Foundry & Forging worked example

Pour Weight Calculator with pour-weight reduction project cost of 45,000 $: a worked example

What does the result look like when pour-weight reduction project cost reaches 45,000 $? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when a casting engineer wants to know whether reducing pour weight, sprue weight, gate weight, riser weight, or excess machining stock will pay for tooling or process changes.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Pour-weight reduction project cost: 45,000 $ (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 18,000)
  • Annual metal saved from lighter pours: 42,000 $ / yr (unchanged)
  • Annual modeling and validation upkeep: 3,500 $ / yr (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Net annual pour weight calculator value = annual metal savings from lower pour weight - annual support and validation cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1.17 yr for pour weight calculator payback period, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 38,500 $ / yr for net annual pour weight calculator value.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 45,000 $ for pour-weight reduction project cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 147,500 $ for five-year net pour weight calculator value.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where pour-weight reduction project cost sits at 18,000 $ and the headline result is 0.47 yr, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 1.17 yr.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when pour-weight reduction project cost is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes savings and support costs stay flat year over year; scrap rises, alloy switches, or volume swings can move both, so revisit the inputs annually.

Results at a glance

  • Pour Weight Calculator payback period: 1.17 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual pour weight calculator value: 38,500 $ / yr
  • Pour-weight reduction project cost: 45,000 $
  • Five-year net pour weight calculator value: 147,500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Pour Weight Calculator calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.