Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
Hi folks
I've got a general question. I wonder myself how could i make the depreciation of my prusa. I want to build up a print-service.
Normally, you have things like this
| Printer Purchase ($) | 1300.00 |
| Printer Lifetime (years) | 5.00 |
| Daily Usage (hours) | 3.00 |
| Hours in Life | 5475.00 |
| Depreciation/hr | 0.24 |
| COST ($) | 0.47 |
My question is, how long is the printer lifetime of a prusa and when comes the iteration 4?
I need to have the right figure to calculate the depreciation per hour, if i do some print jobs for friends...
Thanks for your answers.
regards
RE: Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
Hi folks
I've got a general question. I wonder myself how could i make the depreciation of my prusa. I want to build up a print-service.
Normally, you have things like this
Printer Purchase ($) 1300.00 Printer Lifetime (years) 5.00 Daily Usage (hours) 3.00 Hours in Life 5475.00 Depreciation/hr 0.24 COST ($) 0.47 My question is, how long is the printer lifetime of a prusa and when comes the iteration 4?
I need to have the right figure to calculate the depreciation per hour, if i do some print jobs for friends...
Thanks for your answers.
regards
Equipment depreciation has very little to do with the actual life of the equipment. Yes, it is generally considered to be roughly tied to the average lifespan of equipment, but business can chose to depreciate a computer over 3 years, 5 years, or something else, regardless of the fact that the computer may actually run for 10 years, or 10 months. I understand you are trying to calculate the actual cost, but chances or average life actually lining up with the life of your printer is slim to none. You also need to factor in maintenance costs. You'll almost certainly need to replace your build plate one or more times over the life of the printer. What happens if you get scored rods as many have?
A better way to look at it would be, over what period would you like to try and recoup the cost of your printer? Personally, I wouldn't chose anything over 24 months and would probably lean toward 12 months. Also, your time is going to be, by far, the largest "cost". Getting prints setup and baby sitting the printer takes time.
For reference, the library near me will doing prints for $0.15/gram of material used.
RE: Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
@william-m51
I would put the lifetime of the printer at 3 yrs. Luckily it is Prusa:). If it was a Ender, I would put that at 6 months! Prusa is the norm for me and thousands of others:)
Enjoy:)
RE: Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
Defining life of the printer is kind of hard as well because virtually everything on the printer is user replaceable. You 10-15 years you could still have your printer but have replaced every component on it at some point. Is it still the same printer?
A more accurate way would be to determine the life expectancy or failure rate of the individual components and cost to replace/maintain them. For the electronics, they should all have published life expectancy/failure rates some place, just a matter of digging through their documentation.
It's like my great grandfather's ax. Handle was replaced a dozen times and the head was replaced once but it's still my grandfather's ax. 🙂
RE: Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
@darcshadow
I like your analogy:). Prusa makes GREAT 3D printers, but wear and tear is any 3D priinter downfall. Within the 3 yrs many parts will be replaced as well. With tech advances moving at a super rapid pace, 3 yrs may be a long time to hang on to a printer? Rather then my myself try to upgrade a 3D printer, I take the logical path for me, I just buy a new one.
Yes, everyone doent have "deep pockets" but I myself have always tried to have the best:)
Quick question..... How many folks are going to MRRF in Goshen in April? I will be there and thought perhaps we can all meet at the same time there for dinner on Saturday after the show?
Thanks
RE: Depreciation for a Prusa i3 MK3
Mk3S can do 10,000h no problem