The Quote Builder is one of the core features of 3DQ, allowing you to create detailed quotes for 3D printing jobs. This guide explains how to use the Quote Builder effectively.

There are two ways to create quotes in 3DQ:

1. Quick Quote: For fast estimates with minimal inputs
2. Full Quote Builder: For detailed quotes with comprehensive cost breakdowns

To access the full Quote Builder:

1. Navigate to the Quotes section in the sidebar
2. Click the Create Quote button

The Quote Builder follows a step-by-step process to create comprehensive quotes:

In this step, you'll enter:

• Quote Title: A descriptive name for the project
• Customer Name: The client's name or organization
• Date: When the quote was created (defaults to today)
• Quantity: Number of identical items to be produced (defaults to 1)
• Notes: Any additional information about the quote (optional)

In this step, you'll:

• Select filament(s) from your inventory
• Enter the amount of filament used in grams
• See the calculated cost for each filament
• Add multiple filaments if your print uses different materials

The system automatically calculates the cost based on the formula:

filament_cost = (grams_used / 1000) * price_per_kg

In this step, you'll:

• Select any additional hardware components used in the project
• Specify the quantity of each component
• See the calculated cost for each hardware item
• Add multiple hardware items as needed

In this step, you'll:

• Select the printer used for the job
• Enter the print time in hours
• See the calculated power cost and printer depreciation cost

The system automatically calculates:

power_cost = print_time * power_usage * electricity_cost_per_kwh
depreciation_cost = print_time * depreciation_per_hour

In this step, you'll enter time spent on:

• Design work (minutes)
• Preparation (minutes)
• Post-processing (minutes)
• Other labor (minutes)

The system calculates the labor cost based on your hourly rate:

total_minutes = design_minutes + preparation_minutes + post_processing_minutes + other_minutes
labour_cost = (total_minutes / 60) * labour_rate_per_hour

The final step shows a complete breakdown of all costs:

• Filament costs
• Hardware costs
• Power costs
• Depreciation costs
• Labor costs
• Subtotal of all costs

You can also adjust:

• Markup Percentage: The profit margin added to the subtotal
• Discount Percentage: Any discount applied to the total after markup
• Tax Rate: If configured in settings, tax will be applied after markup and discount

The final calculation follows this formula:

subtotal = filament_cost + hardware_cost + power_cost + depreciation_cost + labour_cost
markup = subtotal * (markup_percent / 100)
total_before_discount = subtotal + markup
discount = total_before_discount * (discount_percent / 100)
total_after_discount = total_before_discount - discount
tax = total_after_discount * (tax_rate / 100)  # If tax rate > 0
final_total = total_after_discount + tax

After completing all steps, click the Save Quote button to save the quote to your database.

Once saved, you can:

• View the quote details
• Edit the quote
• Duplicate the quote (useful for similar projects)
• Delete the quote
• Generate invoices (client or internal)