Measurement, Test & Control Equipment worked example

Enclosure Machining Cost at 54% custom machining scope: a worked example

Suppose custom machining scope falls to 54%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate the total machining cost for custom test equipment enclosures, including CNC operations, panel cutouts, and finishing. Use this to budget enclosures for test fixtures, control panels, or instrument housings.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Number of instrument enclosures: 24 enclosures (held at the documented default)
  • Machining cost per enclosure: 185 $ / enclosure (held at the documented default)
  • Custom machining scope (share requiring cutouts): 54 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 75)
  • Tooling and NRE cost: 1,200 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Variable machining cost = number of enclosures x machining cost per enclosure x custom machining scope / 100.
  • Total enclosure machining cost works out to 3,598 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Effective cost per enclosure works out to 150 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable machining cost works out to 2,398 $ at these inputs.
  • Tooling and NRE cost works out to 1,200 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where custom machining scope sits at 75% and the headline result is 4,530 $, this scenario comes in 20.58% below the baseline at 3,598 $.
  • It computes total enclosure machining cost by scaling quantity and per-unit machining cost by the custom-scope share, then adding fixed tooling and NRE. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Total enclosure machining cost: 3,598 $ (headline result)
  • Effective cost per enclosure: 150 $ / piece
  • Variable machining cost: 2,398 $
  • Tooling and NRE cost: 1,200 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Enclosure Machining Cost calculator, set custom machining scope to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.