Piece price is only one part of manufacturing cost.
Manufacturing cost estimation combines material, machine time, labor, setup, tooling, scrap, secondary operations, inspection, packaging, inventory, freight, and other program requirements into a production estimate.
Manufacturing cost usually combines recurring unit cost with program-level and one-time expenses.
Every feature of the manufacturing plan consumes material, equipment, time, or risk.
Material
Raw-material price, stock size, minimum purchases, yield, certification, scrap, and market availability affect cost.
Processing Time
Machine cycle, manual labor, setup time, tool changes, curing, cooling, forming, handling, or assembly can drive recurring cost.
Tooling
Molds, dies, fixtures, gauges, programming, cutting tools, and production aids may create significant up-front expense.
Quality
Inspection, testing, reports, first articles, traceability, special gauges, and documentation add production effort.
Secondary Operations
Heat treatment, plating, painting, anodizing, machining, welding, marking, cleaning, or packaging expand total process scope.
Risk & Yield
Scrap, rework, difficult tolerances, long material lead times, low yields, and process uncertainty can be reflected in quoted pricing.
Unit cost changes when fixed production effort is spread across more parts.
Programming, setup, engineering, and material procurement may be distributed across only a few parts.
Repeat orders can reduce setup burden, but flexible processing may still be more economical than dedicated automation.
Fixtures, standard work, material purchasing, cycle optimization, and automation can reduce recurring unit cost.
Dedicated tooling and automation may require higher initial investment while lowering the cost of repeated cycles.
Compare the complete supply model, not only the invoice price of the part.
A lower quoted piece price may be offset by tooling, freight, inventory, quality problems, longer lead times, higher minimum purchases, or additional work performed after the part arrives.
The best cost reduction often happens before production begins.
Simplify Geometry
Reduce unnecessary setups, deep features, difficult access, complex tooling, excessive welds, or nonfunctional cosmetic requirements.
Use Appropriate Tolerances
Tight tolerances can increase processing and inspection even when the function does not require them.
Review Material
A functionally equivalent material with better availability or processability may reduce both material and manufacturing cost.
Match Process to Volume
The lowest-cost process for ten parts may be very different from the lowest-cost process for one hundred thousand parts.
Cost and manufacturability are closely connected.
Design for manufacturability identifies geometry, tolerance, material, assembly, and process decisions that unnecessarily increase production effort.
Design for Manufacturability →