What does this calculator do?
Relate mass to solid material volume. Mesh volume differs from slicer consumption for infilled, hollow or supported parts.
How to use the calculator
- Choose the actual occupied material volume for the question being answered.
- Convert that volume into cubic centimeters.
- Use a supported density in grams per cubic centimeter.
- Compare the solid estimate with sliced consumption when planning an FDM job.
How the calculation works
Mass = volume × density
Solid material mass in grams = occupied material volume in cm³ × density in g/cm³.
Practical calculation example
100 cm³ of actual solid material at an assumed 1.24 g/cm³ give 124 g. This is not an automatic infill-consumption estimate.
Understanding the results
Mark generic presets as estimates. Printed apparent density includes voids and is different from raw polymer density.
Use material volume, not an arbitrary bounding box
The equation is simple: mass equals material volume multiplied by density. Its usefulness depends on identifying the right volume. A closed solid object's enclosed volume can represent solid material, while a hollow object with walls needs the volume actually occupied by those walls. A bounding box includes empty space around the geometry and is not generally suitable. The calculator does not read a slicer, subtract infill voids or reconstruct internal walls. State whether you entered solid model volume, sliced material volume or another measured quantity before interpreting the mass result.
Match the input units
Volume is entered in cubic centimeters and density in grams per cubic centimeter. Their product therefore gives grams. One cubic centimeter equals 1,000 cubic millimeters and also one milliliter, but one cubic meter contains one million cubic centimeters. If a CAD application reports 100,000 mm³, enter 100 cm³, not 100,000. A factor-of-one-thousand input error passes through directly into the mass. Read the CAD document's unit setting rather than assuming the displayed volume has the same units as a linear dimension shown elsewhere in the interface.
Check the worked example
For material volume 100 cm³ and density 1.24 g/cm³, calculated solid material mass is 124 g. The same volume with an assumed density of 1.05 g/cm³ would give 105 g. These density choices illustrate the equation rather than prescribing an exact density for any branded product. A filled material can differ from an unfilled formulation, and an actual manufacturer's data is preferable to a generic family label. All else equal, doubling volume doubles mass, and increasing density by ten percent increases the estimated mass by ten percent.
Do not substitute infill percentage for occupied volume
A one-hundred-cubic-centimeter external model printed with twenty percent infill does not generally contain twenty cubic centimeters of material. Solid walls, top and bottom layers, overlap, supports and other extrusion remain. Infill percentage describes a slicer setting, not a universal multiplier on the model's enclosed volume. Use the slicer's material-volume estimate when you want printed consumption, and verify whether it includes support and purge. The solid-volume result remains useful as a declared fully solid estimate or for comparing geometry, but calling it actual FDM consumption would confuse two different physical quantities.
Check geometry before trusting its volume
A CAD body's reported solid volume can be a sound input when the body is valid and the exported scale is correct. An open, self-intersecting or inconsistently oriented mesh can produce misleading volume estimates in simpler analysis methods. This calculator does not validate topology; the local STL analyzer has its own declared checks and limits. For an irregular part, compare the geometry-derived estimate with a suitable independent measurement if accuracy is important. The arithmetic can be exact while the input is physically wrong. Keep geometry validity, unit conversion and density uncertainty visible instead of hiding them behind the result's numerical precision.
Advanced tips
- A milliliter and a cubic centimeter represent the same volume.
- Keep solid geometry mass separate from infill-based consumption.
Common mistakes
- Multiplying a bounding-box volume by density as if it were the model.
- Entering cubic millimeters without dividing by one thousand.
- Using infill percentage as a universal solid-volume multiplier.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the mass of my sliced FDM print?
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Only if the entered volume is its actual material volume. Enclosed model volume and sliced material volume are not generally identical.
Can I use the formula for resin?
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Yes, as a mass conversion with the appropriate product density and a correctly defined volume. The tool does not estimate resin-processing losses.
Sources & methodology
Mathematical results depend on the supplied inputs. Material properties and machine limits need confirmation for your exact equipment. Editorial specialist approval remains pending.