How the price is worked out
Machine time per part = cut length ÷ speed + a slowdown for each sharp corner + pierces × (pierce time + 0.5 s to move the head) + 1 s of travel per pierce.Order time = quantity × time per part + 5 minutes per sheet + 15 minutes of setup. The machine cost is the order time × your hourly rate, shared over the parts by their time.Material = the part's bounding box plus the spacing, × thickness × density × price per kg, plus a 25 % markup.Unit price = (machine + material) × 1.10 margin, rounded up to €0.05. The order total adds a €20 setup fee and is at least €50.Per-metre and per-pierce rates are the same machine cost expressed per metre of cut and per pierce, for shops that quote that way.
The markup, margin, setup fee, minimum order and handling times are defaults (estimates). Zorocut Nest lets you set your own. The hourly rate starts at €60, our estimate for a small plasma table. Consumables have no field of their own: put them in the hourly rate or in the per-pierce price.
A worked example
Ten brackets of 150 × 100 mm with four Ø12 mm holes, cut from 6 mm mild steel on a Powermax45 XP at €60 an hour. Each bracket has 0.651 m of cut and 5 pierces. At the chart speed of 1.43 m/min and 0.8 s per pierce, one bracket takes about 39 s. With material at €1.20/kg (an estimate a shop would replace), the calculator gives €4.20 per bracket and €62.00 for the order, which is €0.70 per metre of cut and €0.02 per pierce.