Material Rate Calculator

Material costs are often the largest component of a cutting quote, but many shops only account for the base purchase price. This calculator helps you capture all material-related costs to ensure accurate pricing and profitability.

Hidden Costs in Material Pricing

Beyond the purchase price, materials have several cost components:

• Storage costs: Warehouse space, inventory carrying costs, and allocated overhead
• Transportation: Delivery fees, freight charges, or time/cost to pick up materials
• Extra operations: Protective film removal, cleaning, certifications, or special handling (cranes for heavy sheets)
• Cutting consumables: Material-specific costs like assist gases (nitrogen for stainless, oxygen for carbon steel) or special abrasives

Cost per Area vs Cost per Sheet

This calculator provides both cost per sheet and cost per area (mm² and in²). Cost per area is essential for accurate material pricing when parts don't use full sheets:

• NanoQuote uses cost per area to calculate material costs based on part dimensions
• This ensures accurate pricing even when parts are nested and share sheets
• Cost per area accounts for all overhead, so you're not losing money on smaller parts

Material-Specific Cutting Costs

Different materials require different consumables during cutting:

• Laser cutting: Assist gases vary by material (nitrogen for stainless/aluminum, oxygen for carbon steel). Nitrogen cutting is more expensive but produces cleaner edges.
• Waterjet: Abrasive garnet consumption varies by material thickness and hardness. Harder materials consume more abrasive.
• Plasma: Electrode and nozzle wear varies by material and thickness. Thicker materials and certain alloys increase consumable costs.

These material-specific costs are separate from your base machine operating rate, allowing you to price accurately for different materials and cutting methods.