Composites, Fiberglass & Advanced Materials calculator
Autoclave Cycle Cost Calculator
Use this calculator to cost autoclave hours, cure batch loading, nitrogen or compressed air, vacuum monitoring, thermocouples, and quality documentation.
What this calculator does
- Estimate cost assigned to an autoclave cure cycle for advanced composite parts.
- costing autoclave cure cycles by batch or part family
- The result estimates total autoclave cure cost assigned to the selected batch or scope.
Formula used
- Variable autoclave cycle cost = autoclave cycle hours or part slots × autoclave operating cost × cycle cost scope included
- Total autoclave cycle cost = variable autoclave cycle cost + fixed autoclave setup and quality cost
Inputs explained
- autoclave cycle hours or part slots: Use scheduled cure hours, charged machine hours, or part slots for the batch cost basis.
- autoclave operating cost: Include energy, labor coverage, maintenance burden, nitrogen, vacuum, depreciation, and overhead basis.
- cycle cost scope included: Use 100% for full batch cost or less for one part family sharing the load.
- fixed autoclave setup and quality cost: Include bag checks, thermocouple setup, recorder review, fixture loading, and cure documentation.
How to use the result
- Use it to compare cure loading options, allocate machine cost, and quote autoclave composite parts.
- Treat the result as a planning estimate until it is checked against the approved laminate schedule, material datasheets, ply books, resin batch records, tool condition, cure logs, inspection results, customer specification, and actual shop observations for the same part family and process.
Common questions
- What is the autoclave cycle cost calculator for? Use this calculator to cost autoclave hours, cure batch loading, nitrogen or compressed air, vacuum monitoring, thermocouples, and quality documentation.
- What information should I enter? Enter autoclave cycle hours or part slots, autoclave operating cost, the included scope percentage, and any fixed tooling, setup, freight, qualification, or engineering cost assigned to the estimate.
- What does the result tell me? The result estimates total autoclave cure cost assigned to the selected batch or scope.
- When is the result only an estimate? Treat the result as a planning estimate until it is checked against the approved laminate schedule, material datasheets, ply books, resin batch records, tool condition, cure logs, inspection results, customer specification, and actual shop observations for the same part family and process.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.