Sintered stainless steel binder-jet part on a ceramic setter plate beside loose metal powder

Binder-jet metal parts, quoted by an engineer rather than a calculator.

Illuminious is a U.S. NPI engineering company. Binder-jet metal printing glues metal powder into a green part and sinters it, and because sintering shrinkage is geometry-dependent the whole route is quoted by an engineer. Engineered in San Francisco. Prototype builds, DFM and mass production in our own factory in Shenzhen. Upload your files, get a free engineering review, and pay only the official quote that review publishes.

Binder jetting glues metal powder into a green part, then a furnace sinters it dense. The part shrinks, and the shrinkage depends on geometry. So an engineer scopes this route: the configurator opens a metal-additive project, and the review sets the process, the shrinkage allowance and the price.

Two ways in: configure it online and a specialist prepares your official quote within 24 hours on business days, or send the job to an engineer. Engineering review is free either way and comes before you pay.

Payment: Official price after free review
Review target: Within 24 hours on business days after you submit

Talk to an engineer Get an official quote in 24 hours

No CAD yet? Our design team can take it from a sketch or a spec.

The configurator opens with this configuration preselected. An engineer reviews every order. Account required; engineering review is free and comes before payment.

Is binder-jet metal right for your part, or should it be SLM?

Metal parts in quantities where powder-bed fusion becomes slow
Geometry that does not need supports during the build
Small, repeatable metal components
Projects willing to trade the tightest tolerance for throughput

Typical orders: Small to medium metal batches. Every binder-jet enquiry is scoped in review before a price is confirmed.
Accepted files: STL, STEP/STP, OBJ, or 3MF geometry. Drawings (PDF, DXF, DWG) and reference images upload to the same project as supporting files.
Payment basis: Official price after free review
Not ready to configure?: How 3D printing works
Preparation workbook: Download the intake workbook

The choices that decide the part.

Each of these is a real configuration decision with a cost and a consequence, not a feature list. Where one of them constrains another, engineering review is the step that resolves it.

Green part, then sinter

The printer builds a fragile bound part; the furnace turns it into metal. The two stages have different failure modes, which is why the geometry review matters more here than in a single-stage process.

Shrinkage compensation

Parts shrink measurably during sintering, and thick and thin sections shrink differently. Compensation is designed into the build for your specific geometry.

Stainless steel

The metal family the configurator offers. Other alloys and any certification requirement are review requests.

Post-sinter operations

Machining of critical faces, finishing, and inspection are declared work with their own cost and schedule.

What the configurator accepts, and where review takes over.

Binder-jet metal capability bounds
Parameter	Supported range
Process	Binder jetting with furnace sintering. Confirmed in engineering review — the configurator records metal additive as powder-bed fusion.
Material	Stainless steel through the configurator. Other alloys are review requests.
Configurator envelope	0.1–2000 mm per axis and 0.01–1,000,000 cm³ declared volume. Parts outside that range are still quoted: a specialist prepares the official quote within 24 hours on business days.
Quantity	1–100,000 parts per line. Batch pricing and repeat-order handling are confirmed in review.
Dimensional accuracy	Governed by sintering shrinkage and compensation, so it is confirmed per geometry in review rather than published as one figure.
Density	Sintered parts are not automatically fully dense. If density matters for your application, say so and review answers it directly.
Tolerance classes	Process standard, controlled dimensions, or critical tolerance. Critical always routes to engineering review before production.
Inspection	Standard visual, dimensional report, or advanced inspection, selected per line in the configurator.

This is the additive route where the review step matters most. Get an official quote to open the project and put your geometry in front of an engineer; a specialist prepares the official quote within 24 hours on business days, after the review.

Boundaries

Sintering shrinkage is geometry-dependent and must be compensated in the build; that compensation is a review output, not a configurator field
Binder jetting is not selectable as a distinct process online — the configurator records metal additive as powder-bed fusion and review confirms the actual route
Certified, pressure-rated, or fully dense material requirements are settled in review

Why is binder-jet metal priced by an engineer rather than a calculator?

Quotation by a specialist. Quotation within 24 hours on business days. A specialist prices your exact 3D Printing scope from your files and specifications. You submit your request online, and the quotation arrives in your account and by email. Review is free. Nothing is charged until you accept a quotation.

Declared volume and bounding envelope
Quantity, which is usually the reason binder jetting is being considered
Sintering setup and shrinkage compensation work
Post-sinter machining, finishing, and inspection
Tolerance class, certification requests, and requested lead time

What engineering reviews

Customer approvals may include

The confirmed process route where review recommends powder-bed fusion instead
Any geometry change needed to sinter predictably
Any itemized price or lead-time revision

Whether binder jetting or powder-bed fusion is genuinely the better route for the part
Section thickness variation and its effect on sintering distortion
Shrinkage compensation and which dimensions must be held after sintering
Whether critical faces need post-sinter machining
Density, porosity, and certification requirements against the stated end use

Free review first. Keep every later decision explicit.

Because the configurator does not expose binder jetting as its own process, note it in your project description when you request an official quote. Review reads that note alongside the geometry and confirms the route in writing before you are asked for an official price.

Create your account
Verify your email before the persistent quote workspace opens. Every file, estimate, message, and payment stays attached to that account.
Configure and upload
Provide service-specific inputs and place technical files in private project storage. Saved drafts remain available across sessions.
Free engineering review
Submit the configured cart at no charge. A reviewer checks the exact file and specification revision, then prices it or opens a documented question or correction request.
Official quote
Review publishes an itemized quote with lead time and a validity window. That is the binding figure; anything shown earlier was a preliminary estimate.
Accept and pay
Accepting opens payment rather than charging you. Lead time is counted from settled payment, and any later itemized revision needs your approval first.
Produce and deliver
After all commercial, technical, and customer gates are complete, the project moves through the service-specific production or design milestones.

Commitments the order system actually enforces.

Official quote prepared by a specialist, then geometry review

Binder jetting is the clearest case for the review-before-price model: the engineer who reads your geometry is the one who confirms process, compensation, and cost.

Files stay private

Models, drawings, and revisions live in per-project storage reached through short-lived authenticated links, tied to your account rather than an email thread.

Review target

3D printing projects are targeted for review one business day after you submit them. Review is free and happens before you are asked for an official price.

Answers before you upload anything.

Why can't I select binder jetting in the configurator?

Because the route depends on your specific geometry: sintering shrinkage has to be compensated part by part. The honest sequence is a metal-additive project that opens the file, then a free engineering review that confirms the route, with the official quote prepared by a specialist within 24 hours on business days.

How do I ask for binder jetting specifically?

Get an official quote from this page and write "binder jet" in the project description and notes. That note travels with the project, and review responds to it directly.

How does payment work if the price changes after review?

The free engineering review comes first. Depending on the service you see a live supplier price, a published fixed price, or a price from a specialist within 24 hours on business days, and nothing is charged when you submit. After the review we publish an official quote with an itemized total, lead time and a validity window, and that is the amount you are asked to pay. Accepting the official quote opens payment rather than charging you. If a later correction changes scope or price, you see an itemized revision and can approve, question or decline it. We never silently charge an increase.

How are my models protected?

Your technical files are stored in private project storage and accessed through short-lived authenticated links. Files, prices, replacements and approvals stay tied to your account and keep their revision history.

Open a binder-jet project and put the geometry in front of an engineer.

Requesting an official quote creates the project, stores your model privately, and puts it in the review queue. Note "binder jet" in the description and review confirms the route and the official price.

Three lead-time tiers, each with its trade on the line: Economy lengthens the quoted target range and takes a discount line; Standard is the quoted target range at the quoted price; Express shortens it and adds an expedite line. You see the line before you commit, and every range is a target, not a promise.