Rapid Prototyping Equipment Financing
Selecting Equipment

While the choice of equipment is entirely up to a lessee, every responsible lessor wants the lessee to make this choice wisely.  When a lessee chooses wisely, both parties will get the greatest possible business value from the leased asset.

A conscientious effort to select the most suitable equipment generally includes all the following considerations:

• Justification:  The lessee should undertake a study showing why the acquisition is justified in financial, operational and strategic terms.  This is particularly the case for large SLA and SLS platforms, which involve strategic decisions; relatively inexpensive 3D printers are much less costly and usually do not require an elaborate justification.  While it may be impossible to put a dollar value on every aspect of using the equipment, a justification study will always bring key issues into focus.
• Technology:  Know your technology alternatives and how each will affect the benefits you expect from the equpment.  Decide among (or rank) SLA, SLS and 3D printer technologies.  The ranking should include consideration growth in your existing work and potential new applications.
• Product Cycles:  Understand where each possible choice is in its product cycle.  New systems that emerge and gain acceptance during the course of a lease may affect the value of the equipment you select and the value that equipment will sell for in the future.
• New or Used:  Some equipment is available used as well as new.  Most lessees prefer new equipment but sometimes used equipment offers better value.  Sometimes the available used equipment is identical to new equipment — the same model — but sometimes the only available used equipment is a system from a prior generation.  If used equipment has been properly maintained and can be maintained in the future, it will most likely be acceptable to a lessor as well as the lessee.
• Vendor Policies:  Vendors want to sell new equipment and to that end have policies and practices that discourage free trade in used machines.  These policies and practices affect new machines as well as used ones because today's new system is tomorrow's used equipment; the more it is likely to be worth at the end of a lease, the lower the cost of the lease when it is new.
• Operational and Continuing Expenses:  Acquisition cost is only part of the total cost of ownership.  Lessees have to pay for maintenance, taxes and insurance.  They must buy consumables.  They must cover the cost of housing and running the equipment.  The only realistic budget is a complete one.
• Upgrades:  Some systems may be upgraded to improve their capacity.  An upgrades may come from the vendor or from a third party.  An upgrade can extend the life of a system but if it comes from a third party, the owner of the system will want assurance that maintenance and support will be available for the upgraded system.  If the upgrade is irreversible, it is your obligation to notify the lessor before making an irrevocable change to the asset.

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