Merit3D

AS9100 REV D · ISO 9001:2015 · ITAR REGISTERED · MADE IN PRICE, UTAH 833-341-2335  ·  SALESSUPPORT@MERIT3D.COM
FAQ

Straight answers, no sales gloss.

The questions engineers and buyers actually ask us, answered the way we'd answer them on the shop floor. Don't see yours? Ask us directly — a person replies, not a bot.

Process & pricing
How does additive manufacturing compare with injection molding?

Injection molding: big upfront mold investment, months of lead time, near-frozen design once steel is cut — and very cheap parts at huge volumes. Additive: $0 tooling, parts in days, unlimited design changes, and per-part prices that compete with molding at small-part volumes. If your design is still evolving, or your volumes are under a few hundred thousand, additive usually wins the math. We wrote up the full crossover analysis: the volume math that wins.

What does a part cost?

Small parts (under 6″) typically run $0.75–$6 per part at 10,000+ quantities — from $0.30 at the highest volumes. Medium parts (6–20″) typically $20–$100. Those are real ranges from thousands of quoted parts, not marketing numbers — see the full pricing table on our capabilities page, or skip straight to a price: upload your CAD file.

Do you print prototypes?

Not primarily. Most of our customers are replacing injection molding, casting, or stamping — we specialize in functional, mass-produced end-use parts. Prototyping happens here as the on-ramp to production, not as the product.

What's your production capacity?

Rough guide, per day across the fleet:

  • Parts the size of a USB stick — 60,000/day
  • Golf ball — 10,000/day
  • Phone case — 5,000/day
  • Football — 100/day

Our record is 62,700 parts in a single 7-hour run, and we've delivered a 1,000,000-part order.

How fast will I get parts?

Days to weeks, not months. Design and dial-in usually takes days (mail time for sample approval is the biggest delay). In production, larger orders ship weekly. A typical order runs 1,000–10,000 parts; for 50,000+ we set up a standing weekly cadence.

Materials & quality
What materials do you print?

Rigid, high-heat, impact-resistant, and rubber-like resins on the SLA side, plus PA12 nylon on SLS. Every material we run is on the materials page with its real datasheet numbers — HDT, tensile, elongation, Shore — and a TDS link per material.

Are you certified?

Yes — AS9100 Rev D and ISO 9001:2015 certified, and ITAR registered. For medical, dental, and other sensitive applications, see the materials section of our manufacturing & supply agreement and talk to us about the right material.

Do you guarantee parts will work for my application?

We guarantee quality parts built to spec — but no honest manufacturer can guarantee fitness for every application. What we do instead: recommend materials from real test data, print candidates in two or three resins, and drop-test before you commit. Validate in your real use case; we'll iterate with you.

What textures and surface finishes are available?

From smooth to heavily textured — plus Cerakote ceramic coating for color and wear resistance. Browse the gallery or order a sample pack to feel the finishes yourself.

Design & files
I don't have a CAD file — can you help?

Yes. Our in-house modelers handle three kinds of projects: print-ready files (straight to production), designed-for-molding files that need additive adjustments, and no-file-yet projects we model from scratch. Most modeling projects run 5–15 hours at $150/hour, including a couple of iterations. Start with the contact form and describe the part.

Can you optimize my existing model for additive?

That's our favorite job. Parts designed for molding carry mold constraints they no longer need — we remove them, combine assemblies into single parts, and design for support-free printing. It usually makes the part better and cheaper. Some background: quit drawing molded parts.

Company
What printers do you run?

A Photocentric Magna fleet for SLA LCD resin production and a Formlabs Fuse cell for SLS nylon. The full rundown — throughput, sweet spots, real pricing — is on the capabilities page.

Why do you make parts in Price, Utah?

Price is coal country — Carbon County was settled for the mines, and the decline of coal hit our community hard. Our vision is to transition the local economy from Coal to CAD: reshoring real manufacturing jobs to rural America instead of watching them go overseas. Every part we ship is part of that bet.

What industries do you serve?

Aerospace and defense, firearms accessories, automotive, outdoor and sporting goods, medical, and consumer products, among others. See the industry pages in our menu, or read the case studies for real production runs.

Can I visit, or is it top secret?

Come see it — we're proud of the floor. Contact us to schedule a visit. We love raspberry-filled donuts. 🙂

Will additive replace traditional manufacturing?

Not all of it — but far more of it than most people think. Molding still wins at extreme volumes with frozen designs. Everywhere design agility, speed, or moderate volume matters, additive is already taking the work. We're betting the company on it, and we've written about why.

Question answered? Get a number.

Upload your CAD file for an instant estimate — or ask us the question that isn't here.

Start your instant estimate