Guides · 24 October 2026
How to estimate CNC setup time for a quote
Setup is the time the machine is busy and no saleable parts come off it. On a small batch it is often the biggest number in the job, yet many quotes give it one round figure, “1 hour”, whatever the part. Built up from the steps, it is easy to estimate and easy to defend.
What a setup is made of
- Workholding. Clearing the table, mounting and indicating the vise or fixture. A fixture that lives on the machine, or a zero-point system, takes minutes; one that has to be found, fitted and trammed takes much longer.
- Tools. Loading the tools the job needs that are not already in the carousel, and measuring their lengths and diameters. Count only the new ones.
- Work offsets. Finding the part zero, by probe or by hand.
- Prove-out and first-off inspection. Running the program carefully the first time, then measuring the first part before the rest are run. On a new part this is usually the longest step.
- Each further operation. Flipping the part is a second setup: new jaws or a second fixture, a new offset, another first-off check.
- Teardown. Taking it all down and putting tools away so the next job can start.
A worked example
An aluminium housing, two operations on a vertical machining centre. Op 1 machines the top in a vise; op 2 holds the part in soft jaws, cut for this job, to machine the back. Eight tools, four of them already in the machine. Machine time costs US$95 an hour with its operator.
| Step | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Clear the table, mount and indicate the vise | 15 |
| Load and measure 4 new tools, 3 minutes each | 12 |
| Set the op 1 work offset with the probe | 5 |
| Prove out op 1, measure the first part | 25 |
| Cut soft jaws for op 2 | 30 |
| Set the op 2 work offset | 5 |
| First part off op 2, measure | 15 |
| Tear down, put tools away | 10 |
| Setup | 117 (1.95 hours) |
At US$95 an hour that is US$185.25 per batch, before overhead and margin. The cycle time is 7.5 minutes a part over both operations, US$11.88 of machine time.
| Quantity | Setup per part | Cycle per part | Setup share of machine cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | US$37.05 | US$11.88 | 76% |
| 25 | US$7.41 | US$11.88 | 38% |
| 100 | US$1.85 | US$11.88 | 13% |
A round “1 hour” would have left out almost an hour of machine time on every batch. At 5 pieces that is US$18.05 a part missing from the price.
Setups on repeat orders
If the soft jaws are kept and labelled, the next batch skips the 30 minutes of cutting them: 87 minutes instead of 117, US$137.75 instead of US$185.25. The prove-out is quicker too once the program has run. Take that off a repeat quote only when the jaws and program really are still there; the guide on pricing repeat orders covers what to check.
Getting better setup figures
- Time a few setups. Note the start and end of each step on a handful of real jobs. You will quickly see which steps are steady and which vary.
- Keep standard times. Vise setup, tool change, probe offset, first-off check. Then a new quote is a matter of counting steps.
- Price each operation's setup. Two operations are two setups, even when the second side is simple.
- Charge setup per batch. If the buyer wants 100 parts delivered as four lots of 25 on different dates, that may be four setups, not one.
- Compare with the actual. Log the real setup time on the job and compare it with the quote. Most shops find their setups run longer than they price them.
Setup is a cost per batch, and that is why the price per part has to change with quantity. The guide on pricing small batches shows how to quote several quantities without one subsidising another.
In Spindlewise, each operation on a line has its own setup time per batch and cycle time per part, for the machine and the operator separately, so every quantity on the quote carries the right share of setup. Once the job has run, the hours logged on the shop floor show how the real time compared with the quoted time.