9 Factors Impact Casting Cost

Every metal casting is custom, but these 9 factors affect the price of a casting.

1. Material

Which metal you using plays a big role in cost. General alloy prices are different metal to metal, but exact prices can vary day by day.

Additionally, the weight of the material can affect the cost when you factor in labor and transportation.

Aluminum

At Batesville Products, we cast aluminum A356. A356 is used across 70+ industries, is medical and food safe, and can be heat treated, anodized, and coated for versatile applications. Other advantages of aluminum include: lightweight, strong, flexible, corrosion resistance, conductivity, heat transfer, and recyclability.

Zinc

At Batesville Products, we cast ZA5 and ZA12. These alloys are great when you need extra weight in a part, like for a dental chair base.

For highly aesthetic parts, zinc also can be mirror buffed or chrome plated.

2. Design for Manufacturing

Designing with the manufacturing process in mind saves time, and time is money!

Your design and manufacturing method must match. When you design to what the manufacturing process is capable of, you’ll optimize manufacturability and eliminate the need for additional operations.

Use this design guide to see if your design is casting-ready.

3. Order Quantity

For each casting process, you must purchase a mold, referred to as tooling. The type of tooling you use is typically driven by your EAU. When your EAU aligns with the casting process, you get the best ROI by balancing tooling cost and piece price.

For example, If you are looking to manufacture 10 parts a year, you wouldn’t want to invest in a $50,000 die cast mold. However, if you are manufacturing 100,000 parts a year, you'd see a great return on investment for a die cast mold.

Permanent mold casting is ideal for moderate volume production and has a tooling cost typically between sand and die casting. Permanent mold casting also tends to have lower porosity than sand or die casting, which leads to better surface finish, less defects, and easy machinability.

4. Part Complexity & Size

Part complexity and size can increase tooling costs or add extra operations and costs to the manufacturing process.

Pulls, Cores, and Inserts

Cast-in features such as logos or inserts can save on machining and assembly costs. For example, steel tubing could be cast into the product, rather than assembled on as a secondary operation.

If you’re looking to minimize secondary machining time, sand cores or pulls can be used to create hollows. But, cores and pulls may increase tooling cost.

Multi-Cavity Mold

Set up charges, cycle time, and labor all affect the price of casting.

Depending on the size of your part, you may be able to fit more cavities into the mold. This means instead of casting 1 part at a time, you could make two at once – doubling efficiency!

Adding multiple cavities into one mold will slightly uptick your tooling costs, but the investment will multiply your efficiency without paying for two separate molds.

1 Mold Makes 2 Different Parts

There are special circumstances where you can cut your tooling costs in half! If you’re looking to manufacture two similar products with slight differences, consider this.

Instead of purchasing two tools, you might be able to purchase one tool that cast a generic version with the similarities of the parts. Then, add a secondary machining operation that turns this generic casting into two unique parts! Learn more here.

5. Secondary Machining

A secondary machining operation is common to touch up the casting and ensure all critical specs are met. You save money by machining from the near-net shape casting rather than machining from stock and welding pieces together.

However, machining costs can quickly increase if your tolerances are extremely tight. Are your tolerances tighter than the casting process is capable of? Then you’ll need to add a more in-depth secondary machining operation. Too tight of tolerances can increase your spindle time, increasing cost.

Another added cost you can expect in any machining operation is a custom fixture. This can be added to your tooling cost. Very complex machining could also be split into multiple machining operations, each with its own fixturing.

Ultimately, your goal should be to make the as-cast part as close to the final product as possible. This will help you save money on secondary operations.

6. Mechanical Properties

You can add secondary operations that modify the mechanical properties of your casting.

Heat Treat

Heat treatment refers to when an already cast aluminum part is heated at a high temperature and systematically cooled to increase material strength and hardness, reduce stress, increase stabilization, improve machining ability, or change its properties.

Impregnation

Casting impregnation seals all porosity (even the slightest microporosity) in castings, making it leak-free and pressure-tight.

7. Inspection

When getting a quote, find out what kind of inspection is included (if any). It’s important that key specs are highlighted on your prints and that there is clear communication of expectations between the supplier and the customer.

At Batesville Products, we provide a First Article Inspection (FAI) at no added cost and have quality procedures in place to prevent the customer from receiving defective product.

Additional inspection costs can include…

• PPAP (varying levels at varying costs)
• Certifications
• Liquid penetration testing
• Pressure testing
• And more lab testing options

8. Surface Finish

Is the part hidden in assembly? Then you might be able to save money on finishing, unless the part must be enhanced for corrosion resistance, insulation, or conductivity.

Highly visible, aesthetic products have a variety of options when it comes to surface finish.

• As-Cast - Permanent mold castings typically have a high quality 200-420 RMS finish.
• Grit Belt Polishing - polish with various grit strengths to create a finer surface.
• Stainless Steel Shot Blast - Shot blasting creates a consistent, textured surface.
• Mirror Buff or Plated - makes zinc products reflective and shiny. Perfect to show-off.
• Power Coat or Paint - common finish creates a colorful, stand-out product. Coatings can also be optimized for insulation, conductivity, or protection.
• Chromate - Chromated parts are highly conductive.
• Anodize - Anodized products receive extra protection. While aluminum is naturally rust-resistant, anodizing protects from all other forms of corrosion.

9. Packaging

Compare packaging and shipping options when reviewing quotes. What’s included?

Communicate your packaging and shipping expectations with the supplier upfront so there aren’t any surprise fees. If you plan to use custom, special packaging, you might see an added cost.

• Will you provide the packaging, or do you expect the supplier to provide packaging?
• Should each product be wrapped individually?
• Are your products powder coated and need extra protection?

One great way to save is through reusable, returnable dunnage. Some customers send us crates, we fill them with their product, send it back, they empty the crates, and the cycle repeats.

Get a Free Quote!

Contact Batesville Products today for a free permanent mold casting quote.

For over 75 years, we’ve been casting, machining, and polishing aluminum components for 70+ industries nationwide.

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