Price the whole weldment, including time off the arc

Use the process your welder will run

Enter travel speed from a proven procedure or a comparable completed job. MIG, TIG and other processes do not share a single reliable inches-per-minute value. Joint preparation, material, position, weld size, number of passes and acceptance criteria all affect the route. For a multipass joint, count the travel of every pass rather than entering only the joint’s physical length. This model calculates time from supplied travel speed; it does not qualify a weld procedure or calculate deposited metal from bead geometry.

Define the boundary of arc-on time

Arc-on share describes interruptions inside the welding block, such as starts, stops and local cleaning. Fit-up and separately measured repositioning sit outside that block and are added once. If your shop’s observed arc-on percentage already includes all fit-up and crane handling, enter zero in those additional fields or use a narrower percentage. Otherwise the estimate pays twice for the same minutes. Example part setup occurs once per lot; material and consumables are per assembly, so purchased components and weld wire remain visible when quantity changes.

Review the work that the number leaves out

The example covers cut components, welding consumables and shop labor. Add separate lines for engineering, machining after welding, outsourced treatment, coating, testing, freight and installation when required. A 53-minute estimate for a manageable bracket assembly cannot be transferred to a frame that needs cranes and a second person. Confirm dimensional requirements before promising a price: welding distortion can turn a simple fit-up into a machining and inspection job. Use actual completed labor to adjust the next estimate rather than treating the illustrated arc-on share as a shop standard.

• Capture weld scope and exclusions on a quote sheet