What an acrylic part costs, and why

How we price a job

Every quotation is built from four lines, and we show them separately rather than burying everything in one figure.

Cost line	What drives it	Typical share
Material	Sheet grade, thickness, colour, wastage from nesting	25–45%
Machining	Cut length, number of operations, tolerance, fixturing	30–50%
Finishing	Edge polish, printing, painting, frosting	10–25%
Packing & freight	Carton type, pallet, Incoterm, destination	5–20%

Indicative price ranges

These are ballpark unit prices for planning, not a quotation. Real prices depend on the drawing — a part with one critical dimension and a part with twelve can differ by 2× even at the same size.

Part type	Typical size	Indicative unit price
Laser-cut flat panel, no finishing	200 × 300 mm, 3 mm	US$3 – 8
Polished display riser	250 × 250 × 100 mm	US$12 – 30
Countertop brochure holder	A4, 4 mm, bent	US$8 – 18
Machine guard, bent and drilled	600 × 400 × 5 mm	US$25 – 60
Instrument panel, printed	300 × 200 × 5 mm	US$15 – 40
Bonded display cabinet	400 × 400 × 600 mm	US$120 – 350

Freight is quoted separately and depends on destination, volume and Incoterm. Sea freight for a 1 m³ shipment to Europe is typically US$180–320 port to port; air is roughly four to six times that per kilogram.

Minimum order quantity

There is no tooling, so there is no hard minimum. One piece is possible for a prototype. In practice the minimum is set by economics:

• Laser-cut flat parts — from 1 pc, but setup cost dominates below 10 pcs
• CNC-routed parts — from 1 pc, economical from 5–10 pcs
• Bent and bonded assemblies — jigs make 10–20 pcs the practical floor
• Printed parts — screen printing needs 20–50 pcs to amortise the screen; UV printing has no minimum but has a per-part cost

Payment and terms

Currency	USD, EUR or CNY
Standard terms	30% deposit by T/T, balance against bill of lading copy
Letter of credit	L/C at sight accepted on orders above US$30,000
Incoterms	EXW, FOB Shenzhen, CIF, DDP on request
Quotation validity	30 days
Sample cost	Charged, then credited against the production order

Why some quotes look too cheap

Worth knowing before you compare three quotations side by side:

• Recycled sheet. Cheaper sheet is often regrind. It looks fine new and yellows faster. Ask what grade is quoted.
• Extruded instead of cast. Extruded is cheaper but machines and polishes worse, and stress-cracks more readily around holes.
• Untoleranced fit faces. A quote that ignores your critical dimensions is not cheaper — it just moves the cost to your assembly line.
• Flame-polished instead of diamond-polished edges. Faster, cheaper, and it can craze later under stress.
• Freight excluded. Check whether the quoted price is EXW or delivered before comparing.