Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing worked example

Tempering Cycle Cost at 99% cost capture rate: a worked example

What does the result look like when cost capture rate reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A heat-treat estimator prices a tempering batch to quote a hardened part run with certification requirements.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts tempered per cycle: 250 parts (unchanged)
  • Tempering rate per part: 1.85 $/part (unchanged)
  • Cost capture rate: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • Furnace and cert adder: 350 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total cost = parts tempered x tempering 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 808 $ for total tempering cycle cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.23 $ / part for tempering cost per part.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 458 $ for captured tempering cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 350 $ for fixed tempering cycle adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where cost capture rate sits at 90% and the headline result is 766 $, this scenario comes in 5.43% above the baseline at 808 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when cost capture rate is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The cost-capture rate is a modeling lever, not a measured cost — set it from your actuals or it will distort the per-part number.

Results at a glance

  • Total tempering cycle cost: 808 $ (headline result)
  • Tempering cost per part: 3.23 $ / part
  • Captured tempering cost: 458 $
  • Fixed tempering cycle adder: 350 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.