QuotedPartAnswers · Updated 2026-10-30
How long should a CNC setup take, and how do I quote it?
Price one of your own parts: Drop a STEP model or PDF drawing — about 90 seconds, no account.
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Start from a base setup for the machine, about 45 minutes on a 3-axis VMC, 60 on a 5-axis, 65 on a CNC lathe and 120 on a Swiss, and add half the base for each extra setup on the mill, because the tools and program are already in the machine. Then charge it once per lot, separately from the run time per part. On a 6061 housing with features on three faces that's 90 minutes of mill setup plus 86 minutes of CAM programming: $308.25 of the cost of a one-piece order at $95 an hour. Replace these starting numbers with your own as soon as you've timed a few jobs.
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Starting setup times by machine
These are the starting defaults in our pricing engine for a US job shop, set against machinists' ballpark prices in our price benchmark; the lathe's 65 minutes follows the one-tool turret lathe setup in Polgar's time-estimating tables. They are a reasonable first number for a part with ordinary workholding, not an industry average. A setup here means everything from the last good part of the previous job to the first good part of this one: workholding, tools, offsets and the prove-out.
| Machine | Base setup | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 3-axis VMC | 45 min | Vise or plate on the table, tools loaded and touched off, work offset picked up, first part proved. |
| 5-axis mill | 60 min | Same as the 3-axis plus checking the part's position against the rotary axes. |
| CNC lathe | 65 min | Chuck jaws (often soft jaws bored to size), turret tools, offsets, bar or blank stop, first part. |
| Swiss lathe | 120 min | Guide bushing, collets, a full tool zone set to the bar, sub-spindle and live tools; the longest setup on the floor. |
| Cylindrical grinder | 30 min | Centers or chuck, wheel dressed, first diameter sized. |
| Fiber laser | 15 min | Nest loaded, sheet squared, cut parameters for the material and thickness. |
| Press brake | 20 min | Punch and die loaded and the back gauge set; plus 3 minutes a bend for each bend to be set up. |
| Abrasive waterjet | 20 min | Plate on the slats, head height and abrasive, origin picked up. |
Extra setups, programming and first article
A part rarely takes one setup. On a mill, count one for each face that has features machined from it; a blank faced on both sides needs a flip even if every feature is on top. The first setup is charged in full and each further one at half the base. On a lathe, the second operation (flip, face and chamfer the cut-off end) is a quarter of the base, since it reuses the same tools and soft jaws.
CAM programming and first-article inspection are lot costs too, and they belong on the quote next to setup. Our starting CAM time for a milled part is 15 minutes plus 5 per setup and 4 per toolpath; first-article inspection is 15 minutes plus half a minute per hole. A one-piece order pays for all of it.
- Mill: base × (1 + (setups − 1) × 0.5). Three setups at 45 min = 90 min.
- Lathe: base × (1 + (ops − 1) × 0.25). Two ops at 65 min = 81.3 min.
- Press brake: base plus 3 minutes for every bend, so a four-bend bracket is 32 minutes before the first part.
- A secondary operation on another machine (a cross hole on the mill after turning) is a full setup on that machine.
Four parts, worked out
Machine setup is the time on the machines that cut the part; CAM is programming time. The last column shows how much of the one-piece cost is setup and programming: the reason prototypes are expensive.
| Part | Machine setup | CAM | Setup + programming cost | Share of cost at 1 | Share at 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6061 housing, holes and a pocket on 3 faces (3-axis mill) | 90 min | 86 min | $308.25 | 76% | 34% |
| 17-4 PH block, features on 4 faces (3-axis mill) | 113 min | 99 min | $364.46 | 64% | 29% |
| 303 fitting with a cross hole (lathe, then mill) | 126 min | 36 min | $273.37 | 93% | 71% |
| 1/4 in A36 plate, 10 holes and a cutout (fiber laser) | 15 min | 0 min | $48.33 | 74% | 22% |
How to put setup on the quote
Either show it as its own line ("Setup and programming, per order: $X") or spread it over the parts of each quantity break. Both are honest if every break carries the full setup. What goes wrong is spreading setup over the largest quantity and then using that unit price for a smaller release. If the customer orders 10 of a part you priced at 100, the setup is ten times as much per part.
On repeat orders, drop the programming if the program is proven and unchanged, but keep the machine setup: the machine still has to be set up every time.
What to do next
Time the next ten setups from last good part to first good part, and write the number on the traveler next to the quoted one. Look for the machine or kind of part (Swiss work, parts with a custom workholding, anything with a CMM program) whose setups run consistently longer than the estimate. Change the base for that machine, not your markup. QuotedPart shows each operation's setup formula on the estimate and lets you edit the base per work center, so the next quote uses the corrected number.
Assumptions behind the examples
- • Parts: fictional, as named in the table; no custom workholding, no CMM program.
- • Rates and setup minutes: QuotedPart's US starting catalog (3-axis VMC $95/h, CAM programming $95/h, deburr $55/h, inspection $75/h). Every shop replaces these with its own.
- • Markup: the catalog default of 30% on cost, with a $65 minimum per line.
- • The part is fictional and stated on the page. The numbers are what the engine computes from these inputs, not a market average or a supplier quote.
| Part | Setup + programming |
|---|---|
| 6061 housing, holes and a pocket on 3 faces (3-axis mill) | $308.25 |
| 17-4 PH block, features on 4 faces (3-axis mill) | $364.46 |
| 303 fitting with a cross hole (lathe, then mill) | $273.37 |
| 1/4 in A36 plate, 10 holes and a cutout (fiber laser) | $48.33 |
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- Setup minutes, CAM minutes and costs are QuotedPart's US starting catalog defaults and the pricing engine's output for the stated fictional parts. They are editable starting values, not survey data.
Questions
Is setup time the same as programming time?
No. Programming happens at a desk or the control before the job; setup happens at the machine. Both are once per lot, so both belong in the one-time part of the quote, but price them at their own rates.
Should I charge setup on every release of a blanket order?
Yes, unless the blanket says you run the full quantity at once and store it. Every release that goes back on the machine is a new setup.
How do I estimate setup for a part with a custom workholding?
Price the example part as its own one-time cost (design, material and machining), and give the setup more time for loading and indicating the example part the first time. On repeats, the workholding setup is usually shorter than a vise setup.
Price one of your own parts
Drop a PDF drawing or a STEP file. QuotedPart reads the print, measures the model and prices it in seconds, on default shop rates you can change.
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