Pultrusion & Continuous Composite Profiles worked example

Heater Energy Cost at 92% heater duty cycle: a worked example

What does the result look like when heater duty cycle reaches 92%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when heater energy cost in pultrusion and continuous composite profiles is being put through a pultrusion and continuous composite profiles weighted-cost review.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Line operating hours: 100 units (unchanged)
  • Die heater energy rate per hour: 45 $ / unit (unchanged)
  • Heater duty cycle: 92 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 80)
  • Startup preheat energy cost: 250 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Heater Energy Cost cost = quantity × rate × capture factor + fixed cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,390 $ for weighted cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 43.9 $ / piece for per piece value.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,140 $ for captured value.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250 $ for fixed adjustment.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where heater duty cycle sits at 80% and the headline result is 3,850 $, this scenario comes in 14.03% above the baseline at 4,390 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when heater duty cycle is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It models heating as a blended hourly rate and duty cycle; it does not resolve individual zone setpoints, ambient conditions, or thermal mass differences between die tools.

Results at a glance

  • Weighted cost: 4,390 $ (headline result)
  • Per piece value: 43.9 $ / piece
  • Captured value: 4,140 $
  • Fixed adjustment: 250 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.