This covers how stamping part pricing works—the preparation steps, the project-based quoting flow, and the key cost drivers. If you're sourcing stamped components, it's worth reviewing this with your supplier before committing to a quote.
Preparing for Pricing
First, lock in current raw material prices, and add a 10% buffer to cover near-term volatility. That includes tungsten steel, molybdenum vanadium steel, medium carbon steel, and low carbon steel. You'll also need to determine the tonnage required for the stamping operation, whether you need fixtures, and what they cost. Factor in tooling build, stamping labor, machining like turning or grinding, and surface finishing—oxidation, spraying, e-coat, or electro-galvanizing.
Quotation Process
Start with the raw material specs. Ideally, we get a 3D model from you. If not, we calculate the flat blank area from the 2D print. The material cost is length × width × thickness × density × unit price (in yuan/kg) × 1.1–1.2, based on gross weight.
Stamping Production Process: Next, we define the process—progressive die or single-hit engineering die. That drives the number of stations, secondary operations, packaging requirements, and freight considerations.
Itemized Quotation
Raw Material Cost: We calculate the net part weight, then apply a material utilization factor that accounts for scrap from the carrier strip or blanking layout. If we outsource any step, that cost gets added. Surface treatment is quoted separately. Since stamping runs roughly 60 days per month, we also factor in working capital costs, packaging, and freight. The unit price is set as low as practical—processing cost is derived by multiplying material cost by a coefficient.
Stamping Process Fee: This is quoted per hit, whether it's a progressive die or a single-station die. For larger volumes with clean payment terms, we can divide daily output by electricity, labor, and other marginal costs to arrive at the lowest defensible unit price.
Rules for Stamping Parts Quotation
Here's what goes into every stamping quote:
- Gross weight raw material cost
- Labor costs
- Electricity charges
- Equipment depreciation
- Shop floor overhead
- Tooling cost
- Yield rate
- VAT and other taxes
Product unit price = [(gross raw material cost + labor + electricity + equipment depreciation + shop overhead + tooling amortization) / yield] × 1.13 + packaging and freight + administrative fees.
Breakdown of a stamping quote
A complete stamping quote covers the following line items:
- How we calculate material cost for stamped parts
- Processing and manual operation charges
- Electricity costs
- Administrative overhead
- Profit margin
- Taxes
Gross material cost is the biggest line item in any stamping quote. For simple parts, the base price typically runs one unit of currency for material and one for processing, so the total lands around two units. Material and labor rates scale with part complexity and current shop rates in the industry.
Stamping price FAQs
Tooling price depends on die complexity, part size, design specs, material requirements, and the builder. Simple tools can start at a few hundred dollars, while progressive or transfer dies for complex parts can run tens or even hundreds of thousands.
Pull the Bill of Materials (BOM) for one finished unit, apply current material unit prices, multiply by the required quantity per part, then total all line items. That sum is your raw material cost per piece.
It depends on part geometry, material, volume, and tolerance requirements. Stamping usually wins at higher volumes due to faster cycle times and less secondary work, but casting can be more economical for low runs or complex internal shapes. Best to get a quote from a shop that does both.
Die cost varies with part complexity, die type (blank, form, draw, progressive), steel grade, and builder. Send detailed part prints and volumes to die shops for a firm quote—there's no one-size-fits-all number.
Key factors: raw material cost, part complexity, annual volume, tooling and setup, secondary operations like tapping or heat treat, tolerance and quality requirements, and the supplier's overhead and location.
Keep in mind actual pricing shifts with project specs and market conditions. A stamping shop with relevant experience can give you a tighter number for your specific part.