How do you calculate potting compound cost per assembly?

Multiply assemblies by compound cost per unit, add dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead, then divide by the assembly count. With 650 assemblies at $2.20 each plus $380 labor and $260 overhead, total is $2,070 and per-assembly cost is about $3.18.

What drives potting compound cost the most?

Cavity volume times resin density sets the gram weight, and that times resin price per kg is your variable cost. Here the $1,430 of compound dominates, but for small cavities the $640 of dispense and cure overhead can be the larger share.

What is a typical potting cost per assembly?

Small sensor pots can run under $1; large power modules with filled epoxy and long cures can exceed $10-$20. The $3.18 result here is representative of a mid-size urethane pot at moderate volume.

Epoxy vs. polyurethane vs. silicone for potting cost?

Silicone usually costs most per kg but cures fast and reworks; epoxy is cheap and rigid but exothermic; urethane sits between. Swap the per-unit compound cost and cure overhead to see how chemistry shifts the per-assembly total.

Does potting cost include degassing and fixture time?

Put vacuum degassing and pot-fixture handling in the dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead fields. Long oven or ambient cures tie up fixtures, so amortize fixture count into the overhead input.

How does meter-mix-dispense change the cost?

MMD raises overhead (machine, programming, purge waste) but cuts hand-pour labor and improves mix ratio control. Re-run with lower dispense labor and higher overhead to find the volume where automation wins.

Electronics Manufacturing calculator

Potting Compound Cost Calculator

Potting compound cost captures the fully loaded price of encapsulating an electronic assembly in epoxy, polyurethane, or silicone to seal it against vibration, moisture, and thermal cycling. Power-supply, automotive, and sensor manufacturers use it to price potting as a value-added operation and to compare meter-mix-dispense automation against hand pours. Because resin is sold by volume and dispensed by the gram, the material cost per unit depends directly on cavity volume and density, while fixture and cure time drive the fixed burden. This calculator separates the variable compound cost from dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead so the per-assembly number reflects the real process.

What this calculator does

Estimate potting compound cost from potted units, compound cost per unit, labor/setup cost, and overhead.
an estimator or process engineer needs potting cost for an encapsulated electronics assembly
It computes total potting cost for a batch and the per-assembly cost by combining variable compound spend with dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead.

Formula used

Total potting compound cost = assemblies to pot × potting compound cost + labor/setup + overhead
Potting cost per assembly = total potting compound cost ÷ assemblies to pot

Inputs explained

Assemblies to pot:
Potting compound cost:
Dispense labor and setup cost:
Cure, fixture, and overhead cost:

How to use the result

Use it when quoting an encapsulation job, sizing meter-mix-dispense investment, or comparing epoxy vs. urethane vs. silicone on a fixed cavity.
It models one compound and a flat overhead; multi-pour builds, vacuum degassing, or exotherm-limited slow cures need their own cure-time and material entries.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
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 potting compound cost per assembly? Multiply assemblies by compound cost per unit, add dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead, then divide by the assembly count. With 650 assemblies at $2.20 each plus $380 labor and $260 overhead, total is $2,070 and per-assembly cost is about $3.18.
What drives potting compound cost the most? Cavity volume times resin density sets the gram weight, and that times resin price per kg is your variable cost. Here the $1,430 of compound dominates, but for small cavities the $640 of dispense and cure overhead can be the larger share.
What is a typical potting cost per assembly? Small sensor pots can run under $1; large power modules with filled epoxy and long cures can exceed $10-$20. The $3.18 result here is representative of a mid-size urethane pot at moderate volume.
Epoxy vs. polyurethane vs. silicone for potting cost? Silicone usually costs most per kg but cures fast and reworks; epoxy is cheap and rigid but exothermic; urethane sits between. Swap the per-unit compound cost and cure overhead to see how chemistry shifts the per-assembly total.
Does potting cost include degassing and fixture time? Put vacuum degassing and pot-fixture handling in the dispense labor and cure/fixture overhead fields. Long oven or ambient cures tie up fixtures, so amortize fixture count into the overhead input.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.