How much powder does a part use?

Grams per part = area (m2) x film thickness (um) x specific gravity / transfer efficiency. In the example, a bicycle frame of 0.75 m2 at 80 um with a 1.40 specific gravity powder holds 84 g, and at 40% transfer efficiency it takes 210 g sprayed. In ft2 and mil, multiply by 0.09290304 and 25.4 first: 2.5 mil is 63.5 um.

What is transfer efficiency and how do I measure it?

It is the share of the powder sprayed that ends up cured on the part, after any reclaim. Measure it on a real job: weigh the powder used, compute the theoretical grams from area, film and specific gravity, and divide. Open wire baskets and tube frames lose far more than flat panels; the example uses 35% for wire baskets and 65% for brackets. The rates are examples, not benchmarks.

What goes into the line cost per hour?

Everything it costs to run the line for an hour except the people: pretreatment chemicals and water, washer and oven gas, booth power and filters, maintenance and depreciation. Divide the yearly total by the hours the line runs. The crew on the line is added separately (crew x line hours x labour rate), and off-line masking and packing are handling minutes per part.

Why does a short run cost so much more per part?

The colour change is paid once per job. In the example, 300 mounting brackets in zinc-rich primer run at 400 per hour, so coating takes 46 minutes but the colour change adds 30; line and labour come to 1.15 per part and the job makes 14% against a 30% target. A longer run, a shared colour slot or a higher price are the levers.

How do rejects change the cost per part?

Parts to recoat use powder, masking, line time and handling again, so the workbook coats good parts / (1 - reject rate), rounded up, and spreads the cost over the good parts. The example's bicycle frames coat 64 for 60 good at 6% rejects; with heavy masking and 40% transfer efficiency they cost 15.54 each, leaving 11% margin at 17.50.

Is the weighted margin an average of the job margins?

No. It is the sum of job margin divided by the sum of job value over the priced jobs, so large jobs count for more, as they do in your accounts. In the example it is 29.6% against a 30% target: Near target, with two jobs below and two near.

Industry Cost Kits

Powder Coating Cost per Part Excel Template

Cost every powder coating job from the part's area, the film build, the powder's specific gravity and your transfer efficiency, plus line time, labour, masking and rejects, then check each quoted price against your target margin.

Overview

This powder coating cost template is for job coaters, finishing line managers and fabricators with an in-house line who need a defensible cost per part for every job. It ships with twelve example jobs for a fictional job coater with one conveyor line, from shelf brackets to control cabinets, in six powders, so every number moves before you type your own.

Powder per part follows from physics: area times film thickness times the powder's specific gravity gives the grams on the part (one micrometre over one square metre is one cubic centimetre), and dividing by your measured transfer efficiency gives the grams sprayed. Areas in ft2 and films in mil are converted exactly. Parts coated include the rejects to recoat, line hours come from parts per hour plus the colour change, the line cost per hour carries pretreatment, oven gas, booth and power, and labour is the line crew for every line hour plus off-line handling minutes per part.

Margin on price is judged against your target, with job cost, value and margin per job. The Dashboard shows the weighted margin, the jobs below target, the kilograms of powder and the line hours the jobs need, with a stacked chart of where each part's cost goes and powder use and spend by colour. For a job with no rejects, the live Powder Coating Cost per Part calculator uses the same total, and the Verify sheet checks the workbook against its worked example.

What this template includes

Coating Jobs table: powder, good parts, area per part, film thickness, transfer efficiency, parts per hour, colour change and handling minutes, masking materials, reject rate and price for each job
Setup sheet with an area unit (m2 or ft2) and a film unit (um or mil) converted exactly, your labour rate, line crew, line cost per running hour and target margin
Powders list with price per kg or per lb and specific gravity, giving a cost per kg for every powder
Per job: grams of powder per part, parts coated after rejects, powder used in kg, line hours, powder, masking, line and labour cost per good part, margin with status words, and job cost, value and margin
Check column that names a powder that is not on Setup, a duplicate job or a missing input in words
Dashboard: weighted margin, jobs below target, powder used and line hours, a chart of where each job's cost goes, margin by job, and powder use and spend by powder
Method sheet with every formula, and a Verify sheet that rechecks the model in ft2 and mil, including the live Powder Coating Cost per Part calculator's example
CSV with live formulas of the Coating Jobs table; the dashboard, charts, dropdowns and self-check are in the .xlsx

Suggested use case

Use it to quote coating jobs, to see whether powder, line time or handling drives each part's cost, to find jobs whose masking or low transfer efficiency eat the margin, and to plan powder orders.

How to use it

On Setup, choose m2 or ft2 and um or mil, and type your currency, labour rate, line crew, line cost per running hour and target margin.
List your powders with price per kg or per lb and the specific gravity from the technical data sheet.
On Coating Jobs, add one row per job: powder, good parts, area per part, film thickness, transfer efficiency and parts per hour on the line.
Add colour change minutes, handling minutes per part, masking materials, the reject rate and the quoted price; fix anything the Check column reports.
Open the Dashboard to see weighted margin, the jobs below target, where each job's cost goes and the powder each colour uses.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much powder does a part use?: Grams per part = area (m2) x film thickness (um) x specific gravity / transfer efficiency. In the example, a bicycle frame of 0.75 m2 at 80 um with a 1.40 specific gravity powder holds 84 g, and at 40% transfer efficiency it takes 210 g sprayed. In ft2 and mil, multiply by 0.09290304 and 25.4 first: 2.5 mil is 63.5 um.
What is transfer efficiency and how do I measure it?: It is the share of the powder sprayed that ends up cured on the part, after any reclaim. Measure it on a real job: weigh the powder used, compute the theoretical grams from area, film and specific gravity, and divide. Open wire baskets and tube frames lose far more than flat panels; the example uses 35% for wire baskets and 65% for brackets. The rates are examples, not benchmarks.
What goes into the line cost per hour?: Everything it costs to run the line for an hour except the people: pretreatment chemicals and water, washer and oven gas, booth power and filters, maintenance and depreciation. Divide the yearly total by the hours the line runs. The crew on the line is added separately (crew x line hours x labour rate), and off-line masking and packing are handling minutes per part.
Why does a short run cost so much more per part?: The colour change is paid once per job. In the example, 300 mounting brackets in zinc-rich primer run at 400 per hour, so coating takes 46 minutes but the colour change adds 30; line and labour come to 1.15 per part and the job makes 14% against a 30% target. A longer run, a shared colour slot or a higher price are the levers.
How do rejects change the cost per part?: Parts to recoat use powder, masking, line time and handling again, so the workbook coats good parts / (1 - reject rate), rounded up, and spreads the cost over the good parts. The example's bicycle frames coat 64 for 60 good at 6% rejects; with heavy masking and 40% transfer efficiency they cost 15.54 each, leaving 11% margin at 17.50.
Is the weighted margin an average of the job margins?: No. It is the sum of job margin divided by the sum of job value over the priced jobs, so large jobs count for more, as they do in your accounts. In the example it is 29.6% against a 30% target: Near target, with two jobs below and two near.