Ask what a laser cutter costs to run and the answer is usually “very little, just
electricity.” Worked out properly, two costs recur every time you press start, and
there is a third that most sums leave at zero. The first two are small. The third is where
the surprise usually is.
The two costs that recur
- Electricity. The power the whole system draws — laser, chiller
and exhaust together, not the laser alone — multiplied by the cutting time and your
rate per unit.
- Tube wear. The tube costs money and is rated for a number of hours. Each
hour of cutting uses up a share of it.
The sum
(kW × hours × rate) + (tube cost ÷ rated life × hours) + other
running cost.
A worked example
These figures are made up to show the sum. They are not a quote, not typical of any machine,
and not a claim about any supplier. They are the values the
laser cost calculator opens with, so you can check every
line there.
- System power draw: 1.4 kW
- Cutting time per garment: 4 minutes
- Electricity: ₹8 a unit
- Tube: ₹25,000, rated for 8,000 hours
Four minutes is one fifteenth of an hour. Electricity: 1.4 × ₹8 × (4
÷ 60) = ₹0.75. Tube wear: ₹25,000 ÷ 8,000 =
₹3.125 an hour, times the same fraction of an hour, ₹0.21.
Together, ₹0.96 a garment — about ₹96 per hundred and
₹955 per thousand. At that rate one tube rated for 8,000 hours would cut 1,20,000
garments.
What moves the number
Change one input at a time from that starting point:
- Cutting time doubled to 8 minutes: ₹1.91, exactly double. Both
costs are per minute of cutting, so a slower cut costs proportionally more.
- Electricity at ₹10 a unit: ₹1.14, about 19 paise more.
- Tube life of 4,000 hours instead of 8,000: ₹1.16. The tube line
doubles to ₹0.42.
- A ₹40,000 tube instead of ₹25,000: ₹1.08.
None of them matters much. The cutting time is the one worth knowing precisely, because it
multiplies both lines.
The line left at zero
The calculator has a third box: other running cost per garment. It is optional, and it
covers lens, mirrors, filters and service, spread over your monthly volume. Left blank it
adds nothing.
Suppose, purely as an illustration, that those cost ₹3,000 a month in a unit that
cuts 900 garments. That is ₹3,000 ÷ 900 = ₹3.33 a garment.
The total becomes ₹4.29 and the “other” line is 78% of it.
Electricity and the tube, the two costs everybody quotes, are the minor part.
The figure of ₹3,000 is invented. The point is the shape: a small fixed monthly cost
spread over a modest number of garments outweighs a few paise of electricity. So do not leave
that box at zero. Ask the supplier for the yearly cost of the consumables and the service
contract, in writing, and divide it by the garments you actually cut.
One of these is ours
Fashion Dot, which publishes this blog, sells automatic fabric cutting machines. The same
applies to them as to anyone: ask what the tube costs and what its rated life means —
hours of cutting, or hours on the clock — and ask for the yearly consumables and
service in writing before you buy.
See the Fashion Dot cutting machines
What this does not include
- The machine itself — that is the
payback and EMI sum.
- The operator, the fabric and the floor.
- Electricity your unit uses anyway. The calculator answers one question:
what does pressing start cost you.
- Time not cutting. Loading, unloading and waiting are not in the cutting
minutes, though the power may still be drawn.
Put your own figures into the calculator. The cost with the
machine is one half of the payback sum, so it is worth getting right before you take it
there. The laser cutting guide covers the rest
of what to check, and the bed size article covers
which size to ask about.
Want to see it working?
Book a free demo of our machine or software, at your unit or at our
showroom. Tell us what you make and we will show it on that.
Book a free demo