Busy lasers, thin margins
The fibre laser runs all day. The nitrogen tank is filled more often than anyone expected. At the end of the quarter, margins on laser cut work look thinner than the quotes suggested, and nobody can say which jobs caused it. Is it the stainless work cut with nitrogen? The thick plate? The small parts with hundreds of pierces?
The quote was priced from an estimate. The job was nested with others. After that, nobody looked.
Why laser costs vanish into overheads
Mixed nesting makes costing hard by design. A sheet holds parts from several jobs, so its machine time, gas and material have to be shared out. Doing that by hand for every nest is not realistic, so it is not done.
- Nests mix jobs, so time and material are not naturally per job.
- Assist gas use varies by material, thickness and gas type, but is not tracked by job.
- Actual cut time differs from the quoting estimate and nobody compares them.
- Sheet skeleton waste is not shared across the jobs on the sheet.
- Handling, sorting and deburring time after cutting is not counted.
What not knowing costs
Some jobs are underpriced and keep being quoted the same way, because the next quote starts from the last. Others are overpriced and lost. Gas heavy work is quoted like any other. And decisions about gas supply, a second laser or pricing for thick plate are made on instinct.
The laser job costing we build
- Nest reports from your nesting software are read for each sheet: which parts, which jobs, the estimated cut time and the sheet used.
- Actual cut times per program are taken from the laser's own logs or controller, where the machine records them.
- Assist gas use is estimated per nest from the cutting parameters for that material, thickness and gas, and checked against deliveries and tank readings over time.
- Each sheet's time, gas and material are shared across the parts on it, in proportion to their cut length and area, with skeleton waste shared the same way.
- Handling and sorting time can be added from the sorting station or as a standard per part.
- A report shows each job's quoted and actual laser cost, and totals by customer, material and thickness.
| Cost element | Source |
|---|---|
| Machine time | Laser logs or nest estimate |
| Assist gas | Cutting parameters, checked against deliveries |
| Sheet material | Nest report and sheet price |
| Skeleton and waste | Sheet area not used by parts |
| Handling and sorting | Sorting records or a set standard |
The split across parts is an allocation, and we agree the rules with you. The aim is good decisions, not accounting precision to the penny.
What the numbers show you
You can see which jobs and customers make money on the laser and which do not, with the reason: time, gas or material. Quotes for similar work start from real costs. Gas heavy work gets its own rates. And when you discuss a new laser, a bulk gas supply or a price rise with a customer, you have figures to point to.
The comparison of estimated and actual cut times also tells you whether the rates in your quoting are right, which is the foundation of every other price you send.
Pierce heavy parts are a good example. A perforated panel with hundreds of small holes can take far longer on the laser than its cut length suggests. Once actual times are compared with estimates, parts like that get priced for what they really take, and the quoting rates can carry a proper allowance per pierce.
Do you know what your laser work costs?
- Laser jobs are never costed after cutting.
- Gas bills rise and nobody can say why.
- Nest estimates and actual cut times are not compared.
- Skeleton waste is not charged to anyone.
- Thick plate and stainless are priced like everything else.