Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing worked example

Stress Relief Cost at 98% cost capture rate: a worked example

What does the result look like when cost capture rate reaches 98%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A fabrication estimator prices a stress-relief cycle for weldments to remove residual stress before machining.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts in stress-relief load: 120 parts (unchanged)
  • Stress relief rate per part: 3.4 $/part (unchanged)
  • Cost capture rate: 98 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 85)
  • Furnace and cert adder: 400 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total cost = parts in load x stress relief rate per part x cost capture% + furnace and cert adder) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 800 $ for total stress relief cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 6.67 $ / lb for stress relief cost per pound.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 400 $ for captured stress relief cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 400 $ for fixed stress relief adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where cost capture rate sits at 85% and the headline result is 747 $, this scenario comes in 7.1% above the baseline at 800 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when cost capture rate is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The model spreads cost by part count, so it does not weight by part mass; a load of heavy weldments and a load of light brackets at the same count will not reflect their very different soak times and furnace loading.

Results at a glance

  • Total stress relief cost: 800 $ (headline result)
  • Stress relief cost per pound: 6.67 $ / lb
  • Captured stress relief cost: 400 $
  • Fixed stress relief adder: 400 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Stress Relief Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.