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Wednesday, June 23. 2010Significant price reduction on dense models
From today We strive to make Shapeways as accessible as we can. We want to make it easier and more affordable all the time. Eventually it is our goal to let you make anything. The more you order the more we scale and the cheaper we can make it for you to order, this encourages you to order more etc.. This is a virtuous cycle that benefits us both. Up and until now our pricing model has been encouraging you to make thin tiny wispy things. Larger things and more dense things are comparatively cheaper for us to make however. There is simply less cleaning & handling involved per unit of size (and also per $1 in revenue). Because of this we are able to, for a month and as a test, offer a discount on models that fit the following criteria:
You can check density in your 3D modeling application (or totally old school divide the bounding box by volume of your model). The discount has been implemented on the site but it might take the site two hours to work through all the galleries. The discount is over the material price not over the mark up made by the designer so there will be differences in the discount between designers. This means that large White, Strong & Flexible models have become a lot cheaper on the site for this one month. We hope you guys have fun with this!
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Excellent!! Model volume over bounding box volume is not the density of the model. It is the density of the print volume. In other words, if I print 8 solid cubes 1cm on a side, but put them 2cm apart, then even though they are solid the print density is 8*1cm^3/(4cm)^3 =0.125. Is that correct?
I was wondering when you'd get around to doing this. In an ideal scenario, where machines worked 100% of the time to specification, you can get away with doing volume calculations for quoting purposes. But it only takes a single failed build due to thin parts to wipe away all the savings that were made on materials by encouraging users to go thin. It also means you get away with higher recycling ratios, etc. Altogether a much more solid (excuse the pun) pricing model for SLS.
Will this be made permenant if it is successfull?
It would certianly benifit me as a seller and a buyer if this could be extended (I would probably make another $200+ order if it was). Would this be considdered? 
Hi Andrew, if successful we will certainly consider to keep. But as with many of our introductions we first see what the community thinks as that helps us decide what to do next
Question 1: Could you provide a mathematical equation for the new pricing model, please? I find the English description hard to put into an Excell sheet.
Question 2: Will putting 3D puzzle pieces closer together in an STL always lower the price? Or at least remain the same? Question 3: Will hollowing out 3D puzzle piece as much as possible always lower the price? Or at least remain the same? Question 4: If the answer to question 3 is "yes", then why should I make an effort to make my puzzles more solid? Thank you. Oskar
When they say density they mean bounding box over volume. All you have to do to find the density of your model is multiply the volume by the space it takes up (I.e the bounding box). Here is a better way to state this:
To find the price of your part under the new model The first 20 cu cm are $30, after that any more cu cm are half price. For example take a model that origionally cost $150, subtract the first $30 and then cut the remaining $120 in half leaving you with the new cost of the model which is $90. Essentially any model that is above $30 in price will have a cost deduction as long as it complies with the density standards. Hope this helps, Andrew
I don't want to wake any sleeping dogs, but has this been made permanent? It's well over July 22nd so I'm assuming this was a huge success and you decided to keep the pricing model?
If I'm reminding you that the price should go back to normal, then please wait until I make my next order  I've been on holiday for most of the (actually, the entire) trial period.
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