Getting started with the calculators
How a calculator page is laid out, how results update as you type, how the link keeps your inputs, and what Copy link and Reset do.
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Every calculator page works the same way. The calculator sits at the top and the explanation of its math sits below. Whatever you type updates the results at once and is saved in the page address, and nothing is sent anywhere.
How a calculator page is laid out
Each page has four parts, top to bottom:
- Title and summary. One or two sentences on what the calculator does.
- The calculator. Inputs on the left, results on the right. On a narrow screen, the results sit below the inputs.
- How it is calculated. The formula, where each default came from and a worked example with the defaults. Then the publication date, the date the figures were last checked and a numbered list of sources.
- Related calculators. Links to the calculators that take or produce the same numbers.
Inputs come in labeled groups such as “Filament”, “Time and electricity” or “Circuit”. Most groups carry a short hint on where to find the number. Finding your inputs collects those hints in one place.
Results update as you type
There is no Calculate button. Each change to a field or dropdown recomputes every result. Pressing Enter does nothing, so you cannot wipe your inputs by submitting the form.
The first result in the panel is the headline number, shown large, and the lines below break it down. Some calculators end with a sentence that names the largest cost, flags a problem or gives a verdict. Reading your results explains those.
A blank or unusable field turns the affected results into a dash. A note in the results panel usually says what to fix, such as “Fill in every field. Failure rate and marketplace fee must be below 100%.”
Presets and method switches
Some dropdowns fill in other fields for you:
- Material presets. Picking a material in the filament length converter, the shrinkage calculator or the multi-color waste calculator fills in its density or shrinkage figure. Type a different number and the dropdown switches to “Other” or “Custom density”, so your number never carries the wrong material name.
- Method switches. The electricity cost calculator offers three ways to supply power (an estimate, measured watts or measured kWh) and shows only the fields for the one you pick. The filament length to weight converter and the shrinkage calculator switch fields the same way.
Units on every field
The unit for each field sits in a box to the right of it: g, h, W, per kWh, mm, °C. Enter numbers in that unit.
Money fields have no fixed currency. The currency symbol field defaults to “$”, and whatever you type there (€, £, zł) appears in front of every money result. Nothing is converted, so enter every price in the currency you name. A blank symbol falls back to “$”.
The chamber heater calculator is the one page with a units switch. Changing it between inches and millimeters converts the three enclosure dimensions you already entered. Panel and foam thickness stay in millimeters either way.
The address keeps your inputs
As you type, the page rewrites its own address to list every field that differs from the default, for example ?g=120&h=6. The page does not reload and makes no request. An untouched calculator has a bare address.
Two ways to keep or share a filled-in calculator:
- Copy link with these values. The button copies the current address to your clipboard and reads “Link copied” for two seconds. If your browser blocks clipboard access, it reads “Copy the address bar” instead, and copying the address by hand gives the same link.
- Bookmark the page. A bookmark saves the address, inputs included.
Anyone who opens the link sees the calculator with your values filled in and the results worked out. A link that names a dropdown choice the page does not offer leaves that dropdown at its default.
What Reset does
Reset puts every field back to the page’s defaults, recomputes the results and clears your inputs from the address. On a page opened from a shared link, Reset discards the shared values too. Open the link again to get them back.
Saving your work
The site has no accounts, saves no drafts and stores nothing in your browser. The page address is the only record. Close the tab without copying or bookmarking the link and your values are gone.
Your inputs stay in your browser
The math runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to a server while you work. A copied link carries your values in plain text, so anyone you send it to can read them. The privacy policy covers the rest.
Results are estimates
Each result comes from the numbers you enter plus the page’s defaults, and is only as good as those inputs. The defaults are either cited figures or placeholders, and each page says which is which. Defaults and sources explains how they were chosen. Replace them with your own measurements wherever you have them.
FAQ
Short answers about this part of the calculators