Does deposition rate include spatter losses?

Net deposition rate includes only metal retained in the weld. If your data gives gross melt-off instead, multiply it by deposition efficiency before entering it here.

Should I charge a whole spool to one job?

Charge the wire consumed when unused wire remains available for other jobs. Add a separate inventory charge only when the remaining wire cannot be reused.

Can I use this for coated stick electrodes?

Use a stick-electrode costing worksheet instead. Coating, stub losses and recovery relative to core-wire mass can produce a different efficiency basis.

Why did wire cost rise at lower efficiency?

Lower efficiency requires more consumed wire for the same deposited metal. Measure both weights on a representative weld trial to check the allowance.

Welding & Fabrication calculator

Filler Wire Cost Calculator

Estimate the wire charge for a welding job, including deposition losses. You need the net deposition rate, arc time, wire price and deposition efficiency.

What this calculator does

Price the filler wire consumed by a weld job from deposited weight and measured deposition efficiency.

Formula used

Deposited metal = net deposition rate × arc time
Wire consumed = deposited metal ÷ (deposition efficiency ÷ 100)
Wire cost = wire consumed × wire price
Wire loss = wire consumed − deposited metal

Inputs explained

Net Deposition Rate: Deposited metal per arc hour from procedure trials or wire data.
Arc Time: Job arc timer reading, excluding handling and breaks.
Deposition Efficiency: Deposited weight divided by wire consumed, from trials or supplier.
Wire Price: Delivered invoice price per pound of wire.

How to use the result

Best suited to wire allowance for a weldment quote, reconciling spool use with deposited weight.
Excludes unopened spool inventory, handling scrap, taxes and freight charged separately. Consumable efficiency is not the proportion of paid time spent welding.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
Industrial electricity averages 9.77 cents per kWh across the U.S. (EIA, Jul 2026), up 4.7% from a year earlier. Energy-intensive steps carry this directly into unit cost.
U.S. iron and steel import customs value ran $2.2B in Aug 2026 (Census International Trade). The U.S. ran a trade deficit of $0.6B in the category that month. This dollar total mixes price, quantity, product mix, origin, and timing; it does not measure physical import volume or prove a tariff or reshoring effect.
The U.S. has 53,790 fabricated metal products establishments employing about 1,441,471 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

Does deposition rate include spatter losses? Net deposition rate includes only metal retained in the weld. If your data gives gross melt-off instead, multiply it by deposition efficiency before entering it here.
Should I charge a whole spool to one job? Charge the wire consumed when unused wire remains available for other jobs. Add a separate inventory charge only when the remaining wire cannot be reused.
Can I use this for coated stick electrodes? Use a stick-electrode costing worksheet instead. Coating, stub losses and recovery relative to core-wire mass can produce a different efficiency basis.
Why did wire cost rise at lower efficiency? Lower efficiency requires more consumed wire for the same deposited metal. Measure both weights on a representative weld trial to check the allowance.

Related guides

Getting Filler Wire Spend Under Control

Last reviewed 2026-10-06.