Whether you’re a professional buyer or a design engineer, both want to reduce costs without compromising quality when it comes to purchasing machined components. This article discusses the different factors that affect the cost of CNC machining. It will help you calculate CNC machining costs and provide tips for reducing costs.

9 main Factors affecting the CNC Machining Cost:
1.CNC machine cost: Machine cost also depends on various factors such as the size and weight of the machine, speed, power and machine configuration.

CNC milling is more expensive than other types of machining operations due to the more complex parts involved. Machining costs increase with the number of milling machine axes. For example, in the case of 5-axis machining, it costs more compared to a 3-axis machine.
2.Processing time: The time required for a complete machining of any CNC machined part also plays an important role in the calculation of CNC machining cost, the longer the machining time, the more expensive the machining will be, which adds to the base setup cost.
3.Labor force: One of the advantages of CNC machining over manual machining is that it reduces the amount of labor involved in manufacturing. The main cost of labor is the specialists who design the 3D CAD design model for machining which increases with the complexity of the required product.
4.Shape, complexity and size: Machining costs also increase as the complexity of CNC machined parts increases. More complex parts may require more process operations, different tooling, and more production time. Parts with larger dimensions require more raw materials and time to manufacture, so they will cost more than smaller parts.
5.Material costs: Material costs are also essential when calculating CNC machining costs. The price of a final product manufactured by a CNC machine depends on the type of material required to manufacture the product. Different materials have different costs. For example, the price of aluminum is economical and its processing performance is excellent. Most machinists use aluminum on CNC machine tools. Stainless steel and brass are less machinable than aluminum and therefore more expensive. Titanium is the most expensive of all these metals, so this metal will be the most expensive to machine as it may require some special tooling to create the part.In the case of plastics, most materials are less expensive, the tooling costs are lower, and plastics such as nylon, Delrin, and ABS take less time to process.
6.Surface finish: For some products, surface treatment is required, which also leads to an increase in the price of the final product. To enhance the aesthetics of the final product and remove any scratches from machining, you may need to provide a good finish such as polishing.

Other finishing processes may also include coating, anodizing, painting, chrome plating, galvanizing, etc. Inclusion of any of these finishes adds additional cost to the final product price.
7.Mold cost: In some manufacturing situations, standard tooling is not useful, so custom tooling is required, which also increases the cost of manufacturing using CNC machines.
8.Tolerance: Costs also increase when manufacturing products with tight tolerances, as complex machinery is required to manufacture parts with tight tolerances. Sometimes you may need to make holes or cavities with tight tolerances, this may create a burr on the surface, it will take more time to reduce it.
9.Quantity: The quantity of the order greatly affects the cost of the final product. It is true that the total cost increases as more finished parts are required, but the cost per part decreases.