Tooling, Fixtures, Dies & Mold Economics worked example

Die Life Estimator at 65% press uptime over die life: a worked example in tooling, fixtures, dies & mold economics

This worked example runs the die life estimator numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 65% press uptime over die life instead of the typical 90%. Estimate die life for tooling, fixtures, dies and mold economics using production-ready inputs so teams can confirm whether capacity can cover demand before committing the schedule.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts per die stroke: 4 units / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Rated die life before regrind: 480 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Press uptime over die life: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • Stamping first-pass yield: 97 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross die life capacity = die life output per cycle × available die life cycles.
  • Good die life capacity works out to 1,211 units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross die life capacity works out to 1,920 units at these inputs.
  • Die life downtime loss works out to 672 units at these inputs.
  • Die life yield loss works out to 37.44 units at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where press uptime over die life sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 units, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 1,211 units.
  • Use it when scheduling a die regrind interval, sizing a production run against remaining die life, or amortizing die cost per good part. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Good die life capacity: 1,211 units (headline result)
  • Gross die life capacity: 1,920 units
  • Die life downtime loss: 672 units
  • Die life yield loss: 37.44 units

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Die Life Estimator calculator, set press uptime over die life to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.