New price update for frosted material from Shapeways 18/52

I just wanted to inform you about some upcoming changes in the price politics from Shapeways. affected is the Smooth and Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic materials.

Here the note from Shapeways:

On Monday, April 29, 2019, we will be releasing a new pricing formula for our Smooth and Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic materials. Below is a set of FAQs to help prepare you for the update.

What are the pricing components in the new formula?

The pricing formula is based on the following components, all of which add up to create a custom price for your model:

• Material Volume – the amount of material needed to 3D print your product
• Support Volume – the amount of support material required to 3D print your product
• Number of parts – a part is a piece of a model that can be separated from other pieces of the model
• Production – associated production costs including labor, quality control, machine maintenance, general utilities, and other supporting services required to 3D print your product

With this update, models will need to meet the following minimums:

• Minimum price per model
  • $7.50 for Smooth Fine Detail Plastic
  • $10 for Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic
• Minimum price for Parts Bounds Volume*
  • $0.35 per cm3 for Smooth Fine Detail Plastic
  • $0.58 per cm3 for Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic

*Parts Bounds Volume is the bounding box volume for each part of a model added together. Models must meet this minimum, which is calculated by multiplying the Parts Bounds Volume by the rate listed above.

Why did you make this change?

We are sensitive to adjusting prices and are aware that this is never easy on customers. However, we do need to make sure that our prices reflect the true cost of doing business and allow us to further invest and innovate in our business.