Why 25 pieces costs more than a quarter of 100
Small-batch CNC pricing is dominated by setup, not cutting. What actually drives the per-piece price on an EDC run, and the four changes that move it most.
The question we get most often from first-time EDC buyers: why is 25 pieces almost as expensive as 100? It reads like a shop padding the number. It usually is not. Understanding where the money goes is the fastest way to get a quote down without cutting anything you care about.
Setup does not scale
Before a single part is cut, someone programs the toolpath, proves it out, builds or buys workholding, sets tool offsets, and machines a first article that gets measured. On a knife scale that is typically four to ten hours of skilled time and a soft-jaw or fixture plate that exists only for your part.
That cost is identical whether the run is 25 pieces or 250. Spread over 25, it is the largest line in the quote. Spread over 250, it disappears into the noise. The cutting itself — the part of the process buyers picture — is often under a third of the total on a small EDC batch.
The four things that actually move the price
1. Number of setups. Every time the part has to be unclamped, flipped and re-referenced, you pay for the operation and for the tolerance stack it introduces. A scale machined in one setup with a soft jaw is dramatically cheaper than one needing three. Designing a flat datum face into the part is free at CAD stage and saves money forever.
2. Tolerance callouts you did not need. A ±0.01 mm callout on a cosmetic face costs real money — tighter tooling, slower passes, more inspection, more scrap. Call out tight tolerance on the two or three dimensions that control fit, and leave everything else to the general block. This single change routinely takes fifteen to twenty percent off a quote.
3. Internal corner radii. A 1 mm internal radius forces a 2 mm or smaller end mill, which means shallow depths of cut, many more passes and frequent tool changes. Opening the radius to 3 mm lets the shop use a rigid tool and cut the pocket in a fraction of the time. Nothing about how the part looks in the hand changes.
4. Finishing and its handoffs. Anodizing and PVD are batch processes with their own minimums, so a 25-piece anodize order often pays close to the same bath charge as 100 pieces. If you are planning a second colourway, running both in one batch is meaningfully cheaper than two separate trips.
What small batches are genuinely worth paying for
Small-batch pricing is not something to eliminate — it is the cost of validating a design before you commit. Twenty-five pieces that prove the liner drops into the frame is much cheaper than five hundred that do not. Most brands we work with run prototype, then 50, then scale once the fit is proven.
What is worth refusing is a shop that treats the small run as an annoyance. Rushed setups on a 25-piece job produce exactly the variation that makes you doubt your own design.
Getting a quote you can act on
Ask for the quote itemised: material, setup, machining, finish, packing, freight. A single lump sum tells you nothing about which lever to pull. Once you can see that setup is sixty percent of the number, the conversation shifts from “can you discount this” to “what if we run 60 instead of 25” — which is a conversation that actually gets somewhere.
Send a drawing and the quote comes back itemised by default. Related reading: choosing between titanium grades and finishes that survive a pocket.