How do you calculate control board scrap cost?

Multiply boards scrapped by the loaded cost per board and the capture percentage, then add fixed disposition and failure-analysis cost. With 135 boards at $22.40 each at 100% capture plus $500 fixed, that is $3,024 variable + $500 = $3,524 total.

What does cost per scrapped board mean here?

It is the total scrap cost divided by boards scrapped, which loads the fixed failure-analysis spend onto each board. Here $3,524 over 135 boards is $26.10 per scrapped board, higher than the $22.40 variable rate because of the $500 fixed cost.

What is a good scrap rate for appliance control boards?

Mature SMT lines target well under 1-2% scrap; world-class runs below 0.5%. The dollar figure matters as much as the rate, 135 scrapped boards costing $3,524 may be acceptable on a 50,000-board run but alarming on a 5,000-board run.

Should I use bare board cost or loaded cost?

Loaded cost. A board scrapped after final test has consumed components, placement, reflow, coating, and test labor. Using the bare PCB price can understate true scrap loss by 5-10x and hides the real COPQ.

Why include a fixed disposition or failure-analysis cost?

Investigating a defect cluster (X-ray, cross-section, engineering time) and disposing of e-waste cost money beyond the boards themselves. The $500 fixed here adds about $3.70 per board on a 135-board batch.

How is scrap cost different from rework cost?

Scrap is total loss, the board never ships. Rework recovers the board at added labor cost. If rework cost approaches the loaded board cost, scrapping may actually be cheaper; this calculator covers the scrap side of that decision.

Appliance Electronics & Control Boards calculator

Appliance Control Board Scrap Cost Calculator

Scrap cost on a control board line is rarely just the bare PCB price, by the time a board fails final functional test it has absorbed components, SMT placement, reflow, conformal coating, and test time, so the loss can run $20-$40 per board or more. Quality engineers and plant controllers in appliance electronics use a scrap cost figure to size corrective-action priorities and to feed cost-of-poor-quality (COPQ) reporting. This calculator multiplies scrapped boards by their loaded unit cost (and how much of that cost your estimate captures), then adds fixed disposition and failure-analysis spend so you see both the total bleed and the real cost per scrapped board.

What this calculator does

Estimate scrap cost for appliance control boards from scrapped boards, cost per board, scrap capture rate, and fixed disposition cost.
a quality or finance team needs to estimate control board scrap cost for a lot, shift, or warranty disposition period
It computes total control board scrap cost from boards scrapped, the loaded cost per board, the share of cost captured, plus fixed disposition or failure-analysis cost.

Formula used

Variable scrap cost = control boards scrapped × cost per scrapped board × scrap cost captured in estimate
Total control board scrap cost = variable scrap cost + fixed disposition or failure analysis cost

Inputs explained

Control boards scrapped:
Cost per scrapped board:
Scrap cost captured in estimate:
Fixed disposition or failure analysis cost:

How to use the result

Use it for monthly COPQ tracking, prioritizing which defect modes to attack first, or justifying a process-improvement project.
It uses one blended cost per board; a coating reject lost late costs far more than a solder-paste reject caught early, so segment by failure stage for precise numbers.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for primary nonferrous metals (a broad metals benchmark, not copper alone) stands at 544.731 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 49.3% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,543 per tonne (IMF via FRED, Jul 2026).
Steel mill PPI stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 8.5% year over year (Census).
The U.S. has 11,261 computer and electronic products establishments employing about 815,443 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate control board scrap cost? Multiply boards scrapped by the loaded cost per board and the capture percentage, then add fixed disposition and failure-analysis cost. With 135 boards at $22.40 each at 100% capture plus $500 fixed, that is $3,024 variable + $500 = $3,524 total.
What does cost per scrapped board mean here? It is the total scrap cost divided by boards scrapped, which loads the fixed failure-analysis spend onto each board. Here $3,524 over 135 boards is $26.10 per scrapped board, higher than the $22.40 variable rate because of the $500 fixed cost.
What is a good scrap rate for appliance control boards? Mature SMT lines target well under 1-2% scrap; world-class runs below 0.5%. The dollar figure matters as much as the rate, 135 scrapped boards costing $3,524 may be acceptable on a 50,000-board run but alarming on a 5,000-board run.
Should I use bare board cost or loaded cost? Loaded cost. A board scrapped after final test has consumed components, placement, reflow, coating, and test labor. Using the bare PCB price can understate true scrap loss by 5-10x and hides the real COPQ.
Why include a fixed disposition or failure-analysis cost? Investigating a defect cluster (X-ray, cross-section, engineering time) and disposing of e-waste cost money beyond the boards themselves. The $500 fixed here adds about $3.70 per board on a 135-board batch.
How is scrap cost different from rework cost? Scrap is total loss, the board never ships. Rework recovers the board at added labor cost. If rework cost approaches the loaded board cost, scrapping may actually be cheaper; this calculator covers the scrap side of that decision.

Last reviewed 2026-07-13.