# Casting Cost Per Piece and Quote Price Estimator

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/casting-cost-per-piece-and-quote-price-estimator
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

Build a casting quote from as-cast weight, casting yield, melt loss, metal and process cost, scrap rate and pattern amortization, with a yield sensitivity sweep.

## Category

cost-finance

## Industry

Foundry

## Audience

- Estimator
- Foundry engineer
- Sales engineer

## Tool

**Kind:** calculator

**Currency:** $

**Inputs:**

#### As-cast weight (casting only, no gates or risers)

**Key:** cast_wt

**Type:** number

**Default:** 18

**Min:** 0.01

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** lb

**Help:** Weight of the finished casting including machining stock. Get it from the 3D model times density.

#### Casting yield

**Key:** yield

**Type:** number

**Default:** 60

**Min:** 10

**Max:** 99

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Casting weight divided by total poured weight. Sand iron work often runs 55 to 75 percent, steel lower, depending on risering.

#### Melt loss

**Key:** melt_loss

**Type:** number

**Default:** 3

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 20

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Metal lost to oxidation, slag and spills as a share of the charged weight.

#### Metal cost per melted pound

**Key:** metal_cost

**Type:** number

**Default:** 0.46

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.01

**Unit:** $/lb

**Help:** Blended charge cost (virgin, scrap, returns at remelt value) plus melting energy and alloy additions.

#### Molding, coring and pouring per casting

**Key:** mold_cost

**Type:** number

**Default:** 5.4

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** $/pc

**Help:** Sand, binder, core, labor and pouring cost per casting.

#### Cleaning, grinding and inspection per casting

**Key:** fettle_cost

**Type:** number

**Default:** 8.5

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** $/pc

#### Scrap rate

**Key:** scrap

**Type:** number

**Default:** 6

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 60

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Share of poured castings rejected. The cost of rejects is carried by the good ones.

#### Pattern and core box cost

**Key:** pattern_cost

**Type:** number

**Default:** 7500

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 250

**Unit:** $

#### Quantity over which tooling is amortized

**Key:** order_qty

**Type:** number

**Default:** 1000

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 50

**Unit:** pcs

#### Target gross margin

**Key:** margin

**Type:** number

**Default:** 20

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 80

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Margin on price, not markup on cost.

**Outputs:**

#### Poured weight per casting

**Key:** poured_wt

**Expr:** cast_wt / (yield / 100)

**Format:** decimal

**Description:** Casting plus gates, runners and risers.

#### Metal melted per casting

**Key:** melt_wt

**Expr:** poured_wt / (1 - melt_loss / 100)

**Format:** decimal

#### Metal cost per casting

**Key:** metal_pp

**Expr:** melt_wt * metal_cost

**Format:** decimal

#### Process cost with scrap loading

**Key:** loaded_pp

**Expr:** (metal_pp + mold_cost + fettle_cost) / (1 - scrap / 100)

**Format:** decimal

**Description:** Metal, molding and finishing divided by the good casting fraction.

#### Pattern amortization per casting

**Key:** pattern_pp

**Expr:** pattern_cost / order_qty

**Format:** decimal

#### Total cost per good casting

**Key:** cost_pp

**Expr:** loaded_pp + pattern_pp

**Format:** decimal

**Primary:** true

#### Quote price per casting

**Key:** price_pp

**Expr:** cost_pp / (1 - margin / 100)

**Format:** decimal

**Primary:** true

#### Quote price per finished pound

**Key:** price_lb

**Expr:** price_pp / cast_wt

**Format:** decimal

**Chart:**

#### Cost and price per casting vs casting yield

**Type:** line

**X:** yield

**From:** 35

**To:** 85

**Steps:** 26

**Series:**

- cost_pp
- price_pp

**Disclaimer:** Planning estimate only. Overhead, outside processing, freight and heat treatment are not included; add them to the process inputs if you want a delivered price.

## Content

**Intro:** A casting quote lives or dies on yield, scrap and tooling spread. This estimator builds the price from the poured weight backwards, so you can see how much each decision costs per casting and per finished pound.

**Sections:**

#### How to use the estimator

**Body:** Start with as-cast weight, then enter yield from your gating and risering design. The calculator derives poured weight and metal melted after melt loss. Add a blended metal cost per melted pound, molding and coring cost, and finishing cost. Set the scrap rate you expect, then spread the pattern cost over the order quantity and choose a margin. For repeat orders, use a larger amortization quantity or set pattern cost to zero when the customer owns the pattern. The chart sweeps yield, which is usually the easiest number to improve with better rigging.

#### The formulas

**Body:** Poured weight equals casting weight divided by yield. Melted weight equals poured weight divided by one minus melt loss. Metal cost is melted weight times cost per pound. Process cost is metal plus molding plus finishing, divided by one minus the scrap rate so that good parts carry the cost of rejects. Pattern cost is divided by the amortization quantity. Price equals cost divided by one minus target margin. Gates and risers are remelted in most foundries, so the metal cost per pound should reflect the value of returns, not virgin metal on all of the weight.

**Bullets:**

- Poured weight = casting weight / yield
- Cost per good casting = (metal + mold + finish) / (1 - scrap) + pattern / quantity
- Price = cost / (1 - margin)

#### Common mistakes and how to read the sweep

**Body:** Quoting with the yield from a different casting is the most common error. Another is loading scrap only on metal, when mold, core and some labor are also lost on a reject. A third is charging pattern cost on a trial quantity and leaving it in the price of production lots. The sweep shows that a few yield points on a heavy casting is real money. If cost per pound is far above comparable castings, check the finishing cost and scrap assumption first, then the metal blend.

**Cta:** If you want quotes costed from your actual heat records, scrap history and pattern files, we can connect that to your ERP on your own servers.

**Faq:**

#### What is casting yield?

**Answer:** Casting yield is the weight of the finished casting divided by the total metal poured, which includes gates, runners, sprue and risers. A higher yield means less metal is remelted per good part, which lowers melting cost, energy and handling.

#### Should scrap loading include pattern cost?

**Answer:** Normally not. A pattern is a fixed cost spread over the quantity ordered, while scrap consumes metal, molds and labor each time a reject is poured. The estimator loads scrap on process cost and adds the pattern separately.

#### How do I value gates and risers?

**Answer:** Most foundries remelt them, so they cost melting energy, losses and handling, not purchase price. Set the metal cost per melted pound as a blend that reflects returns at remelt value, and check that blend against your charge sheet.

#### Does this include overhead and freight?

**Answer:** No. It covers direct metal, molding, finishing, scrap and tooling, then applies a margin. Add overhead or freight into the molding and finishing inputs, or raise the margin, to approximate your delivered price.

## Search terms

casting cost estimator, casting cost per piece, foundry quote calculator, casting price calculator, pattern cost amortization casting, casting yield cost impact, sand casting cost estimate, cost per pound casting

---
Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json