How much does cNC machining and metal parts cost per unit?
Confidence 4/5 Established practice
Unit cost for cNC machining and metal parts:
Roughly USD 8–80 per part at quantities of 10–100 for a small to medium part, dominated by machine time and material. At 1,000+ units, casting or moulding usually wins.
Sources
- CNC machining cost drivers and volume crossover — Industry practice; consistent with published machining service pricing
- Iron and steel article classification — World Customs Organization HS nomenclature
- Section 232 steel and aluminium derivative tariffs — US Department of Commerce
What goes wrong with cNC machining and metal parts
- Specifying a tolerance the part does not need. Tightening from ±0.1 mm to ±0.02 mm can multiply cost.
- Asking for "stainless steel" without a grade. 304 and 316 differ in corrosion performance and price.
- Surface finish defined only by adjective. Ra values or a physical sample are needed.
- Ignoring deburring and passivation, which are separate operations and often quoted separately.
- Assuming a machining quote scales linearly to volume; it does not, and the crossover to casting arrives sooner than expected.
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