Cut time, machine cost and material cost for a laser cutting job — set material, thickness, cut length and machine rate.
This calculator combines machine time and net material cost for your batch. Enter the material, thickness, cut length per part, quantity and pierces. Include internal holes as well as the outside profile in the path length. The hourly machine rate and material price are editable assumptions, not supplier prices or a live quotation. Keep the same scope when comparing processes.
Speed equals the material reference speed at 12 mm multiplied by 12 divided by thickness in millimetres. For mild steel, this page uses 1,200 mm/min at 12 mm. Doubling thickness halves the modelled speed. This simple relationship is a planning model, not a machine capability limit. Travel time is cut length divided by speed; pierce count multiplied by seconds per pierce is added before multiplying by quantity. Machine cost is total seconds divided by 3,600, multiplied by your hourly rate.
Take 25 mild steel parts at 3 mm, each with 900 mm of cut, four pierces at 0.5 seconds and 300 cm² of net area. Speed is 4,800 mm/min. Total cutting and piercing time is 331.25 seconds. At £90/hour, machine cost is £8.28. Density is 7.85 g/cm³, giving 17.6625 kg for the batch. At the example input of £1.20/kg, material costs £21.20. The total is £29.48, or £1.18 per part, calculated before rounding.
Laser power, assist gas and cornering affect actual speed. Nitrogen consumption and oxide removal can change the finished price. Compare the laser cutting cost per metre guide before treating a continuous-cut rate as a part price. The model does not allow for acceleration, rapid moves between contours or small-feature slowdowns. Replace assumptions with information from the supplier wherever possible.
Material cost uses net part area × thickness × density, converted to kilograms. It excludes the skeleton, kerf loss and unused sheet. Check the nesting guide for sheet yield and the sheet weight calculator for dimensions and density. Setup, programming, inspection and unloading need separate allowances. Spread a fixed setup charge across the quantity to see its per-part effect; do not add a charge twice if it is already included in the rate.
No. The total includes cutting and piercing time at your hourly rate plus net material cost. Add programming, loading, setup, finishing, VAT and delivery separately.
Set material price to zero and divide machine cost by total cut length in metres. This includes the entered pierces; continuous cutting alone costs hourly rate divided by 60, then divided by speed in metres per minute.
Send a CAD profile and dimensioned drawing, material grade, thickness, quantity, critical tolerances, edge finish and delivery requirements. State whether you supply the material and ask which extras are included.