobs
500 * (1 + 10 / 100)
550 jobs
Scenario successful jobs
550 * (1 - 5 / 100)
522.5 jobs
Scenario selling price
80 * (1 + 5 / 100)
$84 per successful job
Scenario revenue
522.5 * 84
$43,890
Scenario variable costs
550 * ((18 * 1.10) + 12)
$17,490
Scenario profit and margin
43,890 - 17,490 - 8,000; 18,400 / 43,890 * 100
$18,400 profit; 41.9% margin
Final Result
Projected monthly profit is $18,400, an increase of $4,600 from baseline, with a projected profit margin of 41.9%.
Assumptions
- ✓Revenue is earned only from successful and saleable print jobs.
- ✓Material and other variable costs are incurred for all attempted jobs, including failed jobs.
- ✓Fixed monthly costs remain unchanged between the baseline and scenario.
- ✓Inputs represent average monthly values across the mix of jobs.
- ✓Taxes, financing costs, depreciation and one-off capital spending are excluded unless incorporated in the cost inputs.
Limitations
- !Actual job mix can change material use, cycle time and labour requirements per job.
- !Machine downtime, reprints, refunds and capacity constraints may affect actual results.
- !A price increase or volume increase may affect customer demand, which the formula does not model.
- !The calculation does not distinguish between partial failures, recoverable prints and total failures.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applying the failure rate to costs as well as revenue, even though failed attempts can still consume resources.
Entering material cost only for finished jobs instead of the average cost per attempted job including waste.
Putting variable labour in fixed costs when it rises directly with production volume.
Treating a change of 5 percentage points in failure rate as a 5% relative change.
Comparing a monthly scenario result with costs or revenue measured over a different period.
Related Formulas
Frequently Asked Questions
How is 3D printing scenario profit calculated?
Scenario profit equals revenue from successful scenario jobs minus variable costs for all attempted scenario jobs and monthly fixed costs.
Why does the formula charge variable costs to failed prints?
A failed print commonly still uses material, machine time, power, labour or finishing resources, while it produces no saleable revenue.
How is the failure rate used in the calculation?
The failure rate reduces attempted jobs to estimated successful jobs: attempted jobs multiplied by one minus the failure rate divided by 100.
How is projected profit margin calculated?
Projected profit margin equals scenario profit divided by scenario revenue, multiplied by 100.
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