Tooling, Fixtures, Dies & Mold Economics calculator
Tool Life Cost Calculator
Budget the whole cutting tools needed to complete a production run at the entered usable life. Enter part demand, qualified parts per tool, purchase price and separate regrind or setup charges.
What this calculator does
- Budget complete tool purchases for a production run using qualified life, usable life and separately quoted regrind or setup costs.
Formula used
- Usable parts per tool = rated parts per tool × usable life ÷ 100
- Whole tools required = ceiling(production parts ÷ usable parts per tool)
- Tool purchase cost = whole tools required × purchase cost per tool
- Total tool life cost = tool purchase cost + separate regrind and setup cost
- Tooling cost per good part = total tool life cost ÷ production parts
Inputs explained
- Production Run Quantity: Good parts required for this run from the released production order.
- Rated Parts per Tool: Good parts per tool at full life from the qualified process.
- Usable Tool Life: Realized share of qualified tool life from replacement records.
- Purchase Cost per Tool: Supplier price for one complete replacement tool.
- Separate Regrind and Setup Cost: Run charges excluded from the tool purchase price.
How to use the result
- Best suited to run tool purchase Budget, reduced tool life review.
- Machine downtime, production labor and material costs are excluded. Use an equivalent total life per purchased tool if planned regrinds extend life.
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
- Are partially used tools charged in full? Yes. Purchases are rounded up to whole tools, including the starting tool. Unused life on the last tool receives no credit.
- How should I include regrinds? Use total qualified output per purchased tool across its planned regrinds, then enter regrind charges separately. Keep the output and cost scopes consistent.
- Does poor life make purchases cheaper? No. Reduced usable life lowers output per tool, so a fixed production run needs at least as many tools.
- Is this the complete machining cost? No. It covers tool purchases and entered separate charges. Machine time, replacement downtime, workpiece material and operating labor are outside this estimate.
Last reviewed 2026-10-06.