Kaizen Lab.io

Lean tool

Make or buy: print it or order it?

A small part can be printed at home in a day or two, or ordered from China and wait about three weeks, plus Mexico's 33.5 % duty on parcels from countries without a trade agreement. Put in your numbers; everything is calculated in your browser.

Buy
33.5 % on parcels from non-treaty countries; 0 for a domestic purchase.
Make (3D print)
From the slicer.
Share of prints that come out right on the first attempt. 80 % = 1.25 attempts per good part; the extra is your Cost of Poor Quality.
Design/render + print + reprints.

Result

–
MXN saved by printing (negative = buying is cheaper)
Landed cost to buy (price + shipping) × (1 + duty)–
Cost to make (filament + power, all attempts)–
of which Cost of Poor Quality (expected scrap)–
Days saved by printing–
Break-even attempts (when printing stops paying)–

The same formula runs on this lab's own prints: Make vs buy and first-pass yield on the KPI board →

Make-or-buy decisions on a real line?

Lead time, landed cost and rework decide in-house vs outsourced parts. Zenilify Consulting builds that comparison with your data and your quality numbers.

Book a diagnostic call at zenilify-consulting.com