Sheet Metal Stamping & Press Lines calculator
Part Cost per Stroke Calculator
Calculate press conversion cost per stroke and per accepted part. You need stroke and part counts, charged production time, the loaded press rate, and separate setup cost.
What this calculator does
- Allocate press conversion and setup cost to recorded strokes and accepted stamped parts.
Formula used
- Press conversion cost = production hr × loaded $/hr + separate setup cost
- Press cost per stroke = press conversion cost ÷ recorded strokes
- Press cost per accepted part = press conversion cost ÷ accepted parts
- Good-part yield % = accepted parts ÷ formed parts × 100
- Accepted parts per stroke = accepted parts ÷ recorded strokes
Inputs explained
- Recorded Run Strokes: Press counter difference for this production run.
- Formed Parts: Total parts formed across all die outputs in this run.
- Accepted Parts: Inspection record of accepted pieces from this run.
- Production Time: Charged press hours excluding separately priced setup time.
- Loaded Press Rate: Cost sheet rate for labor, press operation and overhead.
- Separate Setup Cost: Setup invoice or labor allocation excluded from production charges.
How to use the result
- Best suited to progressive die conversion Costing, short run setup allocation.
- Material, separate die allocation and secondary operations are excluded from press conversion cost. Different parts from a family die require a stated cost allocation policy.
Current U.S. benchmarks
- The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
- U.S. iron and steel import customs value ran $2.2B in Aug 2026 (Census International Trade). The U.S. ran a trade deficit of $0.6B in the category that month. This dollar total mixes price, quantity, product mix, origin, and timing; it does not measure physical import volume or prove a tariff or reshoring effect.
- The U.S. has 53,790 fabricated metal products establishments employing about 1,441,471 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
Common questions
- Can accepted parts exceed recorded strokes? Yes. A multi-out die can produce several parts during each stroke. Accepted count must still stay within the total formed part count for the same run.
- Does this include purchased coil? No. This is press conversion and separate setup cost. Add material, tooling and secondary operation allocations to the accepted-part result when building the full quote.
- Why does a lower yield leave stroke cost unchanged? Recorded strokes and total conversion cost establish stroke cost. Fewer accepted parts spread that same total over fewer deliverable pieces, increasing cost per accepted part.
- Which production hours should I enter? Enter the hours charged at your loaded press rate for this run. Exclude setup hours when their dollars are included in the separate setup field.
Related guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-06.