Why is there a minimum order charge for CNC machining?

Every job needs the machine setting up — workholding, tool loading, probing the datum and proving out the program. That's typically around an hour of skilled time before a single part is cut, so a one-off tiny part still costs roughly the same to set up as a small batch. A minimum order (commonly £100 or so) covers that fixed setup cost.

Does ordering more parts make CNC machining cheaper per part?

Yes. The one-off setup cost is spread across the whole batch, so the price per part falls as quantity rises. Going from 1 to 10 parts often roughly halves the per-part price; 10 to 100 brings it down further. The cutting time per part stays the same, so savings flatten out at higher volumes.

Guides › Pricing

How much does CNC machining cost in the UK?

Q: How much does CNC machining cost in the UK?

Most UK CNC work is charged by machine time. As a rough guide in 2026: 3-axis milling runs about £50–£60/hour, 5-axis milling £100+/hour, CNC turning £45–£55/hour and mill-turn £60–£70/hour, plus material and setup. A simple aluminium bracket might be £40–£80 as a one-off; a complex 5-axis stainless part can run into the hundreds. Most shops apply a minimum order of around £100 because setup alone takes about an hour.

The honest answer is "it depends" — but it depends on a small number of things you can actually understand. This guide breaks down the real drivers of UK CNC machining prices in 2026, with typical hourly rates and a worked example.

The short version: CNC work is priced by machine time plus material plus setup. As a 2026 UK rule of thumb: 3-axis milling ~£50–£60/hr, 5-axis ~£100+/hr, turning ~£45–£55/hr. Most shops have a minimum order of about £100 because setup alone eats an hour.

1. Machine time is the biggest lever

The single largest cost in most parts is how long the machine spends cutting. That's why the same part in a harder material, or with more features, costs more — it simply takes longer. Typical UK shop rates in 2026 look like this:

Process	Typical UK rate	Best for
3-axis milling	£50–£60 / hour	Brackets, plates, housings, most prismatic parts
5-axis milling	£100+ / hour	Complex geometry, impellers, angled features, aerospace
CNC turning	£45–£55 / hour	Shafts, pins, bushes, anything round
Mill-turn	£60–£70 / hour	Turned parts that also need milled features

Rates vary by region, machine size and shop overheads — treat these as a sanity-check band, not a fixed price list.

2. Setup and the minimum order

Before a single chip is cut, someone has to load the material, set the workholding, load and measure tools, set the datum and prove out the program. That's usually around an hour of skilled time — and it's the same whether you want 1 part or 5. This is why nearly every shop has a minimum order (often ~£100), and why one-offs feel expensive per part.

3. Material cost

Material is charged on the stock needed to make the part — the "bounding box" plus a bit for workholding — not the finished weight. Aluminium is cheap and fast to cut; stainless and tool steels cost more and machine slower, so they hit you twice. See our materials guide for a full comparison.

4. Quantity: why 10 is far cheaper than 1 × 10

Because setup is a fixed cost, spreading it over more parts drops the price each. A rough shape of it:

Quantity	Indicative price/part	Why
1 off	Highest	Carries the full setup cost alone
10 off	~40–55% of the 1-off price	Setup spread across 10; cutting time unchanged
100 off	~25–35% of the 1-off price	Setup now negligible per part; material & cut time dominate

5. Tolerances and finish

Tight tolerances mean slower, more careful machining and more inspection — so they add cost. So do surface finishes like anodising, bead-blasting or plating, which are separate outsourced processes. Our tolerances & finishes guide covers when tighter is worth paying for.

A worked example

Say you need a 6082 aluminium bracket, roughly 80 × 60 × 20 mm, a few pockets and holes, standard ±0.1 mm tolerance:

Material: a small block of 6082 — a few pounds.
Setup: ~1 hour, charged once across the batch.
Cutting: ~15–25 min per part on a 3-axis mill.
One-off: likely lands around the £100 minimum. Ten-off: maybe £25–£40 each. A hundred-off: down towards £12–£20 each.

Those are ballpark figures to build intuition — the only way to know your part's real price is to quote the actual geometry.

Stop guessing — get the real number

Upload your STEP file and our engine prices it in seconds against the same UK machine and material rates above. No sign-up wall, no sales call.

Get an instant quote

Frequently asked questions

Why is CNC machining so expensive for one part?

Because that one part carries the full setup cost on its own. The machining itself might be 20 minutes, but the hour of setup around it doesn't shrink. Order a few more and the per-part price drops fast.

Is aluminium or steel cheaper to machine?

Aluminium — almost always. It cuts faster and is kinder to tooling, so you pay for less machine time even though the raw stock prices aren't wildly different. Stainless and tool steels machine slowly and wear tools, so they cost more per part.

How can I make my part cheaper?

Order in a sensible batch, avoid unnecessarily tight tolerances, keep deep pockets and thin walls reasonable, and choose a free-machining material where the application allows. Small design tweaks often cut the price more than shopping around does.

More: Choosing a material → · Which CAD file to send → · Tolerances & finishes →