Plasma cutting cost calculator
For base plates, flanges, gussets and cleats cut from plate. The calculator nests your parts for the real number of plates, adds the cutting time from every outline and pierce, and gives a price for the job and for each part.
Plasma cost calculator
The figures it starts with are examples. Put in your plate size and price, and your own speed, pierce time and rate.
What makes plasma different to price
A wider kerf
A plasma cut is wider than a laser’s and puts more heat in, so parts need more space between them. The calculator starts at 5mm; use the gap your table actually leaves. More gap can mean another plate on a full job.
Pierce time matters on plate
Piercing thick plate takes a few seconds each time, and every part needs one. On a job of small cleats and gussets, the pierces can add up to more time than the cutting.
Plates are dear
On plate the material is usually most of the price, so the nest is where the money is. One plate saved on a job can be worth more than all the cutting.
How the price is worked out
The same way as the laser cutting cost calculator: whole plates at your price plus markup, the outline of every part plus a pierce each at your speed, and minutes per plate to load it and clear the parts, all at your machine rate. Each part takes its share of the material by area and of the loading by count, plus its own cutting time.
Each part is treated as a rectangle. Bolt holes and cut-outs add cut length and a pierce each, so for parts with plenty of them, add a little or put in a slower speed. The pricing guide works through a full example.
Your own figures
The speed your table can reach on a straight line is not the speed it averages on a job full of corners and small parts. Time a typical job from the first pierce to the last part and divide its cut length by the minutes: that is the speed to use here. Do the same for a single pierce on the plate you cut most.
Questions
Try it on your own job
Free, in your browser, no account. Your cut list stays on your computer.