Aluminum Extrusion & Profile Manufacturing worked example

Aluminum Extrusion Die Trial Cost at 72% trial cost recovery share: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop trial cost recovery share to 72%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate die trial cost from trial hours or billets, cost per trial unit, customer recovery share, and fixed engineering or setup cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Trial hours or billets run: 12 units (held at the documented default)
  • Cost per trial hour or billet: 650 $ / unit (held at the documented default)
  • Trial cost recovery share: 72 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 100)
  • Fixed engineering and setup cost: 2,200 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Recovered variable trial cost = die trial hours or billets × cost per trial hour or billet × trial cost recovery share.
  • Total die trial cost works out to 7,816 $ die trial cost at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Cost per trial hour or billet works out to 651 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Recovered variable trial cost works out to 5,616 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed engineering and setup cost works out to 2,200 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where trial cost recovery share sits at 100% and the headline result is 10,000 $ die trial cost, this scenario comes in 21.84% below the baseline at 7,816 $ die trial cost.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to trial cost recovery share, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. The recovery share is a blunt single factor — if scrap metal credit, press downtime, and engineering hours recover at different rates, a single percentage will only approximate the true chargeable cost.

Results at a glance

  • Total die trial cost: 7,816 $ die trial cost (headline result)
  • Cost per trial hour or billet: 651 $ / piece
  • Recovered variable trial cost: 5,616 $
  • Fixed engineering and setup cost: 2,200 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Aluminum Extrusion Die Trial Cost calculator, set trial cost recovery share to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.