Machine Shop Quick Job Quoting
Cost Breakdown (Per Part)
| Cost Component | Per Part |
|---|---|
| Material | $5.52 |
| Milling (15 min) | $21.25 |
| Drilling (5 min) | $7.08 |
| Setup (amortized) | $4.25 |
| Labor | $14.17 |
| Overhead | $15.68 |
Quantity Price Breaks
| Qty | Price / Part | Batch Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $156.91 | $156.91 |
| 10 | $90.60 | $906.00 |
| 50 | $84.71 | $4,235.50 |
| 100 | $83.97 | $8,397.00 |
| 500 | $83.39 | $41,695.00 |
This machine shop quoting calculator builds a parametric price for a CNC machining job by stacking up raw-material stock cost, per-operation machine time, amortized setup, labor, and overhead, then applying your target margin. It prices the requested batch and also generates standard price breaks at 1, 10, 50, 100, and 500 pieces so you can see how spreading the fixed setup over more parts drives the unit price down. Every line item is itemized so you can defend the quote to a customer.
Formula
Price/part = [ M + ΣOp + Setup/q + Labor ] · (1 + OH) / (1 − margin)
- M
- Material cost = volume × cost-per-in³ × (1 + material markup)
- ΣOp
- Sum of operation costs = Σ (cycle minutes ÷ 60 × shop rate)
- Setup/q
- Setup cost (setup min ÷ 60 × shop rate) divided by batch size q
- Labor
- Labor line item = total cycle minutes ÷ 60 × shop rate × 0.5
- OH
- Overhead rate as a decimal applied to the cost subtotal
- margin
- Target profit margin as a decimal (capped between 0 and 0.99)
How it works
- Pick the material and enter the stock block dimensions in inches. Volume (length × width × height) is multiplied by the material's cost per cubic inch and your material markup to get the raw-stock cost per part.
- List each operation (milling, turning, drilling, grinding, tapping) with its cycle time in minutes. Each minute is charged at your shop rate per hour, and the setup minutes are charged once and divided across the batch size so they shrink per part as quantity rises.
- Add overhead as a percentage of the cost subtotal and a target margin percentage. The calculator divides total cost by (1 − margin) to get the sell price per part, then reports the batch total and the 1/10/50/100/500 price breaks.
Worked example
An aluminum part from a 4×3×2 inch block, with 10 min milling and 5 min drilling, 30 min setup, batch of 10, $90/hr shop rate, 15% overhead, 20% material markup, and a 35% target margin.
- Material: 4×3×2 = 24 in³ × $0.10 × 1.20 = $2.88.
- Operations: milling 10÷60×90 = $15.00, drilling 5÷60×90 = $7.50, total $22.50.
- Setup: 30÷60×90 = $45 ÷ 10 parts = $4.50. Labor: 15÷60×90×0.5 = $11.25.
- Subtotal 2.88 + 22.50 + 4.50 + 11.25 = $41.13; overhead 15% = $6.17; cost = $47.30.
- Price: 47.30 ÷ (1 − 0.35) = $72.77 per part.
About $72.77 per part and $727.70 for the batch of 10. At a quantity of 100 the unit price drops to roughly $65.60 as setup is spread thinner.
Frequently asked questions
- How is setup cost handled across a batch?
- Setup time is charged once at your shop rate and then divided evenly by the batch quantity. The more parts in the run, the smaller the setup share each part carries, which is why the per-part price falls sharply between quantities of 1 and 100.
- How does the calculator estimate material cost?
- It multiplies the stock block volume (length × width × height) by an approximate market cost per cubic inch for the chosen material, then applies your material markup. Titanium and stainless cost far more per cubic inch than aluminum or plastic, so material choice can dominate the quote on large blocks.
- Is margin the same as markup here?
- No. This tool uses margin, dividing total cost by (1 − margin) so that profit is expressed as a percentage of the selling price, not of cost. A 35% margin therefore yields a higher price than a 35% markup would.
- Are tooling, inspection, and shipping included?
- No. The estimate covers material, machine time, setup, labor, overhead, and margin. Perishable tooling, first-article inspection, finishing, programming, and freight are not modeled and should be quoted as separate line items when they apply.