Tooling, Fixtures, Dies & Mold Economics calculator
Mold Cost per Part Calculator
Allocate the mold build quote and lifetime maintenance reserve across expected good parts. Enter rated good-part capacity, usable life share and your tooling allowance per part.
What this calculator does
- Allocate mold build and maintenance cost across expected good parts and compare the burden with your quote allowance.
Formula used
- Expected good parts = floor(rated good-part capacity × usable life share ÷ 100)
- Total mold program cost = build cost + maintenance reserve
- Mold cost per part = total program cost ÷ expected good parts
- Maintenance cost per part = maintenance reserve ÷ expected good parts
- Allowance headroom = maximum tooling cost per part − calculated cost per part
Inputs explained
- Mold Build Cost: Quoted total mold construction and qualification cost before production.
- Rated Good-Part Capacity: Rated lifetime output converted to good parts from the tooling plan.
- Usable Share of Rated Life: Expected usable life share from tool history or the program plan.
- Mold Maintenance Reserve: Lifetime upkeep allowance from your maintenance and supplier cost plan.
- Maximum Tooling Cost per Part: Your quote allowance for tooling cost per expected good part.
How to use the result
- Best suited to mold quote Allowance, shortened mold life review.
- Part material, production equipment, labor and financing costs are excluded. Usable life is an entered planning estimate, not a predicted failure distribution.
Current U.S. benchmarks
- The producer price index for plastic resins and materials stands at 280.569 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 6.6% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
- The U.S. has 14,378 furniture and related products establishments employing about 355,594 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
Common questions
- Is this the complete manufactured part cost? No. It allocates mold build and maintenance cost only. Add material, press time and production labor separately.
- Why do I enter total build cost? The build quote is observable before production. Asking for an already allocated cost per part would make the estimate depend on its own answer.
- Does usable life also reduce the build price? No. The committed build cost stays fixed while fewer usable parts increase the cost carried by each part.
- What happens if expected output is less than one part? The per-part outputs are blank and a blocking message appears. Enter a capacity and life share that produce at least one complete good part.
Related guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-06.