Welding Cost Calculator helps you estimate total welding costs from weld geometry, material, and labor rates. It calculates material usage, welding time, and total cost, and supports both metric and imperial units.
About weld types. Most welded joints are either fillet welds or groove welds. This calculator focuses on fillet welds, which are triangular welds used to join two metal surfaces at a right angle. Their size is defined by the leg length (a), which determines the cross-sectional area and the amount of filler metal required.
About material density. Density is used to convert weld volume into mass. In metric units, it is measured in kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³), and in imperial units in pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft³). For carbon steel, a typical density value is about 7850 kg/m³ (490 lb/ft³).
About deposition rate and duty factor. The deposition rate is the amount of filler metal deposited per hour (kg/h or lb/h). The duty factor (arc time percentage) accounts for interruptions like repositioning or cleaning; it adjusts the theoretical welding time to a more realistic production time.
About deposition efficiency. Deposition efficiency represents how much of the filler wire actually ends up as weld metal. Some wire is lost as spatter, slag, or fumes. Typical efficiency values range from 85% to 95% depending on the welding process.
Calculation. The calculator computes the cross-sectional area of the weld, then multiplies it by the weld length to get the total weld volume, and finally converts that into mass using material density. Wire cost is based on the amount of wire needed considering deposition efficiency. Labor, machine, and gas costs are calculated from the welding time (mass divided by deposition rate, adjusted by duty factor). The overhead percentage is applied at the end to get the total cost.
Formulas:
- A = k × a² (cross-sectional area of a fillet weld, where k is the shape factor, usually 0.5)
- V = A × L (volume of weld)
- mweld = V × ρ (mass of deposited weld metal)
- mwire = mweld / η (mass of filler wire, where η is deposition efficiency)
- t = (mweld / deposition rate) / duty (welding time)
- Cost = (mwire × wire price) + (t × labor rate) + (t × machine rate) + (t × gas rate) + overhead
Examples:
- Example 1: L = 5 m, a = 6 mm, ρ = 7850 kg/m³, η = 90%, deposition rate = 2 kg/h, duty = 60% ⇒ total cost ≈ €23.50
- Example 2: L = 10 ft, a = 1/4 in, ρ = 490 lb/ft³, η = 85%, deposition rate = 4 lb/h, duty = 50% ⇒ total cost ≈ $48.00
- Example 3: Simple mode with L = 3 m, material = €3.50/m, labor = €6.00/m, overhead = 10% ⇒ total cost ≈ €31.35
Corresponding tools. To calculate weld volume from leg size and length only, use the Weld Volume Calculator. To convert material densities, use the Density Unit Converter.
