Plating, Anodizing & Surface Treatment worked example

Pretreatment Cost at 70% surface-prep first-pass pass rate: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop surface-prep first-pass pass rate to 70%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate pretreatment cost from parts processed, per-part cleaning rate, the surface-prep pass rate, and flat bath-makeup or dump adders.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts run through pretreatment: 200 parts (held at the documented default)
  • Chemical and labor cost per part: 1.1 $/part (held at the documented default)
  • Surface-prep first-pass pass rate: 70 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 97)
  • Bath makeup and dump adder: 75 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Pretreatment cost = parts x cost per part x pass rate% + bath makeup and dump adder.
  • Total pretreatment cost works out to 229 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Pretreatment cost per unit works out to 1.15 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable pretreatment cost works out to 154 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed pretreatment cost adder works out to 75 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where surface-prep first-pass pass rate sits at 97% and the headline result is 288 $, this scenario comes in 20.6% below the baseline at 229 $.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to surface-prep first-pass pass rate, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. The pass rate here scales cost as a single factor; it does not model the compounding cost of parts that fail twice and cycle through cleaning repeatedly.

Results at a glance

  • Total pretreatment cost: 229 $ (headline result)
  • Pretreatment cost per unit: 1.15 $ / piece
  • Variable pretreatment cost: 154 $
  • Fixed pretreatment cost adder: 75 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Pretreatment Cost calculator, set surface-prep first-pass pass rate to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.