[alach11]

I'm going to make an unpopular suggestion. Have you considered using a service that will print and ship to you, like CraftCloud?

Depending on volume, your total cost would likely be lower. I know you mentioned privacy concerns so this may not be an option. But it significantly simplifies your work, letting you focus on the parts themselves.

[jopsen]

A counter argument is that the short turn around time with local 3D printing is absolutely a feature.

I've printed small stuff just to get the fitting right, before I finished the part with fillets, etc.

Also there is lots of small fun stuff, small fixes you'd never do with a 3d printer if you had to order prints online.

Example, I designed a printed a M8 nut cap with room for the 3mm sharp rod sticking out. I could probably have gotten a metal file to mill down the sharp edge, but it was hard to get at, and this gave a nice finish.

[andrewmcwatters]

I, too, once looked into this, but for anything trivial you immediately exceed the cost of just buying a Bambu Lab A1 mini.

So you might as well buy that and have a lower-spec iteration, because you're going to run into all sorts of design problems before you get to finer constraints.

[bluGill]

Even if you buy a printer you should be aware of all the services. It might be more expensive but it opens up a lot more options too. Want a SLS print instead - they have it. Want to mill it from steel and then bend it - they can do that for you. Want to make something out of solid wood, no problem. Need a lot of parts fast - they have many printers and overnight shipping (at extra charge).

Sure it costs more, but if you will only do it once that is still cheap. And some of the things they can do for you are not safe to do at home.

[jkestner]

This is the way. Multijet fusion has ruined me for anything else and it’s cheap from print shops. I just need to find one in town and I’ll get the quick turnaround time that’s the only reason to have my own printer.

[imtringued]

I tried to check this on Xometry and the cost went from 4,83 € for FDM (quite overpriced unless they print with 0.05mm layer height) to 35,88 € for a tiny insignificant part of a much bigger print.

At those prices just the prototype alone will cost as much as an X1C. It's expensive enough that you'd rather print the prototype using an at home printer using random filament you have lying around and only print the end result once you're done prototyping.

Also there are no multijet fusion print shops "in town". That's an incredibly niche type of business you would expect in larger cities and therefore they would be priced accordingly.

[noja]

CraftCloud is good. The postage is often half my print cost but they’ll get it printed and you don’t have to deal with failures.