Plastics Extrusion - Pipe, Film & Profile worked example

Trim Scrap Cost at 110% recoverable cost fraction: a worked example in plastics extrusion - pipe, film & profile

Push recoverable cost fraction up to 110% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when film, sheet, or profile teams need to quantify trim scrap impact on run cost and yield.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Trim and start-up scrap weight: 350 lb (unchanged)
  • Resin material cost: 1.45 $/lb (unchanged)
  • Recoverable cost fraction: 110 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 100)
  • Fixed scrap handling charge: 75 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Trim Scrap Cost = trim and start-up scrap weight × resin cost × cost capture factor + fixed scrap handling cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 633 $ for trim scrap cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1.81 $ / lb for cost per scrap pound.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 558 $ for captured resin scrap cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 75 $ for fixed handling cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where recoverable cost fraction sits at 100% and the headline result is 583 $, this scenario comes in 8.71% above the baseline at 633 $.
  • It multiplies scrap weight by resin cost and a capture factor, adds fixed handling, and divides by weight to give both total and per-pound scrap 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

  • Trim scrap cost: 633 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per scrap pound: 1.81 $ / lb
  • Captured resin scrap cost: 558 $
  • Fixed handling cost: 75 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.