When you receive a fabrication quote, the number reflects a combination of factors — some obvious, some hidden. Knowing what drives that number lets engineers design more cost-effective parts and lets buyers compare quotes fairly. Below are the seven biggest cost drivers in precision sheet metal fabrication, and how smart choices in each can lower your total cost without sacrificing quality.

Material is one of the largest single cost components. Base prices vary dramatically between metals — aluminum, mild steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, and titanium each carry very different costs, and specialty alloys more still. Thickness compounds it: thicker material costs more per sheet and cuts more slowly, adding machine time on top of raw material cost.

Choosing the right material for the job — rather than over-specifying — is one of the easiest ways to control cost. MJM cuts a full range of metals across our laser cutting services; see thickness capacity by material on our tolerances and thickness page.

Cost tip: Specify the lightest, thinnest material that meets your structural and functional requirements.

Complexity is often the single biggest driver of labor and machine time. Every bend, weld, tapped hole, hardware insert, and secondary operation adds processing time — and time is cost. A simple flat bracket with two bends costs a fraction of a multi-bend, welded, hardware-loaded assembly of the same size.

Designing for manufacturability — reducing unnecessary bends, standardizing hole sizes, and minimizing tight-tolerance features — can dramatically lower cost. MJM handles complex, multi-process parts in-house across our full range of fabrication services, so complexity is managed under one roof rather than across multiple vendors.

Cost tip: Simplify the design where you can — fewer bends and operations mean lower cost.

Setup, programming, and tooling are largely fixed costs per job — so the more parts you run, the lower the cost of each. A prototype or small batch carries the full setup cost across just a few pieces, which is why per-part prices are high at low volume. A production run spreads that same setup across hundreds or thousands of parts, dropping the unit price substantially.

This is why it’s worth asking for price breaks at higher quantities, and why consolidating orders can save money. MJM supports everything from one-off prototypes through full-scale production on the same floor.

Cost tip: Ask for quantity price breaks — and consolidate runs where your schedule allows.

Tighter tolerances cost more — every time. They require more precise (often slower) processes, more inspection, better tooling, and they produce higher scrap rates because more parts fall outside the allowable band. A part held to ±0.005″ costs more to produce and verify than the same part at ±0.030″.

The key is to specify tight tolerances only where the part function actually requires them, and looser tolerances everywhere else. MJM holds precise tolerances backed by automated optical inspection and CMM measurement — see our full tolerance capabilities.

Cost tip: Reserve tight tolerances for critical features only — don’t blanket the whole part.

Every operation after cutting and forming adds cost. Deburring, welding, hardware insertion, part marking, and finishing — plating, powder coating, anodizing, silk screening — are each additional process steps with their own labor and time. A raw part is cheaper than a fully finished, assembled, marked one, though the finished part may deliver far more value.

The advantage of a single-source shop is that these secondary operations happen in-house without extra vendor markups or shipping between suppliers. MJM performs deburring, hardware insertion, marking, and coordinated finishing as part of our in-house capabilities.

Cost tip: Specify only the finishes the part truly needs — and use a single-source shop to avoid vendor markups.

For aerospace, defense, and other regulated programs, the required paperwork is a real cost factor. First article inspection (FAI) reports, material certifications, weld procedure documentation, and full traceability all take time to produce — but they’re non-negotiable for programs that require them. A shop set up for this work builds it into an efficient process; a shop that isn’t will charge more or can’t do it at all.

MJM’s AS9100 and ITAR-registered quality system is built to deliver this documentation efficiently — see our certifications and quality systems.

Cost tip: Request only the documentation your program actually requires — and choose a shop already set up to produce it.

The final and most misunderstood driver is total landed cost — the all-in cost of getting finished, inspected parts to your dock. It includes per-part price, tooling, freight, and the hidden costs of rejects, rework, and late deliveries. The lowest quoted price is not always the lowest total cost.

Distance is frequently misjudged here. Freight is one of the smallest, most visible line items, while regional differences in labor and overhead usually move total cost far more. A fabricator in a lower-cost region — like Florida — can deliver a lower total landed cost even after shipping. We break this down further in our guide to total landed cost, and it’s a key factor in choosing the right fabricator.

Cost tip: Compare all-in delivered cost — not the quoted price or the freight line in isolation.