Guides
Pricing CNC work, step by step
Worked examples for the numbers behind a machining quote. Each one comes with a free calculator.
- Bar stock cost per turned part: parts per bar, cut-off and the bar end
Work out what the material in a turned part really costs: blank length with facing allowance, cut-off width, how many parts a bar gives, the bar end you cannot use, and why small batches pay for whole bars.
- Which CNC jobs lose money? Comparing quoted and actual hours
How to find the jobs, customers and processes that cost more than you quoted: log setup and run time per operation, cost the job again at the quoted rates, and read where the profit went. With a worked example.
- How to work out a CNC machine hourly rate
A step-by-step way to work out what one spindle hour really costs a CNC shop: depreciation, interest, maintenance, floor space, power and tooling, divided by the hours the machine actually cuts.
- Material cost for machined parts: weight, kerf, yield and stock lengths
How to price the material on a CNC quote: blank weight from size and density, saw kerf and facing allowance, extra blanks for scrap, cutting charges and how many stock lengths to order.
- Quoting machined parts from the customer's 3D model
What a customer's STEP file tells you when you quote a machined part (blank size, volume, holes, pockets) and what it does not (tolerances, finishes, threads), with a worked example from model to blank cost.
- Why small CNC batches lose money, and how to price them
Setup and CAM programming are paid once per order but spread over every part. How to price a CNC job at several quantities so a batch of 10 is not quietly subsidised by a batch of 100.
- How to estimate CNC turning cycle time
Estimate the cycle time of a turned part from cutting speed, feed and depth of cut: roughing passes, the finishing pass, facing, the lathe's maximum rpm and the non-cutting time that often matters more.