FDM printed part on a heated build plate with a nozzle extruding molten thermoplastic

FDM plastic for large, low-cost parts where layer lines are acceptable.

Illuminious is a U.S. NPI engineering company. FDM printing extrudes thermoplastic filament layer by layer, and it is the additive route for large or low-cost parts where visible layer lines are acceptable. 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.

Fused deposition extrudes thermoplastic filament layer by layer. It is a low-cost route to a large part, such as a fit-check shell or an assembly fixture. The trade is visible layer lines, weaker strength across the layers and support marks under overhangs.

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 FDM the right process for your part?

Large form-study and fit-check parts
Jigs, fixtures, and shop aids
Concept models where cost beats surface finish
Parts that will be sanded, filled, and painted anyway

Typical orders: One-off and small quantities; repeat batches are usually better served by a powder-bed process, which review will say if it is true.
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.

ABS / ASA

The configurator's FDM thermoplastic family. Tough and machinable, with ASA holding up better under UV exposure — the choice between them is confirmed against your stated end use in review.

Build direction

Orientation decides where the layer lines land, which surfaces carry support marks, and which direction the part is weakest in. Review sets it deliberately rather than by default.

Finish path

As printed, sanded or polished, painted, bead blast, or secondary machining. Sanding and filling is the usual route to a paint-ready FDM surface.

Secondary operations

Heat-set inserts, tapped threads, and assembly are declared operations, priced as work.

What the configurator accepts, and where review takes over.

FDM plastic capability bounds
Parameter	Supported range
Process	FDM — fused filament extrusion.
Material in the configurator	ABS / ASA. Engineering and high-temperature filaments are a review request.
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.
Anisotropy	Layer adhesion is the weak axis. If the part is loaded, describe the load path and review sets orientation accordingly.
Surface finish	As printed, sanded/polished, painted, bead blast, or secondary machining.
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.

FDM is the least fussy and least precise of the processes on offer. Where it is the wrong answer for your part, review says so and quotes the process that is right.

Boundaries

Layer lines are visible on every surface and are inherent to the process, not a defect
Strength across layers is lower than along them; load direction matters and review will raise it
Support removal leaves witness marks on down-facing surfaces
Fine detail and thin walls resolve less crisply than in resin or powder-bed processes

What drives the price of an FDM part?

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.

Bounding envelope and declared volume, which set machine time
Quantity and how many parts share a build
Support volume implied by the geometry
Finish level and any sanding, filling, or painting
Inserts, tolerance class, inspection, and requested lead time

What engineering reviews

Customer approvals may include

Any process or material change proposed after review
Any geometry change we ask for to make the part manufacturable
Any itemized price or lead-time revision

Load direction against the layer orientation
Wall thickness relative to the extrusion width
Overhang angles and where support marks will land
Whether the declared tolerance is achievable in FDM at this size
Whether a powder-bed process would serve the part better at the same cost

Free review first. Keep every later decision explicit.

Geometry drives the official quote, so the model you upload is the model that gets priced. Replacing it creates a new revision rather than editing the paid one, and the previous revision stays readable in your project history.

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

A specialist prices the declared geometry and options, and your official quote arrives within 24 hours on business days. Review then reads the model for orientation, support, and load direction, and will recommend a different process outright if FDM is the wrong tool for the job.

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 is FDM cheaper than the other processes?

It uses inexpensive filament and simple machines, and it does not need powder handling or post-curing. You pay for that in surface finish, feature resolution, and strength across layers, which is why it suits large form studies and shop fixtures more than end-use parts.

Can you make an FDM part look finished?

Yes, by sanding, filling, and painting — declare it as a finish option and it is priced as work. If a smooth surface straight off the machine is what you need, SLA is the more direct route.

Is the amount at checkout final?

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.

Get an official quote for FDM with the thermoplastic already selected.

The configurator opens on FDM with ABS/ASA. Upload the model, set finish and quantity, and review confirms orientation and support before 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.