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Anvil HUD

Where our numbers come from

Sources

We publish the pricing formula at the math. This page covers the other half: where the data feeding it comes from. Printer specs are starting points you can edit; we still show our work. Last reviewed 2026-09-19, and refreshed every spring and fall.

Printer power draw

Average draw while printing PLA after warm-up. We use the steady-state average, not the warm-up peak (which can spike past 1000W for a minute or two) or idle, because the average is what drives the cost of a print.

Build volume, nozzle, and roster

Build volumes and stock nozzle sizes come from each manufacturer's official technical specifications. We review the model roster every spring and fall to add new printers and retire discontinued ones.

Pricing engine inputs

The cost formula itself is published in full at /the-math. The default electricity rate seeds from the EIA average, and the Settings ZIP/state picker fills in your state's residential average from the same source; every rate, fee, and margin is editable per user.

Marketplace and payment fees

We prebake reference fee profiles for common marketplaces and payment processors so you don't have to dig them out of a help page. These are US standard rates at review time; every platform changes its fees and they vary by country and category, so they are starting points you edit to your actual rates.

Shipping rates

Shipping presets are estimated starting points anchored to US retail rates (January 2026) for a small parcel. Real postage prices by destination zone and box size, so these are a linear approximation you fine-tune to your own postage. A label bought through Etsy or Pirate Ship is usually cheaper than retail.

Laser cutting machines & materials

Laser presets are estimated starting points (2026): machine prices, tube/diode life, typical cut speeds for ~3mm material, and common sheet prices. Cut speed especially varies with power, focus, air assist, and material brand, so every figure is tunable in the estimator.

Logo tracer (image to SVG)

The laser estimator can trace a high-contrast logo or line-art image into an SVG so you can size and price it. The trace runs entirely in your browser (your image is never uploaded), using the open-source ImageTracer library. It is honestly scoped: line art only, not photos, and the result is a starting point to clean up in your design tool, not a production-ready cut file.

Resin casting (materials, molds, equipment)

Resin presets are estimated starting points (2026): resin prices per kilogram (converted from per-gallon at ~1.1 g/mL), typical mold costs and pour lifespans, and bubble-control gear. Resin curing is passive, so the cost is driven by material, the mold spread over its pours, and your hands-on time, not machine hours. Every figure is tunable in the estimator.

Candle making (wax, fragrance, vessels)

Candle presets are estimated starting points (2026): wax and fragrance prices per kilogram (converted from the per-pound / per-ounce prices makers buy at), a standard 6-10% fragrance load, and typical vessel and wick costs. Candles have no machine-time cost (melting is passive overhead), and the vessel is material sold with the candle, so it's counted at full price. Every figure is tunable in the estimator.

Soap making (oils, lye, fragrance, molds)

Soap presets are estimated starting points (2026): oil and fragrance prices per kilogram (converted from the per-pound / per-ounce prices makers buy at), KOH saponification (SAP) values for the lye math, a standard 5% superfat and 3-6% fragrance load, and typical mold yields. Soap is batch-based: the mold sets bars per batch (the per-bar divisor). Cure is passive and the mold is reusable, so there's no machine-time cost; lye is derived from the oils. Bulk buying lowers oil and lye prices a lot, so every figure is tunable in the estimator. Always confirm your lye amount with your own calculator before mixing.

Vinyl cutting (vinyl, transfer tape, blanks)

Vinyl presets are estimated starting points (2026): vinyl priced per square inch (converted from the 12" sheet / roll prices makers buy at, 1 sq ft = 144 sq in), a standard transfer-tape rate, and typical blank costs. Vinyl is metered by design area. The cutter (Cricut / Silhouette) is treated as overhead (it's cheap, low-power, and fast), so there's no machine-time cost; transfer tape is a derived line on decals; the blank (tee, mug, tumbler) is material sold with the item. Bake in a 5-10% spoilage allowance via the waste percent. Every figure is tunable in the estimator.

Machine embroidery (thread, stabilizer, machines, blanks)

Embroidery presets are estimated starting points (2026). Embroidery is a machine-time craft: the stitch count drives the thread (a per-1000-stitch line) and the machine run-time (stitches ÷ the machine's speed), and the engine meters electricity + depreciation over that time, just like a 3D printer or laser. Thread + bobbin run ~$0.02/1000 stitches; stabilizer is ~$0.30-1.00/item; the blank (garment/cap) is material sold with the item; digitizing is a one-time cost you enter. The industry cross-check is $1-3 per 1000 stitches retail. Every figure is tunable in the estimator.

Sewing & quilting (fabric, notions, machine)

Sewing presets are estimated 2026 starting points, tunable per fabric. Sewing is metered by fabric YARDAGE plus construction time; the machine runs while you sew (~70-100 W), so its electricity + depreciation is a small line and labor leads. Mid starting points: quilting cotton ~$11/yd, apparel ~$12/yd, knit ~$13/yd. Thread is a per-yard derived line; notions (zippers ~$1-3, buttons ~$0.20-1, elastic ~$0.20-0.50/yd, interfacing ~$3-6/yd) are entered as a cost. Every figure is editable.

Crochet & knitting (yarn by the skein)

The purest hand craft: no machine, and labor is almost the whole cost. Yarn sells by the skein with a weight + yardage, so the engine derives a per-gram cost (price ÷ grams-per-skein) since you weigh what a project actually uses. Mid starting points: acrylic worsted ~$2.50-3.50/100g, cotton ~$5-7/100g, wool ~$8-14/100g. Underpricing hand-time is the number one mistake here, so the estimator shows hours times rate plainly. All tunable in Settings.

Digital & print-on-demand (design time over a run)

The third engine: a file has no per-unit material, so the cost is one-time design time amortized over the sales you expect, and the tool reports break-even units + projected profit. Print-on-demand adds the partner's per-order base as a real per-unit cost. 2026 POD base starting points (Printful/Printify, the seller's per-order charge): unisex tee ~$8-13, mug ~$7-9, poster (18×24) ~$11-16, hoodie ~$22-30, tote ~$9-12. Channel fees reuse the fee presets (Etsy 6.5% + ~3%+$0.25 + $0.20 listing; Gumroad ~10%; Payhip ~5%; your own Shopify store ~2.9%+$0.30, no marketplace cut). Expected sales is your own estimate; the tool makes the amortization explicit, not the demand. All tunable.

Jewelry making (metal by the gram)

A simplest-tier hand craft: no machine (the torch and pliers are overhead), so metal weight and bench time lead. Metal is metered by the gram, and the calculator converts a sheet or wire to grams using density (sterling ~10.4, 14k gold ~13, brass ~8.5 g/cm³). Fabricated sheet/wire runs above raw spot. 2026 starting points: sterling ~$1.10-1.40/g, gold-filled ~$3-5/g, 14k gold ~$45-60/g, brass/copper a few cents/g. A loss allowance (~5%) covers filing and sawing, and precious-metal scrap and sweeps are worth recovering. Underpricing the bench hours is the craft's number one mistake, so the estimator shows hours times rate plainly. All tunable in Settings.

Pottery & ceramics (clay, glaze, kiln firing)

Pottery is metered by clay weight + firing energy. The defining cost is the KILN: an electric kiln draws ~1.5-12 kW for 6-10 hours, twice per piece (bisque + glaze), so a firing is tens of kWh. The honest per-piece firing cost is that energy plus kiln depreciation divided by the pieces sharing the kiln load (you fire a full kiln, not one mug). Clay is cheap (stoneware ~$2-2.6/kg, so ~$1-1.30 for a mug); firing + labor dominate, and the real loss rate (cracks, glaze defects) makes the failure buffer earn its keep. All tunable.

Woodworking (lumber by the board-foot, machine time)

Woodworking is metered by board-feet + shop time. Hardwood is priced per board-foot (bdft = thickness-in × width-in × length-ft ÷ 12), so the lumber line is bdft × $/bdft × waste. Mid starting points: poplar ~$5/bdft, red oak ~$7/bdft, hard maple ~$8/bdft, walnut ~$14/bdft. The shop machine (saw/router/sander) is metered over its actual RUN time, which is far less than total hands-on time, so labor leads and the machine line stays modest. Hardware + finish are pass-through costs. All tunable.

3D printing filament (FDM materials)

Filament presets are estimated 2026 starting points for 1 kg spools, tunable in Settings. Prices swing a lot with brand and sales (budget spools run lower, brand-name higher), and densities are the common published polymer figures the engine uses to turn sliced volume into grams: PLA ~1.24, PETG ~1.27, ABS ~1.04, ASA ~1.07, TPU ~1.21 g/cm^3.

Trades (bidding a job: markup, overhead, profit, contingency)

The trade bid engine builds a job bottom-up: line items, then general conditions, contingency, and overhead + profit. The default loaders (contingency ~12%, overhead 10%, profit 10%, subcontractor markup 20%) sit inside the common industry ranges below, and every one is editable per project. No marketplace tail, because a job isn't a unit on a shelf.

Trade Quick start templates (starter line prices, 2026)

The Quick start templates (a bathroom remodel, a cedar privacy fence, an asphalt re-roof, an interior repaint, and the rest) pre-fill a bid with the common line items at 2026 US national mid-range installed costs, split into material and labor. Every figure is a STARTING POINT you tune to your suppliers and market: urban and union work runs roughly 15-25% above these (the Get-started wizard's region and market choices nudge for that), and 2025 tariff inflation on items like vanities and cabinets is already in the baselines. Full per-trade breakdowns with the material/labor split for each line live in the research docs (painting, fencing, roofing, renovation). A representative sample of the underlying cost guides:

Services Quick start (creative + professional rates, 2026)

The services lines (graphic design, photography, SEO & marketing, copywriting, social media, videography) and their Quick start templates seed 2026 US mid-range rates, split so the labor (the real cost of a desk service) carries the line. They are STARTING POINTS you tune; the Get-started rate tier (solo / studio / agency) nudges labor, and ad spend, tools, and licensing are tracked as pass-through project costs, not marked up as your work. Wide ranges (5-10x by experience and niche) are flagged in the per-service research docs. A representative sample of the underlying rate guides:

Currency conversion (display only)

The cost engine is currency-agnostic: you enter costs in one currency (yours) and we never convert inside it. The currency converter and the catalog's 'show in' switcher are a display convenience for sellers who list on a foreign marketplace, built on a static, hand-maintained table of approximate mid-market rates as of June 2026. They're labelled approximate and dated everywhere they appear; for an exact figure at order time, check a live rate. Your saved prices never change.

Spool Vault (filament catalog + NFC tag formats)

Registering a spool can pick from a vendored snapshot of the community filament database (brands, colors with approximate swatches, net and empty-core weights, print temperatures, densities) instead of typing it all by hand. Swatches are close, not color-matched: the hex printed on your spool wins, and every prefilled number stays editable. Tag writing follows the open OpenSpool format; the Anycubic ACE tag layout follows the community's published reverse-engineering notes (format facts only, no code copied).

A note on accuracy

Power figures are averages while printing PLA after warm-up, not the brief warm-up peak or idle draw. Prices are approximate street prices at review time. Both are defaults: enter your own printer price and electricity rate in settings and Anvil HUD prices on your real numbers, not ours. Spotted something off? Tell us.