How printing work arrives
Customers arrive with a model file and three questions: can you print this, in what material, and what will it cost. Services that answer by asking for the file by email and replying the next day lose to any provider that quoted from an upload immediately. Engineers additionally need tolerance, surface finish and material property data to know whether the part will actually function, and prototype customers and production customers want very different things — one wants speed and iteration, the other wants repeatability and a per-unit price at volume.
What we build for a printing service
First, instant quoting from an uploaded model by material, resolution and quantity, which is the single feature that decides this market. Second, material property and tolerance data per process, so an engineer can judge whether the part will work. Third, build volume and turnaround stated per technology, since size and speed are hard constraints. Fourth, separate prototype and production routes, with volume pricing and repeatability evidence for the latter.