How do I calculate casting yield and what is a good number?

Casting yield is good casting weight divided by total poured weight, including gates, risers, and sprue. The Casting Yield calculator gives the percentage, and typical sand casting runs 45 to 65 percent depending on riser needs, while investment and die casting run higher. Every point of yield you recover through better gating drops your melt, energy, and Foundry Scrap Cost per good part, so it is the first metric to attack.

How much metal do I lose to melt loss per heat?

Melt loss is the alloy burned off or slagged during melting, usually 1 to 5 percent for steel and iron and higher for oxidation-prone elements. The Melt Loss calculator converts your charge weight and loss rate into lost metal per heat and its cost. It also feeds Furnace Charge sizing, since you must over-charge to hit target tapped weight and hold chemistry after burnout of reactive elements.

How do I size the furnace charge for a target pour weight?

Work backward from the part: Pour Weight sets metal into the mold, Casting Yield and Gating Ratio account for gates and risers, and Melt Loss covers what burns off. The Furnace Charge calculator combines these so your tapped weight covers the poured lot plus loss. Undersizing the charge forces a second tap or a short pour; oversizing wastes energy tracked by Furnace Energy Cost and Ladle Preheat Energy.

What determines forging die life and cost per part?

Die life depends on tonnage, material, forging temperature, and lubrication, expressed as parts per die before resink or replacement. The Die Life Estimator projects that count, and Forge Die Cost per Part amortizes tooling across it, so a die costing thousands spread over tens of thousands of forgings adds only cents per part. Pair it with Forging Tonnage to confirm the press can form the part and with Forging Press Utilization to price press time.

How does riser design affect my yield and scrap?

Risers feed shrinkage as the casting solidifies, so undersized risers cause shrink defects while oversized risers waste metal and cut yield. The Riser Yield Impact calculator shows how riser weight changes overall Casting Yield, and the Casting Solidification Window helps confirm the riser stays liquid long enough to feed. Balancing the two lowers Foundry Rework Rate and scrap without over-feeding every casting.

Where is the real bottleneck in my foundry, melting or shakeout?

Compare capacity across stations rather than assuming the furnace limits output. Melt Shop Utilization and Pouring Line Throughput size the front end, while Shakeout Capacity and Core Making Capacity size molding and finishing. Often shakeout or core making, not melting, caps daily good castings. Running these together identifies the constraint so you add capacity where it actually raises throughput instead of overbuilding the melt deck.

Manufacturing calculator category

Foundry, Casting & Forging calculators

This category covers the metal, energy, and capacity math that decides whether a heat runs profitably, from pour weight and gating design to furnace charge and forging tonnage. It is for foundry engineers, melt shop supervisors, and forging estimators who need to size charges, predict yield, and cost a lot before the metal is poured.

What this hub covers

Calculators for foundry, casting, and forging operations covering casting yield, melt loss, pour weight, gating ratio, forging tonnage, furnace energy, and die life.
Browse foundry, casting & forging calculators for manufacturing planning, quoting, quality, capacity, and operations decisions.

Best calculators in this category

Casting Yield: Calculate casting yield by comparing finished good casting weight or good casting count against total poured or produced weight/count.
Melt Loss Calculator: Estimate the cost of melt loss from oxidation, slag, dross, furnace hold loss, ladle loss, returns, and alloy trim waste.
Pour Weight Reduction Payback: Estimate the payback of a pour-weight reduction project such as gating redesign, riser optimization, simulation work, or pattern change.
Forging Tonnage: Compare required forging load with available press or hammer capacity as a utilization percentage.
Gating Ratio Calculator: Calculate a gating ratio from sprue, runner, and ingate area or another approved gating-system basis.
Furnace Charge Calculator: Estimate time needed to prepare and charge a furnace for a heat.
Shakeout Capacity: Estimate good shakeout output capacity for molds, castings, or poured molds per shift.
Die Life Estimator: Estimate how many forging or die-casting dies, inserts, cavities, or refurbishments are needed for planned production.
Sand Usage Calculator: Compare sand required for molding and coremaking against available sand supply or sand-system capacity.
Foundry Scrap Cost: Estimate the cost impact of scrap castings, rejected forgings, failed molds, bad cores, or nonconforming heat lots.
Riser Yield Impact: Calculate how much riser weight affects casting yield for a mold or casting family.
Mold Cycle Time: Estimate time needed to make, close, pour-ready, cool, or cycle molds through a molding line.

Common manufacturing problems solved

foundry
casting
forging
melt loss
pour weight
casting yield
gating ratio
riser weight
furnace charge
heat size

Live market signals for this industry

The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 361.439 (BLS, Jun 2026), up 16.9% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The U.S. has 3,569 primary metal manufacturing establishments employing about 354,911 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Category questions

How do I calculate casting yield and what is a good number? Casting yield is good casting weight divided by total poured weight, including gates, risers, and sprue. The Casting Yield calculator gives the percentage, and typical sand casting runs 45 to 65 percent depending on riser needs, while investment and die casting run higher. Every point of yield you recover through better gating drops your melt, energy, and Foundry Scrap Cost per good part, so it is the first metric to attack.
How much metal do I lose to melt loss per heat? Melt loss is the alloy burned off or slagged during melting, usually 1 to 5 percent for steel and iron and higher for oxidation-prone elements. The Melt Loss calculator converts your charge weight and loss rate into lost metal per heat and its cost. It also feeds Furnace Charge sizing, since you must over-charge to hit target tapped weight and hold chemistry after burnout of reactive elements.
How do I size the furnace charge for a target pour weight? Work backward from the part: Pour Weight sets metal into the mold, Casting Yield and Gating Ratio account for gates and risers, and Melt Loss covers what burns off. The Furnace Charge calculator combines these so your tapped weight covers the poured lot plus loss. Undersizing the charge forces a second tap or a short pour; oversizing wastes energy tracked by Furnace Energy Cost and Ladle Preheat Energy.
What determines forging die life and cost per part? Die life depends on tonnage, material, forging temperature, and lubrication, expressed as parts per die before resink or replacement. The Die Life Estimator projects that count, and Forge Die Cost per Part amortizes tooling across it, so a die costing thousands spread over tens of thousands of forgings adds only cents per part. Pair it with Forging Tonnage to confirm the press can form the part and with Forging Press Utilization to price press time.
How does riser design affect my yield and scrap? Risers feed shrinkage as the casting solidifies, so undersized risers cause shrink defects while oversized risers waste metal and cut yield. The Riser Yield Impact calculator shows how riser weight changes overall Casting Yield, and the Casting Solidification Window helps confirm the riser stays liquid long enough to feed. Balancing the two lowers Foundry Rework Rate and scrap without over-feeding every casting.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.