How long does it take to 3D print something?

For an everyday product, usually under an hour on the printer. In our 35 sliced products the times ran from 11 minutes to just over three hours, with a median of 56 minutes.

Why do some 3D prints take so long?

Size and height. Print time follows the amount of plastic and the number of layers, so a tall or bulky part takes hours where a flat, small one takes minutes. Fine layers, solid infill and supports add more.

How long does it take to get a 3D print delivered?

With us, orders with up to about two days of printing are handed to the carrier within three business days, then ground delivery takes roughly 2 to 5 days across the US.

How long does it take to print 100 copies of a part?

Multiply the print time by 100 for the printer-hours, then spread them across printers. Orders with more than about two days of printing take as long as their print time; confirm the ship date with Support before you pay.

How Long Does 3D Printing Take? 35 Real Products, Timed

Less than most people expect. We sliced 35 ordinary products, from a pet tag to a drawer organiser, on the printer profile we produce with. The quickest took 11 minutes and the longest just over three hours. The typical one took under an hour. The long waits you hear about come from large or very detailed parts, from slow settings, and from the wait before a print starts, more than from the printing itself.

Time on the printer, 35 real parts

Phone stand

90 × 70 × 100 mm · 72 g

Printer time

1 h 34 min

1Printing1 h 34 min on one printer.
2Checked and packedEvery part looked at by a person before it goes in the envelope.
3Handed to the carrierWithin 3 business days of the order.
4In transitAbout 2 days to Los Angeles, 4 to Dallas, 5 to New York by ground.

Slicer times on a Bambu Lab P1S with a 0.4 mm nozzle, in PLA Basic, on our production profile. Transit from our rate quotes out of Orange, California.

The median

56 minutes. That is how long the middle product of the 35 spent on the printer.

Of the 35 parts21 printed in under an hour, 29 in under two. Only the tall or bulky ones, such as stands, a vase and the organiser, ran past two hours.

What decides how long a print takes

How much plastic: The biggest factor. The printer lays every gram as a thin bead, so a 200 g organiser takes far longer than a 30 g card holder.
How tall it is: Every layer has its own travel and cooling, so height adds time even without adding plastic. Our 62 g headphone stand, 214 mm tall, took 2 h 05 min; a 65 g controller stand, 76 mm tall, took 1 h 29 min.
Layer height: Thinner layers look smoother and take longer. Production profiles pick the thickest layer that still looks right.
Walls and infill: Solid parts take longer than parts with a light honeycomb inside. Most products need only a little infill.
Supports: Overhangs that need support add plastic and time, and then have to be removed. Good product design avoids them.

From order to doorstep

The printing is the short part. A one-off order queues, prints, cools, comes off the plate, gets checked and packed, and then rides with a carrier. With us, an order with up to about two days of printing is handed to the carrier within three business days. Ground delivery from California then took 2 days to Los Angeles, 4 to Dallas and 5 to New York in our quotes. TikTok Shop orders go out within 48 hours, to meet TikTok’s own rules.

A run of 50 or 500 is a different calculation. Its printer-hours add up, but they are spread across printers rather than run end to end. Any order with more than about two days of printing takes as long as its print time, and the order review asks you to confirm the ship date with Support before you pay. Planning a run? Start with low-volume manufacturing. Want the cost as well as the hours? Every one of these parts is priced in the Make-Cost Index.