CNC Machining Cost Calculator
A quote is a short model of the job: how long it runs, what it consumes and what the shop must earn. This calculator rolls those pieces into a price per part and shows how quantity changes it.
Your numbers
Include load, unload and any in-process inspection.
Loaded hourly rate including operator and overhead. See the hourly rate calculator.
Stock cost including cutoff and drop.
Anodize, heat treat, plating, inspection services.
Your results
A planning estimate only. Real quotes also reflect fixturing, programming time, inspection, packaging, freight and customer terms.
Price per part vs order quantity
Sweeps Order quantity from 1 to 200, holding your other inputs fixed.
Connect quotes to ERP routings and actuals
Optional: we can discuss pulling quote assumptions and actual job costs together from your ERP.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the calculator
Enter the order quantity, the hours for setup and first article, the cycle time per part and your loaded shop rate. Add material, tooling and outside processing per part, then a scrap allowance and a margin. The tool returns setup cost, machining cost per part, direct cost, total order cost, the order price and the price per part. The chart sweeps quantity so you can show a customer how the price drops as the setup is spread across more parts, which is the basis of most quantity break tables.
How the cost is built
Setup is a one-time cost per order: setup hours multiplied by the shop rate. Run cost is cycle time in hours times the rate. Direct cost per part adds material, tooling and outside services. Scrap is applied as a divisor, 1 minus the scrap fraction, so that good parts carry the cost of the bad ones; at 3 percent scrap, cost rises about 3.1 percent. Finally the margin is applied on cost. Some shops quote margin on price instead, which needs a divisor rather than a multiplier.
- Setup cost = setup hours x rate
- Run cost = cycle minutes / 60 x rate
- Cost per part = direct cost / (1 - scrap fraction)
- Price = total cost x (1 + margin)
Worked example
At 50 parts, a 12 minute cycle at $85 per hour gives $17 of machining. Add $18 of material, $1.50 of tooling and $4 of outside processing for $40.50 direct. With 3 percent scrap that is about $41.75 per part, or $2,088 for 50 parts, plus $255 for a three hour setup, totaling $2,343. A 25 percent margin gives a price near $2,929, about $58.60 per part. At 10 parts the setup weighs far more heavily, which is exactly what the chart shows.
Common mistakes
The usual errors are underestimating cycle time by leaving out load, unload and probing, and quoting with a machine rate that excludes the operator or overhead. Another is forgetting that material arrives in stock sizes, so a small part may consume far more bar than its finished volume suggests. Finally, avoid using the same margin for prototypes and repeat orders. The first run carries programming and fixture costs that repeat orders do not.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the cost of a CNC machined part?
Add machining time cost (cycle time times shop rate), material, tooling, outside processing and a scrap allowance, then spread the setup cost across the order quantity and apply margin. This calculator follows that structure step by step.
What hourly rate should I use?
Use a loaded rate that covers machine depreciation, operator labor, utilities, tooling overhead, floor space and administration. Typical rates differ widely between 3 axis, 5 axis and mill-turn equipment, so use the rate for the machine that runs the job.
Why does the price per part drop with quantity?
Setup, programming and first article inspection are fixed costs for each order. More parts share that fixed cost, so the cost per part falls toward the pure run cost. The curve flattens once setup is a small fraction of the total.
Should margin be on cost or on price?
Both are used. Markup on cost multiplies cost by 1 plus the percentage, as this tool does. Margin on price divides cost by 1 minus the percentage, giving a higher price for the same percentage figure. Pick one and use it consistently.
If quoting still happens outside your ERP, Netray can help connect estimates to routings, material costs and actual job results so the next quote improves on the last.
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- Machine Shop Scheduling for CNC Job Shops: Why Schedules Break and How to Fix ThemMachine shop scheduling for CNC job shops: why schedules break, finite versus infinite capacity, the data it needs, and where AI helps daily.
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