Buying the biggest build plate "just in case" is the most common — and most expensive — mistake in lab digitalisation. Plate area you never fill is capital sitting idle.
Match volume to your real batch
Count a typical overnight run: a 192 × 120 mm plate holds ~40 model bases or 12 splints; a 220 × 130 mm plate adds ~25% capacity for roughly 30% more footprint. If your daily load is under 20 items, the smaller plate wins on cost-per-part.
Decision checklist
- Models only: a 120 × 68 mm plate is enough for most crown/bridge labs.
- Splints + dentures: step up to 200 × 125 mm so two arches fit diagonally.
- High mixed volume: dual-plate or stacked builds beat one giant plate for uptime.
The AI Printing Series spans 120 mm to 220 mm plates with a shared resin workflow, so you size the machine, not the chemistry.
The cost-per-part math
Throughput, not plate size, drives the number. A 192 × 120 mm plate at 40 models per night, 250 nights per year, yields about 10,000 models per year. Amortise a $6,000 printer over 3 years and you are near $0.20 per model before resin. A plate you fill 30% of the time roughly doubles that figure.
Weekly load planner
| Daily items | Recommended plate |
|---|---|
| <15 | 120 × 68 mm |
| 15–35 | 192 × 120 mm |
| >35 | 220 × 130 mm or two units |
Buy the plate you will fill at 70% load on a busy Tuesday, not a quiet Monday.