That is really cool. Looking to get there with this. Still trying to figure out how to price things.
Pricing you need to figure out your cost per square inch on the material.
Then double it, then figure a cost per inch of cut, per pierce, etc. this is to cover your consumables.
With "Art" you can charge what the market will bear, we figured our shop hour for "Custom" work is around $275 an hour if we stop production completely that is what we are losing... we can do 50 individual items per hour, complete, with finishing etc, those items sell pretty easily for $175 and $200 (with LED lighting) each is app 20" x 12" Two layers of 18 Ga steel with bolts nuts and spacers. the Backer is powder coated and the facer has an artistically applied grind pattern then a clear powder coating is applied.
for a 5'x2' outdoor business sign we charge $1200, Burnished front and powdercoated finishes, includes installation and digitizing of company logo.
For some of the other decorative iron work we charge thousands...
We did a fallen officer memorial for the Fraternal order of police, 4'x8' plate rolled "Wave" with a 3'x5' panel attached on the front with a 6"x5' panel plasma cut header on that panel with the names of the fallen on engraved plates all over that front panel. 450# installed up 3 flights of stairs, Rental of a portable lift that could go up the stairs. $6000 plus they had several other projects...
Some we are doing for a local bar chain (10 locations multiple items per location) the "Johnny" is 42" tall to cover the back of a TV, the Arrow is 7' long plus the Re-bar wrap (per customer request) their old iron had Re-bar around it and looked like it was hand cut by someone with DTs...
We stay very busy, seemingly the hottest metal fab in town.
Even little stuff like some signs for Parade of Homes, and another attraction with signs with a piece of re-bar welded on for a stick, to shove in the ground... Powder Coated single color red. about $1000 on the labor for all of their order.
There is a CNC Plasma pricing Spreadsheet out there too.
Here is Jim Colt's method for charging for plasma work
"When I cnc plasma cut metal that is not considered art...here is my formula:
1. Know what you paid for the material.......mark it up to reflect your handling costs (its hard to move plate around your shop.....and did you have to pick it up at the supplier?)......on most plate under about 1/2" you likely should double the purchase price. Do the math and figure out your selling price per square inch.
2. If your plate works out to $.05 (5 cents per square inch).....use this same figure for your plasma cutting cost per lineal inch.....if you are using an air plasma with good cut quality and good consumable life (Hypertherm). I have done calculations for years trying to compensate for different thicknesses, the number of pierces, what it costs to grind dross.....and I find that this method works best.
3. Draw an imaginary rectangle around the part you need to cut. Figure out the square inches of the rectangle.....and this is the amount of material you should charge for.....this compensates quite well for waste and scrap metal that you likely will not be able to use. So...if you have 60 square inches, multiply it by the selling price for the material you are using (from 1 above, let''s use $.05 per square inch)....so the material price is: 60 x .05 = $ 3.00
4. Use a measure function in your plasma software to determine how many lineal inches there are in your part program.....lets say there are 47 lineal inches....so multiply lineal inches cut x the selling price of the plate (from 1 above), 47 x .05 = $2.35
5. Ad your material cost (from 3 above) to your cutting cost (from 4 above), $3.00 + $2.35 = $5.35. That is what I would sell the part for.....plus shipping of course, and if you had to CAD draw the part.....you will also need to charge for that value added time as well.
I have been told that my prices are low.....yet I am happy with the hourly rate I can make in my shop....usually between $60 and $100.
If it is art....and it is a truly good piece....then use the above to calculate the minimum you could sell it for.....but mark it up to whatever the market will bear. I have sold many $3.00 pieces of steel for $60 to $100 if it truly is art.
Jim Colt "
