# Rack vs Barrel Plating Cost Per Part Calculator

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/plating-rack-vs-barrel-cost-per-part-calculator
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

Compare cost per part for rack and barrel plating using labor, line time, rack maintenance, metal use and reject rates, with a barrel-load sweep chart.

## Category

cost-finance

## Industry

Metal Finishing

## Audience

- Plating shop owner
- Estimator
- Finishing manager

## Tool

**Kind:** calculator

**Currency:** $

**Inputs:**

#### Lot quantity

**Key:** qty

**Type:** number

**Default:** 10000

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 100

**Unit:** parts

#### Plated area per part

**Key:** area

**Type:** number

**Default:** 0.2

**Min:** 0.001

**Step:** 0.01

**Unit:** dm2

#### Required thickness

**Key:** thk

**Type:** number

**Default:** 12

**Min:** 0.5

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** um

#### Deposit density

**Key:** dens

**Type:** number

**Default:** 7.14

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 0.01

**Unit:** g/cm3

**Help:** Zinc 7.14, nickel 8.9, copper 8.96, tin 7.31.

#### Metal price delivered to the tank

**Key:** price

**Type:** number

**Default:** 3.5

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** $/kg

#### Anode / chemistry utilization

**Key:** aeff

**Type:** number

**Default:** 90

**Min:** 30

**Max:** 100

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Share of purchased metal that ends up as deposit after dragout and sludge losses.

#### Labor rate loaded

**Key:** labor

**Type:** number

**Default:** 32

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** $/h

#### Line overhead rate

**Key:** line

**Type:** number

**Default:** 85

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** $/h

**Help:** Depreciation, chemicals, utilities, wastewater and floor space per line hour.

#### Parts per rack

**Key:** ppr

**Type:** number

**Default:** 24

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** parts

#### Rack load and unload time

**Key:** rmin

**Type:** number

**Default:** 6

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** min/rack

#### Line index time per rack

**Key:** ridx

**Type:** number

**Default:** 3

**Min:** 0.5

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** min/rack

**Help:** Time the line is occupied per rack position, set by the hoist cycle.

#### Rack strip and repair cost per use

**Key:** rwear

**Type:** number

**Default:** 0.4

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.05

**Unit:** $/use

#### Rack reject and rework rate

**Key:** rrej

**Type:** number

**Default:** 1.5

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 50

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** %

#### Parts per barrel load

**Key:** ppb

**Type:** slider

**Default:** 1500

**Min:** 200

**Max:** 5000

**Step:** 100

**Unit:** parts

#### Barrel load, unload and dry time

**Key:** bmin

**Type:** number

**Default:** 8

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** min/load

#### Barrel cycle time in line

**Key:** bcyc

**Type:** number

**Default:** 45

**Min:** 5

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** min

#### Barrels processed simultaneously

**Key:** bon

**Type:** number

**Default:** 4

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** barrels

#### Extra metal in barrel for uniformity

**Key:** bpen

**Type:** number

**Default:** 20

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 100

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** %

**Help:** Barrel plating gives wider thickness spread, so more average metal is deposited to meet the minimum.

#### Barrel reject and rework rate

**Key:** brej

**Type:** number

**Default:** 3

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 50

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** %

**Outputs:**

#### Rack metal cost per part

**Key:** metal_part

**Expr:** area * thk * dens / 100 / 1000 * price / (aeff / 100)

**Format:** currency

**Description:** Deposit mass in grams is area x thickness x density / 100; divided by 1000 to kg, priced, then divided by utilization.

#### Racks required

**Key:** racks

**Expr:** ceil(qty / ppr)

**Format:** integer

#### Barrel loads required

**Key:** loads

**Expr:** ceil(qty / ppb)

**Format:** integer

#### Rack total lot cost

**Key:** rack_total

**Expr:** (racks * rmin / 60 * labor + racks * ridx / 60 * line + racks * rwear + qty * metal_part) / (1 - rrej / 100)

**Format:** currency

#### Barrel total lot cost

**Key:** bar_total

**Expr:** (loads * bmin / 60 * labor + loads * bcyc / 60 / bon * line + qty * metal_part * (1 + bpen / 100)) / (1 - brej / 100)

**Format:** currency

#### Rack cost per part

**Key:** rack_pp

**Expr:** rack_total / qty

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

#### Barrel cost per part

**Key:** barrel_pp

**Expr:** bar_total / qty

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

#### Barrel advantage per part (negative = rack cheaper)

**Key:** diff

**Expr:** rack_pp - barrel_pp

**Format:** currency

**Chart:**

#### Cost per part vs parts per barrel load

**Type:** line

**X:** ppb

**From:** 200

**To:** 5000

**Steps:** 25

**Series:**

- rack_pp
- barrel_pp

**Disclaimer:** Model uses direct labor, line time and metal. It excludes quality inspection, setup, masking, packaging, waste treatment surcharges and tax, which should be loaded through your overhead rate.

## Content

**Intro:** Choosing rack or barrel is a cost question driven by part size, volume and quality needs. This calculator compares the two on a per-part basis using labor, line time, rack upkeep, metal and rejects, and shows how barrel load size changes the answer.

**Sections:**

#### How to use it

**Body:** Enter lot size, area, thickness and metal price. Then fill in the rack side (parts per rack, handling time, line index time, strip cost, rejects) and the barrel side (parts per load, handling, cycle time, simultaneous barrels, uniformity penalty, rejects). Compare the two per-part costs. The chart sweeps barrel load size, which shows the point at which barrel overtakes rack. Small, bulk, robust parts typically favor barrel; larger or cosmetic parts, and anything that tangles or dents, favor rack.

**Bullets:**

- Use your loaded labor rate, not the hourly wage
- Set line overhead from annual line cost divided by productive hours
- Reflect reject rates from real data, not goals
- Run the sweep to see sensitivity to load size

#### How the cost model works

**Body:** Metal cost per part is deposited mass priced by weight and divided by utilization. Rack cost adds handling labor per rack, line occupancy at the hoist index time, and rack strip or repair per use. Barrel cost adds handling per load and line time of cycle time divided by the number of barrels processed together. Barrels get a metal penalty because thickness spreads more widely, so more average deposit is needed to meet a minimum. Total cost is divided by the good-yield fraction to include rework or scrap.

#### Reading the result

**Body:** At small areas and large volumes the barrel is far cheaper because handling and line time are shared across thousands of parts. As parts get bigger the barrel load shrinks and the advantage collapses. Cosmetic requirements, thickness tolerance and part damage in tumbling can force rack work even when it costs more. If the two are within a few cents per part, quality risk should decide, not the calculator.

#### Common mistakes

**Body:** Shops often compare cycle times but not line occupancy, ignore rack strip and repair cost, and forget that barrel work needs extra metal for uniformity. Another mistake is using a single overhead rate for different lines. If barrel and rack lines have different costs per hour, run the model with each line's rate.

**Cta:** If your job costs are in an ERP, we can help build an assistant that applies routing times, rates and yield data to quote plating work consistently, hosted on your own infrastructure.

**Faq:**

#### When is barrel plating cheaper than rack?

**Answer:** Barrel is usually cheaper for small, durable parts in large quantities, because handling and line time are spread across thousands of pieces. It struggles with parts that nest, tangle, scratch, or need tight thickness distribution.

#### What does plating cost per part include?

**Answer:** Direct labor for racking and unracking, line time (chemicals, utilities, depreciation), metal, rack or barrel wear, and scrap or rework. This model leaves out inspection, packaging, masking and treatment surcharges, which you can load through overhead.

#### How do I set the line overhead rate?

**Answer:** Divide the annual cost of the line, including depreciation, chemicals, power, wastewater, maintenance and space, by its productive hours. Separate rates for rack and barrel lines give a better comparison.

#### Why does barrel plating use more metal?

**Answer:** Barrel parts see widely varying current density as they tumble, so thickness spreads more widely than on a rack. To ensure every part meets the minimum, the average deposit must be thicker, which consumes more metal.

## Search terms

rack vs barrel plating cost, plating cost per part calculator, barrel plating cost calculator, rack plating cost calculation, plating job costing, plating shop pricing calculator, zinc plating cost per piece

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