# Laser Cutting Cost Calculator

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/laser-cutting-cost-calculator
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

Work out run time, machine cost, setup per part, material and a selling price for laser cut parts, and see how quantity changes unit cost.

## Category

cost-finance

## Industry

Sheet Metal Fabrication

## Audience

- Estimator
- Fabrication owner
- Production planner
- Cost accountant

## Tool

**Kind:** calculator

**Currency:** $

**Inputs:**

#### Order quantity

**Key:** qty

**Type:** number

**Default:** 100

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** parts

#### Cut length per part

**Key:** cut_len

**Type:** number

**Default:** 1.2

**Min:** 0.01

**Step:** 0.05

**Unit:** m

**Help:** Total path length including inner features, from the CAM report.

#### Pierces per part

**Key:** pierces

**Type:** number

**Default:** 12

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 1

#### Cutting speed

**Key:** speed

**Type:** number

**Default:** 3

**Min:** 0.2

**Max:** 40

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** m/min

**Help:** Effective average speed for the material and thickness, including corners.

#### Pierce time

**Key:** pierce_s

**Type:** number

**Default:** 1.2

**Min:** 0.1

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** sec

#### Machine hourly rate

**Key:** rate

**Type:** number

**Default:** 120

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 5

**Unit:** $/hr

**Help:** Depreciation, power, operator, floor space and overhead per running hour.

#### Assist gas cost

**Key:** gas

**Type:** number

**Default:** 18

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** $/hr

**Help:** Nitrogen or oxygen, per cutting hour.

#### Setup and program time per batch

**Key:** setup_min

**Type:** number

**Default:** 20

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 5

**Unit:** min

#### Blank weight per part

**Key:** weight

**Type:** number

**Default:** 0.9

**Min:** 0.001

**Step:** 0.05

**Unit:** kg

#### Material price

**Key:** mat_price

**Type:** number

**Default:** 1.4

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.05

**Unit:** $/kg

#### Nesting yield

**Key:** yield_pct

**Type:** slider

**Default:** 75

**Min:** 30

**Max:** 95

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

#### Handling, deburr and packing per part

**Key:** other

**Type:** number

**Default:** 0.35

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.05

**Unit:** $

#### Margin on cost

**Key:** margin

**Type:** slider

**Default:** 25

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 100

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

**Outputs:**

#### Run time per part

**Key:** cut_min

**Expr:** cut_len / speed + pierces * pierce_s / 60

**Format:** minutes

#### Machine and gas cost per part

**Key:** run_cost

**Expr:** cut_min / 60 * (rate + gas)

**Format:** currency

#### Setup cost per part

**Key:** setup_cost

**Expr:** setup_min / 60 * rate / qty

**Format:** currency

#### Material cost per part

**Key:** mat_cost

**Expr:** weight * mat_price / yield_pct * 100

**Format:** currency

**Description:** Blank weight grossed up by the nesting yield.

#### Cost per part

**Key:** part_cost

**Expr:** run_cost + setup_cost + mat_cost + other

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

#### Selling price per part

**Key:** price

**Expr:** part_cost * (1 + margin / 100)

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

#### Order total

**Key:** batch

**Expr:** price * qty

**Format:** currency

**Chart:**

#### Cost and price per part vs order quantity

**Type:** line

**X:** qty

**From:** 1

**To:** 200

**Steps:** 40

**Series:**

- part_cost
- price

**Disclaimer:** A simplified cost model for quoting. Real jobs also carry tooling wear, consumables, sheet handling, remnants and part-specific scrap. Calibrate the machine rate against your own books.

## Content

**Intro:** Laser cutting cost per part comes from machine time, setup spread across the order, material including scrap, and finishing work. This calculator turns your CAM numbers into a cost and a selling price, and shows how quantity changes the unit cost.

**Sections:**

#### How to use the calculator

**Body:** Take cut length and pierce count from your CAM or nesting report and enter the effective cutting speed for the material and thickness. Add your machine hourly rate and assist gas cost, then enter setup time per batch, the blank weight and the material price. Set the nesting yield from your actual nests, add any handling cost per part, and choose a margin. The result gives cost per part, a selling price and the order total, and the chart shows how unit cost falls as setup is spread over more parts.

**Bullets:**

- Use average speed, not the maximum rated speed.
- Enter machine rate as the full cost per running hour.
- Use the yield from a real nest, not a guess.

#### How the cost is built

**Body:** Run time equals cut length divided by speed, plus pierces multiplied by pierce time. Machine and gas cost is run time in hours times the combined hourly rate. Setup cost is setup time at the machine rate divided by quantity. Material cost is blank weight times price per kg, divided by nesting yield, so a 75 percent yield adds a third to the raw blank cost. Add handling and finishing, then apply margin on cost to get the selling price.

**Bullets:**

- Thicker material lowers speed and raises gas use.
- Pierce time rises sharply with thickness.
- Low yield hurts most on expensive materials like stainless.

#### Example and how to read it

**Body:** With the defaults, run time is about 0.64 minutes per part, which at $138 per hour is about $1.47. Setup adds roughly $0.40 per part at 100 parts, material comes to about $1.68 and handling is $0.35, so cost is near $3.90 and the price near $4.88. At quantity 10, setup alone is about $4 per part. Use that to set minimum order charges and quantity break tiers rather than quoting one flat price.

**Bullets:**

- Look at the chart to find where unit cost flattens.
- Set a minimum order value to cover setup on small runs.

#### Common mistakes

**Body:** Quoting from nominal speed charts, ignoring pierce time on parts with many small holes, and forgetting scrap are the usual causes of underquoting. Others are a machine rate that omits operator time, and ignoring remnant value or sheet handling. After each job, compare quoted run time with the machine log and update the effective speed. In an ERP, feeding actual run times back into routing standards makes the next quote more accurate.

**Bullets:**

- Compare quoted time with actual machine time.
- Update the machine rate at least once a year.

**Cta:** If you want quotes to pull cut times, material prices and yields directly from your ERP and nesting software, Netray can help build that integration, including on-prem deployments.

**Faq:**

#### How much does laser cutting cost per hour?

**Answer:** Shop rates vary widely by machine power, location and overhead. Use your own fully loaded cost per running hour, including depreciation, power, operator and floor space, rather than a market quote, and then add margin separately.

#### Why does pierce time matter so much?

**Answer:** Parts with many holes can spend as much time piercing as cutting. On thicker plate the pierce can take several seconds, so a part with dozens of pierces may be dominated by that time instead of cut length.

#### How do I include nesting yield?

**Answer:** Divide the blank weight by the yield percentage. If a part weighs 1 kg and the nest yield is 80 percent, you pay for 1.25 kg of sheet. Scrap credit can be subtracted separately if you sell it.

#### Should I price by weight or by time?

**Answer:** Time plus material is more accurate for laser work. Weight-based pricing hides pierce counts, thickness effects and setup, so it often underprices complex thin parts and overprices simple thick ones.

## Search terms

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