Why Is Xometry So Expensive? 8 Reasons You Should Know
- Gavin Leo
Xometry has revolutionized the manufacturing industry. Traditional manufacturing relies on finding a reliable supplier, reviewing technical drawings and manufacturing capabilities, and finally, getting a pricing quote.
Xometry has simplified this interaction between manufacturers and custom part manufacturing clients. You no longer need to wait hours and days to get a simple pricing quote.
What is Xometry?
Xometry is an industrial parts manufacturer marketplace focusing on custom part manufacturing. Xometry itself doesn’t manufacture parts but offers a market of thousands of manufacturers to produce your custom parts.
You upload your 3D part to Xometry and it has a smart dynamic pricing model that can instantly quote you a price based on the quantity, materials, and manufacturing methods.
Xometry was started in 2013 by Altschuler and Laurence Zuriff to help engineers get on-demand parts quickly and easily.
Altschuler was already an entrepreneur and wanted to address the following shortcomings of traditional manufacturing.
Offer a consistent customer pipeline to factories with free schedules
Reduce lead times for customers
Allow smaller businesses to gain reliable manufacturers
How Does Xometry Calculate Prices?
Xometry’s pricing model explains why it’s so expensive. Xometry’s CNC machining pricing comes from its AI pricing algorithm.
It relies on an instant quoting engine that uses a combination of design analysis, geometry records and material properties to calculate the number of operations and offer an instant quoting service.
You need to create an Xometry account to store the geometry of your part. After signing up you can create quotes using 3D supported file formats.
Xometry allows you to use built-in 3D software plug-ins from solidworks to make the quoting process easy and accurate.
You can get a price by using these popular file formats.
STEP
STP
SLDPRT
STL
DXF
IPT
X_T
X_B
3DXML
PRT
SAT
3MF and JT
Xometry first inquires if there are any export regulations. If you select yes, the price can increase.
After this stage the quote is instant and you just select your quantity, material, and finishing method like anodizing or electroplating. By the time, you finish adding all the manufacturing processes, you’ll find your price has increased significantly.
This is one reason Xometry is so expensive.
Xometry offers a range of production times and shorter lead times can double your cost.
Usually, the first-on-demand manufacturing cost is high but repeated orders tend to have a lower price.
A simple Nylon 12 3D printed having a base not more than 5 x 5 cm can cost $50. However, ten of these parts cost $270 which is almost a 50% drop in price.
6 Reasons Why Xometry Is So Expensive
Brand Reputation
Xometry’s platform offers production services from CNC machining to 3D printing. It’s a one-stop platform for engineers to start from product design and select their manufacturing processes.
One reason for its popularity is its customer association with big names like BMW, NASA, and General Electric. As these brands are known for their high-quality products, new customers at Xometry can expect similar production quality.
Xometry allows customers view certifications of manufacturers and filter suppliers according to expertise and manufacturing services.
It offers the quickest, reliable and reputable rapid prototyping platform for engineers.
Online Platform
Xometry is a pioneer in offering an online marketplace for CNC machining services. It is one of the few web technologies offering users to upload CAD files, view them, and receive DFM feedback.
Apart from this, after your free sign up you can manage all your manufacturing projects and get free quotes. You can also collaborate with the design community on Xometry and access many other features that are not available in traditional manufacturing.
Safe Delivery and Packaging
Xometry not only assigns your manufacturing projects to different manufacturers but also manages any casting, assembly, and delivery service to your doorstep.
This is great for custom parts with tedious assembly procedures. Of course for large quantities of parts there will be costs associated with assembly which is another reason why xometry is so expensive.
Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Xometry serves thousands of customers around the world. The reason there is a premium associated with their custom parts is that they use various manufacturing processes to ensure quality.
For example, 3D printing metal parts is a popular manufacturing process that ensures good tolerances and exact measurements.
Traditional manufacturers might rely on die casting and CNC machining parts which can take more time for customers.
Xometry has a large network of reliable manufacturers. This means they can take on multiple job orders at once without being overloaded by the quantity of parts. Their production capacity is much larger than any traditional CNC machining shop.
Many Material Choices
At Xometry, you can choose from a host of materials and even specify the temper you want for metals. For example aerospace-grade aluminum with T6 temper.
In addition to this, Xometry has a wide range of 3D printing materials. For various industrial applications, you can opt to 3D print ASA, Nylon, and polycarbonate.
Xometry has also added resin 3D printing thanks to its network of suppliers and this high-quality printing leaves the smoothest surface without any lines and signs of layered FDM prints.
Specialized Manufacturing
Xometry is a marketplace that offers the most efficient one-stop for specialized manufacturing techniques.
From sheet metal fabrication to urethane casting, finding a manufacturer for any project is possible. You can also consult engineers and get help from the community. This makes prototyping less challenging and engineers can be confident in their production methods.
Who Are Xometry’s Competitors In On Demand Manufacturing?
Xometry may be the pioneer of for offering on-demand manufacturing services online but there are many competitors who are just as good.
Many European firms rely on regional on-demand manufacturing services with an instant quoting engine like Sculpteo, a France-based company, or Geomiq, a London-based company with CNC machining specialties.
This means Xometry needs to value competitive pricing to compete with alternatives of Xometry.
Aria Manufacturing VS Xometry
Aria Manufacturing started in 2010 with the aim of offering integrity, confidence and a one roof production house to its customers.
Our mission is to make prototyping as simple as possible and offer molding, casting, CNC machining, and sheet metal fabrication services under one roof. This makes your designs private and offers additional integrity.
Advantages over Xometry
Online CAD files support
Online instant quote
Secure and integral manufacturing with no outsourcing
Fast turnaround and efficient lead times
Quality Certifications
Services
Sheet metal
Injection molding
Plasting injection molding
Overmolding
Vacuum casting
Protolabs VS Xometry
Protolabs was established in 1999 and is one of the oldest companies leading in digital on-demand prototyping. Headquartered in the United States, Protolabs is similar to Xometry with its presence across the world but has a different working model.
Instead of offering a marketplace, Protolabs relies on acquiring manufacturers worldwide and relying on in-house manufacturing facilities to fulfill orders.
Advantages over Xometry
In-house manufacturing
Secure and integral manufacturing with no external network
Advanced manufacturing techniques
Research
Services
Injection molding
Liquid silicon rubber molding
Prototyping
CNC machining
Precision machining
Metal 3D printing
PolyJet
Laser cutting
Sheet metal
Punching
Fabrication
Fictiv VS Xometry
Fictiv is the closest neighbor of Xometry with an online market place where customers can connect with manufacturers. Fictiv has a network of vetted manufacturers with quality checks and reliable machines.
They have a global presence in Europe, Asia and USA. Fictive provides instant quotes, dfm feedback, and workflow management where you can track your orders, find which procedures are being done and find all your designs on your dashboard.
Advantages over Xometry
Fictiv is faster than Xometry. They offer shorter lead times because of their checked manufacturers.
For large orders, they assign their own managers to keep up with the production
Online instant quote
Significant quality assurance
Services
Die casting
Sheet metal
CNC machining
Injection molding
Urethane casting
Compression molding
Xometry VS Fractory
Fractory is a recently established CNC machining service headquartered in Estonia. Fractory is a digital marketplace with specialized manufacturers in sheet metal. The founders are from Estonia but most of their operations are handled from the UK.
Fractory provides an instant quote and offers digitization of workflow for engineers.
Advantages over Xometry
Best for sheet metal processes
Better project management
Fractory is small and young which means they can value new customers more
Services
Specialized sheet metal cutting and bending
Laser and plasma cutting
Welding and assembly
Xometry Competitor Overview
| Feature | Xometry | Fictiv | Protolabs | Fractory | Aria |
| Founded | 2013 | 2013 | 1999 | 2017 | 2010 |
| Business Type | Marketplace | Marketplace | Manufacturer | Marketplace | Manufacturer |
| Specialized Capabilities | All | All | All | Sheet Metal | All, with a focus on CNC |
| Lead Time | 1 week | 3 - 5 days | 1 day | 1-3 days | 1 - 2 days |
| Customers | Large businesses, SMBs | Large businesses, SMB and start-ups | Large businesses | SMBs and Startups | SMBs and Start-ups |
| Added Advantages | Reliable and brand value | Highest quality assurance | Most technologically advanced manufacturing | Sheet metal cutting and bending | In house manufacturing |
Are Xometry Parts Worth It?
Xometry parts are expensive but they come with a guarantee of quality. Not only can you see manufacturers’ certificates but also Xometry checks dimensions before shipping the parts.
If your parts are complex and require special project engineers and quality checks, Xometry offers great solutions. Xometry pushes deadlines for complicated parts if the manufacturer makes a mistake in dimensioning your parts. So, you’re sure to get the right part free of any errors.
Benefits of Xometry Parts
Cloud-based instant quoting
Large material selection
Quickest delivery
No minimum number of orders
Quality checks and certifications
Disadvantages of Xometry
Your parts are outsourced to 3rd party manufacturers
Delays in complex parts
Premium prices
Design integrity can leak
Conclusion
In the end, Xometry stays as one of the largest manufacturing networks with partners in China, Asia, Europe, and the US. It offers the easiest way to prototype your parts and usually large companies use it for their smaller complex components.
Startups and small scale businesses use Xometry for prototyping their designs or ordering smaller quantities and benefit from the no MOQ rule of Xometry.
However, you can choose many alternatives to Xometry who offer in-house manufacturing which is just as good or at times better than Xometry. Aria Manufacturing is one of the leading competitors with an easy-to-use online quoting engine and 3D part viewer.
FAQs
Q: What is Xometry used for?
A: You can either be a manufacturing partner on Xometry or become a customer to assign your prototyping job to one of the 3rd party manufacturers.
Q: Why is Xometry so cheap?
A: Xometry is not cheap. It is a marketplace that adds a premium to the manufacturing cost for the services it offers. One way it can be considered cheap is for rapid prototyping when extremely short lead times are needed.
Q: Is Xometry a good company?
A: Yes, Xometry is one of the best CNC machining platforms to find reputable and qualified manufacturers.
Q: How much can I make on Xometry?
A: As a manufacturer, you can make more on Xometry by using your idle machines. Each payment depends on the type of job like 3D printing or urethane casting. A simple 3D printing project not more than the size of your palm, can make you roughly $20.
Q: Where does Xometry manufacture?
It has manufacturing partners all across the world in Turkey, India, Europe, the USA and China.
Q: Is Xometry a US company?
Xometry is a US company listed on the stock market. It was founded in Maryland, US.