--- title: "Partimation — price every weld joint, not a shop-wide guess" url: https://partimation.com/fabrication/welding/ description: "FabDFM finds every joint in your steel BOM or model, calls bolted vs. welded, and prices it — process, deposit time, consumables, fit-up labor — down to the joint, with EN 1090 execution-class context on the traveler. Start free." product: "WeldDFM" domain: welddfm.com --- # Cost every weld joint on its own — and stop guessing at bolted vs. welded, and what it actually costs. *Joint takeoff · weld process & consumables · EN 1090 context* WeldDFM is the weld-cost view inside FabDFM: every joint in a weldment priced on its own — process, deposit time, consumables, fit-up labor — instead of a shop-wide weld allowance. FabDFM finds every joint in your steel BOM or model, calls bolted vs. welded from the sections at that joint, and prices it down to the joint. It ships on a traveler carrying EN 1090 execution-class context, advisory, so the quote desk isn't guessing at that either. - **Per joint** — type, size, length, position — not a blanket allowance - **5 processes** — SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, SAW, GTAW — matched to the joint - **Consumables in** — wire/electrode, shielding gas, and flux costed with the weld - **EN 1090 context** — execution-class read on the traveler, advisory Free to start · no credit card · your files stay yours. ## Welding is the line item every quote gets wrong. - **One allowance for every joint** — Most quotes price welding as a flat percentage of the job, or a shop-wide €/kg fudge — a 6 mm fillet in the flat position and a 12 mm groove overhead end up costed the same, when they're nowhere close. - **Bolted or welded is a coin flip** — The connection type changes fit-up hours and consumables completely, and it usually gets picked on habit rather than on what the members at that joint actually call for. - **Execution class shows up after the quote's out** — EXC2 vs. EXC3 changes what the shop has to prove, and it's easy to miss until the job's already priced and won. ## Every joint costed on what it actually is. - **Joints found, not guessed — Auto-detected joints, bolted or welded** — FabDFM finds every member-to-member contact in the BOM or model and calls bolted vs. welded from the section types at that joint — a visible, overridable default, never a silent guess. - **Priced by the process — Deposition time and consumables, per joint** — Each joint's fillet or groove size, length, and position set the deposit volume, arc time, and duty cycle for the process it'll actually run on — SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, SAW, or GTAW — with wire, gas, and flux costed alongside it. - **Labor named, not lumped — Fit-up minutes and weld clock-hours, itemized** — WeldDFM lands fit-up time and arc-on time as their own ledger lines at your shop's labor and burden rates — so two estimators land on the same number for the same joint. - **Shop-ready, with context — A traveler that carries the execution class** — Every route closes with an inspection line, and the shop-floor traveler carries BS EN 1090 execution-class context worked out from consequence, service, and production category — advisory, not a certification. ## Four steps from a steel BOM to a priced, weldable joint list. 1. **Drop the BOM or model** — The same steel BOM or 3D model FabDFM already takes for the whole weldment — no separate weld takeoff to build. 2. **See every joint called** — Bolted or welded, by joint, with the section types and contact that produced the call — override any of them. 3. **Check the weld cost** — Process, deposit time, consumables, and fit-up minutes for every welded joint, each traceable to the rule behind it. 4. **Hand off the traveler** — Route plus EN 1090 execution-class context, ready for the floor. ## Start free. Upgrade when it's winning you work. Weld cost is part of FabDFM, not a separate line — priced the same as every other steel line. Takeoff and should-costing are unmetered — run as many BOMs as you like. | Tier | Price (EUR / USD / GBP) | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | €0 / $0 / £0 | 10 parts a month; DFM findings + best-fit process; Advisory analysis, draft resolution; No credit card | | Pro | €199 /seat · mo / $199 /seat · mo / £169 /seat · mo | Unlimited parts, full resolution; Should-cost, reports, exports; Process selection, routing, DFM across processes; 30 simulation runs a month | | Shop | €699 /mo · 5 seats / $699 /mo · 5 seats / £595 /mo · 5 seats | Everything in Pro; Your shop's rates & cost model; Quote calibration + API access; 150 pooled simulation runs a month | | On-prem | €15k yr 1, then €10k renewal / $15k yr 1, then $10k renewal / £12.5k yr 1, then £8.5k renewal | Runs on your hardware; Unlimited simulation, no metering; Signed updates, never phones home; 10 seats · optional device lock | | Enterprise | from €25k / from $25k / from £21k /yr | Multi-site licensing, custom processes and rules, a model tuned on your own quote history, and an SLA. | EUR and GBP prices exclude VAT, added at checkout where it applies. Early adopters keep their price as the suite grows. ## In the cloud by default. Behind your firewall when it has to be. - **Cloud — Nothing to install** — Sign in and price a joint list from any browser. We run the compute, ship the updates, and keep your data yours — the shared model only ever learns from your own jobs to calibrate your rates. - **On-prem & air-gapped — For steel that can't leave the building** — Infrastructure and anyone under NDA can run the whole thing on their own hardware. Licenses and updates are signed files — it never phones home, so an air-gapped install stays air-gapped. ## Welding is one line on the whole weldment. This page is the weld-cost view. FabDFM prices the entire steel assembly — cut, drilled, fit, welded, blasted, coated, delivered — from the same BOM or model, with a shop-floor traveler at the end of it. **Weld → FabDFM — The whole weldment, one estimate** — Everything on this page, plus the rest of the takeoff: - Tonnage & sections - Cutting & drilling - Weld & connections - Blast & coating - Should-cost curves - Shop traveler ## Frequently asked questions #### How do you price a weld joint instead of using a flat percentage of the job? Each joint's fillet or groove size, length, and position set the deposit volume, arc time, and duty cycle for the process it runs on — SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, SAW, or GTAW — with wire, gas, and flux costed alongside. Those joints are the ones the handrail and stair configurator generates. A 6 mm fillet flat and a 12 mm groove overhead stop costing the same. #### Do fit-up time and arc-on time show up separately from the steel? Fit-up time and arc-on time land as their own ledger lines at your shop's labor and burden rates, on every joint the handrail and stair configurator generates. Labor is what sets a weldment's cost, not the steel, so it shows as its own number instead of being folded into a rate per tonne nobody can argue with. #### What decides the BS EN 1090 execution class on the traveler? Execution class is worked out from consequence class, service category, and production category, then carried on the shop-floor traveler the handrail and stair configurator produces. The BS EN 1090 read is advisory context, not a certification — a qualified engineer still owns the connection design. Every route closes with an inspection line. ## Related pages - [FabDFM](https://partimation.com/fabrication/) - [CostDFM](https://partimation.com/costing/) - [RouteDFM](https://partimation.com/routing/) - [PartDFM](https://partimation.com/part-analysis/) ## Put your next weld-heavy job through it. Price a real steel BOM free in your browser, or book a walkthrough set up for your shop's welding rates and consumable costs. ## Tell us about your shop. We reply within one business day. > FabDFM's weld cost is decision support, not a WPS or a welder-qualification plan — every line names the rule behind it, and the EN 1090 execution-class read is advisory context, not a certification. Validate against your shop's practice, and a qualified engineer's connection design, before you commit fit-up hours.