Sheet and 2D · Live
Waterjet and plasma cutting quote software: instant pricing
Price waterjet and plasma cutting from a DXF or SVG: cut speed by thickness, pierces, abrasive or torch consumables, edge cleaning and the plate.
- Process
- Waterjet
- Family
- Sheet and 2D
- Input
- DXF, SVG
- Status
- Live
The price follows the physics.
Waterjet and plasma are priced like laser cutting, from cut length, pierces and the plate, but the numbers move differently. A waterjet cuts almost any material cold and slowly, and consumes garnet abrasive for every minute it cuts, so on a thick part abrasive can rival machine time. Plasma cuts conductive plate quickly and cheaply but leaves a wider kerf and a rougher edge, and wears electrodes and nozzles with every pierce. The edge you promise sets the speed, and the speed sets the price.
- 01
Cut speed by thickness
It falls steeply as the plate gets thicker, on both machines.
- 02
Abrasive
A waterjet uses garnet continuously while cutting, a consumable cost per minute.
- 03
Pierces
Piercing thick plate is slow on a waterjet, and on plasma every pierce wears the consumables.
- 04
Edge quality
A finer edge means a slower cut, so the edge you promise changes the time.
- 05
Plate and nesting
Thick plate is heavy and expensive, so how parts nest on it matters more.
- 06
Handling
Heavy plate needs lifting, and the parts need cleaning or deburring.
Measured from the file. Priced on your machines.
Measured from the geometry
- Cut length. Read from the DXF or SVG drawing.
- Pierce count. One pierce per closed contour: slow on thick plate for a waterjet, and consumable wear on plasma.
- Part outline and area. Feed the plate charge.
- Corners. Slow the cut, more on a waterjet than on plasma.
- Small holes, webs and open contours. Holes and webs below the minimum each material and thickness allows warn; open contours go to review.
Configured by you
- Thicknesses per material. Cut speed, pierce time, kerf, smallest hole, narrowest web and a buyer note for each row.
- Abrasive and abrasive per pierce. For a waterjet: garnet per cutting minute and per pierce, priced as a consumable.
- Consumable wear per arc minute and per pierce. For plasma: electrode and nozzle wear, priced as a consumable set.
- Edge cleaning per metre of cut. Dross removal and deburring, the main finishing line on plasma.
- Sheet charging. Bounding box, net area, a typical nest utilisation, or the sheet.
- Cuts metals, cuts non-metals and thickest sheet. Which materials and thicknesses each machine takes.
What your buyer sees
- Their flat part, with the materials and thicknesses you stock.
- The buyer note you write for each thickness, such as the edge to expect.
- Warnings for holes and webs too small for the process; open contours go to review.
Cut time per part is fixed by geometry, but programming, plate handling and the offcut are shared, and larger batches nest more tightly. Thick plate magnifies both effects, because the plate itself is a large share of the price.
Typical materials
- Mild steel plate
- Stainless steel
- Aluminium
- Titanium
- Stone such as granite
- Glass
- Rubber
Typical parts
- Thick plate parts and base plates
- Flanges and gussets
- Stone and glass parts
- Rubber gaskets
- Structural steel parts
- Parts in heat-sensitive materials
Both priced by the real engine for the sample plate drawing against the Waterjet cutting shop template that ships with Quotometry.
Pricing waterjet, in depth
How to price laser cutting: cut length, pierces, material and sheet use
Laser cutting is priced from cut length, pierce count, material and how much of the sheet a part uses. The method, with a worked example for a steel flange.
Knowledge baseNesting and material utilisation: how much of the sheet you really sell
Nesting decides how many parts fit on a sheet, and the skeleton left over is material you paid for. Three ways to charge for it, compared with a worked example.
Knowledge baseWaterjet vs laser vs plasma cutting: thickness, accuracy, edge and cost
Laser is fastest in thin sheet, plasma is cheapest in thick steel, waterjet cuts almost anything with no heat. How to choose, with a comparison table and a cost example.
Waterjet quoting, answered
Can I quote waterjet or plasma cutting with Quotometry today?
Yes. Both price end to end in the widget from a DXF or SVG drawing, each with its own speed table, consumables and edge cleaning. A waterjet cuts the metals, glass, stone and rubber you stock; plasma cuts conductive metals only. Neither engraves, and edge quality levels are not a buyer choice: a shop with several keeps them as separate materials.
Why is a waterjet slower and dearer than a laser on thin sheet?
Because a laser cuts thin sheet very quickly and a waterjet does not, and the waterjet spends abrasive the whole time. The trade reverses on thick plate and on materials a laser cannot cut well, such as stone, glass and heat-sensitive parts. Pricing each from its own speed table makes the choice visible to the buyer.
Do waterjet, plasma and laser share one model?
Yes. All three use one 2D cutting core with each technology’s own defaults: the same cut length, pierce, corner and sheet measurements, with each machine’s own material and thickness table. A shop with a laser and a waterjet can offer both and let the price show which suits a part.
Is abrasive really a large cost?
It can be on thick parts with long cut times, because garnet is consumed continuously while the jet is cutting. The model prices it from the rate you set for each thickness, per minute and per pierce, so it scales with the job instead of hiding in your hourly rate.
Other sheet and 2d processes
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