Quoting DXF files made clear.

NanoQuote supports DXF (2D drawings) and STEP (3D models). DXF files contain 2D vector geometry - lines, arcs, and polylines that define cut paths directly. STEP files are 3D CAD models; NanoQuote automatically detects flat sheet metal parts and extracts the cutting profile, eliminating manual conversion. For CNC cutting (laser, plasma, waterjet), these CAD files tell the machine exactly where to cut. The geometry determines cut length, pierce count, and part dimensions - the numbers that drive your quote.

NanoQuote supports DXF and STEP files natively - no conversion needed. For STEP files (3D models), NanoQuote automatically extracts the flat cutting profile from sheet metal parts. PDF files and images (PNG, JPG) cannot be processed directly because they don't contain precise vector data. If your customer sends a PDF, ask them for the original CAD file (DXF or STEP) to ensure accurate quoting.

This is one of the most common DXF problems. Many CAD programs export DXF files without embedding unit information, leaving you to guess. A part that's 100 units could be 100mm (~4 inches) or 100 inches (over 8 feet) - a 25.4x difference that will destroy your quote. NanoQuote lets you override units per layer or per file during upload, and shows part dimensions so you can sanity-check before creating line items.

Cutting time depends on three factors: cut length (total distance the beam/torch/jet travels while cutting), pierce count (how many times the cutter plunges into material), and your machine's parameters (cut speed in IPM or mm/min, pierce time in seconds). The formula is: Cut Time = (Cut Length ÷ Cut Speed) + (Pierce Count × Pierce Time). NanoQuote extracts cut length and pierce count from your CAD files (DXF or STEP) and applies your machine settings automatically.

Material pricing typically includes: sheet cost (what you pay for raw material), utilization (how much of the sheet you actually use), and handling (loading/unloading time). A common mistake is pricing only the material area of the part - but you're buying whole sheets. If a small part uses 10% of a sheet, you still paid for the whole sheet. NanoQuote tracks billable sheets based on nesting, so your material costs reflect actual sheet consumption, not just part area.

Nesting is arranging parts on a sheet to minimize waste. Utilization is the percentage of sheet area actually used for parts. High utilization (70-85%+) means you're getting more parts per sheet. Low utilization means you're paying for material that becomes scrap. When quoting, you need to know utilization to price material correctly. If you quote based on part area alone and your actual utilization is 50%, you're undercharging by half on material.

Every pierce (where the cutter penetrates the material) takes time - typically 0.5 to 3+ seconds depending on material and thickness. A part with 50 holes has 51 pierces (50 holes + 1 outer profile). At 1 second per pierce, that's almost a minute of pierce time alone. Parts with lots of holes or cutouts can have more pierce time than cut time. Ignoring pierce count in your quotes means underpricing complex parts.

Your machine rate should cover: equipment cost (depreciation or lease), consumables (lens, nozzle, gas, abrasive), power, maintenance, and overhead. A rough approach: take your annual machine costs and divide by billable hours. A $50,000 laser running 1,500 billable hours/year with $15,000 in consumables costs about $43/hour before labor. Many shops use $50-150/hour for fiber lasers, $30-80/hour for plasma, and $80-200/hour for waterjet.

Both approaches work, but charging setup separately is more accurate. Setup includes: programming/CAM time, material loading, machine warmup, test cuts, and first-article inspection. For repeat jobs, setup is lower; for complex one-offs, it's higher. Rolling setup into part price penalizes high-quantity orders and subsidizes one-offs. NanoQuote supports both: per-batch services that charge once per run, and per-piece services that scale with quantity.

Thicker material means: slower cut speeds (sometimes 10x slower), longer pierce times, higher gas consumption, and more consumable wear. A 1/4" steel part might cut at 60 IPM; the same part in 1" steel might cut at 8 IPM. Your quote needs different machine parameters per material/thickness combination. NanoQuote stores cut speed and pierce time per material, so switching from 16ga to 1/4" automatically adjusts cutting time calculations.

Secondary ops are typically per-piece services with a time estimate and labor rate. Deburring might be 30 seconds per part at your operator rate. Tapping depends on hole count and thread size. Bending is per bend with complexity factors. The key is tracking these separately so you can see their contribution to the total. NanoQuote supports per-piece and per-batch services that you can add to any line item.

Quantity discounts make sense when higher quantities reduce your per-part costs - less setup time amortized per part, better nesting utilization, and workflow efficiency. However, material cost per part stays roughly constant. A common approach: keep material and cutting costs fixed, but reduce setup/handling per part as quantity increases. NanoQuote's per-batch services naturally create this effect - a $50 setup fee spread across 10 parts is $5 each; across 100 parts, it's $0.50 each.

Quote revisions are normal - quantities change, materials swap, features get added or removed. The challenge is tracking versions and communicating changes clearly. With manual quoting, this often means recreating spreadsheets. NanoQuote keeps a history of quote changes and lets you update and resend quotes. Customers see the current version at their quote link, and you can retract/update without starting over.

Email is standard, but attached PDFs or spreadsheets create versioning problems - customers reply to old quotes, you lose track of what they're looking at. A better approach is a shareable link to a live quote that customers can view, accept, or reject without logging in. Changes you make update instantly. NanoQuote generates these links automatically, and customers can respond with one click.

Inconsistent pricing usually comes from: different people using different rates, manual calculation errors, or no standard markup structure. The fix is centralizing your pricing inputs - material costs, machine rates, labor rates, and service definitions - so every quote pulls from the same source. NanoQuote stores these in your organization settings, so any quote created uses current rates. Change your material price once, and it flows to all new quotes.