Material removal rates for quoting CNC work

Realistic shop numbers

Practical roughing rates for quoting (not catalog maximums): aluminum 3-8 cm³/min, mild steel 1-3, stainless 0.5-1.5, titanium 0.3-1, plastics 5-15. Small tools, deep pockets and rigidity limits push real numbers below spec-sheet dreams.

From rate to cycle time

Cycle ≈ (stock volume - part volume) / removal rate + tool changes + finishing passes. Finishing adds 20-50% on toleranced surfaces. This estimate quotes within ±30% in seconds - tighten with CAM only when the job is worth it.

Stock volume is the hidden input

Material to remove depends on stock choice: a near-net blank slashes both material cost and cycle time. Quote the stock you will actually buy, with its real padding.

Automated first pass

Our CNC calculator estimates stock from your part's bounding box and applies these removal rates automatically - then lets you overwrite with CAM numbers when you have them.