What LayerMargin reads
LayerMargin recognizes common metadata written by Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, and OrcaSlicer. Depending on the exporter and file, it can pull estimated print time and filament use into the calculator. For multi-material files, supported per-extruder material amounts are combined so the estimate reflects total consumption rather than one color.
The file is read locally by your browser. LayerMargin does not upload the G-code or store the model on a server. If supported metadata is absent, the calculator leaves the values for manual entry instead of inventing a number.
Export useful metadata from the slicer
- Cura: save the sliced G-code after confirming the material profile, supports, and estimated time shown in the preview.
- PrusaSlicer: export G-code with normal slicer comments intact. Avoid cleanup tools that strip metadata before importing.
- Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer: use an exported G-code form when available. If your workflow produces a container the browser cannot read as plain text, copy the slicer’s displayed total time and filament grams manually.
Always compare the imported figures with the slicer summary. Firmware flavor, post-processing scripts, unusual macros, or different exporter versions can change what appears in the file.
Why G-code is only the starting point
The slicer knows geometry and machine instructions, but it does not know your spool purchase price, utility rate, useful printer life, maintenance allowance, hourly labor value, box cost, selling channel, or acceptable margin. It also cannot know how often your shop must retry this category of job. Those inputs often matter more than a few grams of rounding.
G-code time + material → workshop costs + risk → selling fees + target margin → price per partHandle multi-color and multi-material jobs carefully
Color changes can create purge towers and flushing waste, so use total consumed material, not only the weight of the finished object. If materials have meaningfully different prices, a single blended spool price is an approximation. You can calculate a weighted material cost separately and enter an equivalent spool price, or add the difference as another batch cost.
Multi-color work may also increase setup, monitoring, loading, cleanup, and failure exposure. Add that hands-on time explicitly. When a batch produces several sellable pieces, use batch quantity so packaging and fixed per-order fees are applied consistently.
Check the estimate against reality
A slicer time is a forecast. After production, note the actual machine time, material consumed, active labor, failures, and selling fees. If one printer or material repeatedly differs from the estimate, create a shop profile that reflects that setup. Better source data produces better quotes without changing the pricing formula.