Tooling, Fixtures, Dies & Mold Economics worked example

Tool Downtime Cost at 98% tool-attributable share of the stoppage: a worked example

What does the result look like when tool-attributable share of the stoppage reaches 98%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A plant quantifies the financial impact of a die failure to prioritize a preventive tooling investment.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Tool-caused downtime duration: 16 hours (unchanged)
  • Lost contribution margin per hour: 450 $/hr (unchanged)
  • Tool-attributable share of the stoppage: 98 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 85)
  • Restart, purge & scrap flat charge: 700 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total downtime cost = downtime hours x lost margin per hour x tool share% + restart flat) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 7,756 $ for total tool downtime cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 485 $ / piece for tool downtime cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 7,056 $ for variable tool downtime cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 700 $ for fixed tool downtime cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where tool-attributable share of the stoppage sits at 85% and the headline result is 6,820 $, this scenario comes in 13.72% above the baseline at 7,756 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when tool-attributable share of the stoppage is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It uses a single blended lost-margin rate; if the tool serves multiple part numbers at different margins, or if the line can partially recover output, the true loss can differ from this straight-line estimate.

Results at a glance

  • Total tool downtime cost: 7,756 $ (headline result)
  • Tool downtime cost per unit: 485 $ / piece
  • Variable tool downtime cost: 7,056 $
  • Fixed tool downtime cost adder: 700 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.