How do you calculate power electronics scrap cost?

Multiply scrapped units by cost per unit by the recognized share, then add fixed containment cost. With 100 units at $45, 80% capture, plus $250 fixed, variable scrap is $3,600 and total scrap cost is $3,850.

Why apply a capture percentage instead of full unit cost?

Some scrapped value is recoverable (heatsinks, connectors, salvaged parts) or already counted elsewhere. The 80% capture recognizes $36 of a $45 unit as true loss, which is why variable cost is $3,600 rather than $4,500.

What does scrap cost per affected unit tell me?

It spreads the total, including fixed containment, across the scrapped units. Here $3,850 over 100 units is $38.50 per affected unit, a clean number for comparing scrap events of different sizes.

What is a good scrap cost for power electronics production?

There is no universal figure, but leading power module lines keep scrap under 1 to 2% of material cost. Track total scrap cost as a percent of COGS month over month rather than chasing an absolute dollar target.

Should the fixed containment cost include labor?

Yes if that labor only exists because of the scrap event: sorting, quarantine, disposal paperwork, and hazardous-waste handling. Recurring inspection labor that runs regardless belongs in overhead, not this line.

Scrap cost vs rework cost, which should I use?

Use scrap cost when the unit is unrecoverable and discarded; use rework cost when the unit can be repaired. If rework cost approaches this $38.50-per-unit scrap figure, scrapping is often the cheaper call.

Power Electronics, Motors & Drives calculator

Power Electronics Scrap Cost Calculator

Power electronics scrap cost is the total money written off when inverters, drives, or PCBA units fail and cannot be reworked. Quality and cost engineers use it to size the financial hit of a scrap event, justify containment spending, and prioritize which defects to eliminate first. Because power modules carry expensive IGBTs, capacitors, and heatsinks, even a modest scrap count moves real budget. This calculator combines the variable loss per unit with the fixed cost of containing and disposing of the batch.

What this calculator does

Estimate scrap cost for power modules, inverter boards, drives, converters, or motor electronics from scrap count, cost per unit, affected share, and fixed containment cost.
Use it when quantifying the cost of failed power stages, bad modules, damaged boards, rejected drives, or scrapped motor control assemblies.
It totals scrap dollars by combining scrapped units times unit cost times the recognized share, plus a fixed containment cost.

Formula used

Variable power electronics scrap cost = scrapped units × cost per scrapped unit × scrap exposure captured
Total power electronics scrap cost = variable scrap cost + fixed scrap containment cost

Inputs explained

Scrapped power electronics units:
Cost per scrapped unit:
Share of unit cost recognized as scrap:
Fixed scrap containment and disposal cost:

How to use the result

Use it during a scrap event, a monthly cost-of-quality roll-up, or when building a business case for a defect-reduction project.
The capture percent lets you recognize only part of the standard cost as loss; if you set it wrong you will over- or under-state the true write-off.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
The U.S. has 11,261 computer and electronic products establishments employing about 815,443 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate power electronics scrap cost? Multiply scrapped units by cost per unit by the recognized share, then add fixed containment cost. With 100 units at $45, 80% capture, plus $250 fixed, variable scrap is $3,600 and total scrap cost is $3,850.
Why apply a capture percentage instead of full unit cost? Some scrapped value is recoverable (heatsinks, connectors, salvaged parts) or already counted elsewhere. The 80% capture recognizes $36 of a $45 unit as true loss, which is why variable cost is $3,600 rather than $4,500.
What does scrap cost per affected unit tell me? It spreads the total, including fixed containment, across the scrapped units. Here $3,850 over 100 units is $38.50 per affected unit, a clean number for comparing scrap events of different sizes.
What is a good scrap cost for power electronics production? There is no universal figure, but leading power module lines keep scrap under 1 to 2% of material cost. Track total scrap cost as a percent of COGS month over month rather than chasing an absolute dollar target.
Should the fixed containment cost include labor? Yes if that labor only exists because of the scrap event: sorting, quarantine, disposal paperwork, and hazardous-waste handling. Recurring inspection labor that runs regardless belongs in overhead, not this line.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.