Measurement, Test & Control Equipment worked example

Probe Card Life Cost at 92% touchdown utilization share: a worked example

Push touchdown utilization share up to 92% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use when comparing probe card suppliers, deciding between rebuild vs. replace, or allocating probe card cost into your semiconductor test cost model.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Number of probe cards in the program: 3 cards (unchanged)
  • Cost per probe card (purchase + rebuilds): 41,000 $ / card (unchanged)
  • Touchdown utilization share: 92 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 80)
  • Fixed program cost adder (NRE, mapping, setup): 15,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Variable probe card cost = number of probe cards x cost per card x touchdown utilization share) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 128,160 $ for total probe card life cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 42,720 $ / piece for cost per probe card (effective).
  • At this operating point the engine returns 113,160 $ for variable probe card cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15,000 $ for fixed program cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where touchdown utilization share sits at 80% and the headline result is 113,400 $, this scenario comes in 13.02% above the baseline at 128,160 $.
  • It computes the total life-cycle cost of a probe card program by scaling card count and per-card cost by the touchdown utilization share, then adding fixed program cost. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total probe card life cost: 128,160 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per probe card (effective): 42,720 $ / piece
  • Variable probe card cost: 113,160 $
  • Fixed program cost adder: 15,000 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.