Should purge and tower grams be combined?
Enter them separately when the slicer provides both values. The calculator combines them for total waste while preserving a clear input record.
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Tool 06 / Multicolor waste
See what every color change adds to the part.
Separate model filament from purge, flush, and prime-tower material. Calculate the waste share, added machine time, cost per finished part, and the value of batching identical models.
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Enter your multicolor plate
Separate model, flush, and prime-tower grams from the slicer preview.
Read the slicer correctly
Waste belongs in the quote.
Separate product material from process waste
Model grams become the saleable parts. Flush and purge material, prime towers, and other transition structures enable color changes but do not become products. Both leave the spool and must be paid for.
Include additional machine time
Retractions, loading, unloading, purging, wiping, and repeated travel can add hours beyond a single-color version. Enter only the additional time caused by the multicolor workflow.
Batching can lower overhead per part
Several identical models can share many of the same color transitions. When the slicer reports one plate-level waste value, the calculator divides that overhead across all finished parts.
Worked example
One 85 g model with 95 g of flushing and a 25 g tower sends 120 g to process waste. Waste is 58.5% of the plate's filament before any failed-print allowance—more material than the product itself.
Formula
Multicolor overhead / part = (purge material + tower material + extra machine time) ÷ success rate ÷ partsUse the slicer's plate summary after slicing the final color sequence. Generic purge assumptions can be very different from the actual printer, filament colors, flushing volumes, and model layout.
Quick answers
Multicolor waste calculator FAQ
Why can adding copies reduce cost per part?
Many color transitions happen per layer or per plate, not once per model. Additional copies can share the same purge events, although the final slicer summary remains authoritative.
Does purge material always go in the trash?
Some workflows purge into infill or another object. Count only the grams that do not become a useful product, and verify surface or color requirements before reducing flush volumes.
Is this calculator limited to one printer brand?
No. It works with any slicer that reports model material, transition waste, tower material, and print-time differences.