---
title: "Partimation — manufacturing intelligence, from CAD to cost"
url: https://partimation.com/
description: "Upload a part or a drawing and get design-for-manufacture checks, the processes that fit, and a defensible should-cost — across machining, fabrication, casting, molding, additive and more. One tool, from the first look to the price you send."
product: "Partimation"
domain: partimation.com
---

# Understand how any part should be made — from CAD to cost.

*DFM · process selection · costing · routing*

Upload a part or a drawing and Partimation checks it for manufacturability, finds the processes that fit, plans the route, and puts a defensible should-cost on it — across machining, fabrication, casting, molding, additive and more. One tool, from the first look at a part to the price you send.

- **Any process** — machining, fabrication, casting, molding, additive…
- **Part or drawing** — 3D model or a 2D print — tolerances drive cost
- **Should-cost** — transparent, itemized, with quantity break points
- **Decision memory** — capture why, so the shop stops relearning it

Free to start · no credit card · your files stay yours.

## Deciding how to make a part is slow, siloed, and walks out the door.

- **Every process is a different tool** — Machining, casting, sheet metal, molding — each has its own quoting software, its own specialist, its own spreadsheet. Nothing compares them on one screen.
- **Tolerances drive cost, and get missed** — A tight bore or a GD&T callout on a drawing changes the process and the price more than the geometry does — and it's easy to quote before anyone reads it.
- **The know-how retires** — Why this process, why that allowance, why this supplier under 50 units — it lives in a few heads. When they leave, the shop relearns it the expensive way.

## One place from the first look at a part to the price you send.

- **See what fits — The right processes, ranked, with the reason** — Drop a part and Partimation screens it against every process it supports, flags the DFM issues, and tells you the quantity where one method beats another — each call named to the rule behind it.
- **Price with confidence — Transparent should-cost, not a black box** — Itemized cost with the rate tables, tooling amortization, and quantity curves laid out — and it calibrates to your shop's real numbers as you feed it actuals.
- **Read the drawing — Tolerances and GD&T, into the quote** — Pull dimensions, tolerances, and callouts off a 2D drawing or a model's PMI and let them drive the process choice and the machining stock — the thing that actually moves the cost.
- **Keep the know-how — Capture why, right where the decision happens** — Partimation Core records the rationale behind overrides, process picks, and routing choices as work happens — so the shop's hard-won judgment compounds instead of walking out the door.

## Modules that share one part, one account, one cost model.

Start with a part or a drawing; each module adds its lens. They hand off cleanly — the geometry, features, and tolerances flow straight into process selection, routing, and cost.

- [Part analysis](/part-analysis/) (partdfm.com) — Upload any part — geometry checks, feature extraction, likely processes, DFM summary.
- [Documents](/documents/) (docdfm.com) — 2D drawings, PMI, GD&T, notes, finish and material requirements, model-vs-drawing conflicts.
- [Costing](/costing/) (costdfm.com) — Transparent should-cost, rate libraries, quantity curves, tooling amortization, confidence.
- [Machining](/machining/) (machdfm.com) — Milling and turning — access, tooling, stock, tolerance, finish, cycle time, machine fit.
- [Fabrication](/fabrication/) (fabdfm.com) — Sheet, plate, structural, tube — cutting, bending, welding, nesting, fabrication routing.
- [Additive](/additive/) (additivedfm.com) — Process and material fit, orientation, supports, nesting, print time, post-processing.
- [Molding](/molding/) (molddfm.com) — Injection molding — draft, wall thickness, undercuts, parting, gates, cooling, tooling.
- [Forging](/forging/) (forgedfm.com) — Forgeability, grain flow, draft, flash, preform, die and machining allowance.
- [Assembly](/assembly/) (assemblydfm.com) — Tolerance stack, joining, access, part consolidation, make/buy, assembly cost.
- [Simulation](/simulation/) (simdfm.com) — Material removal, casting fill and solidification, thermal, distortion — with confidence.
- [Casting → Castimation](https://castimation.com) (castimation.com) — The specialist casting environment: DFM, rigging, tooling, pour simulation, cast-then-machine.
- [Partimation Core](/core/) (coredfm.com) — Manufacturing decision memory — capture why, learn from estimate-vs-actual, reuse it next time.

## Four steps from a file to a price you can send.

1. **Drop a part or drawing** — STL, STEP, or a DXF/PDF drawing. Analysis starts the moment you drop it — no setup.
2. **See fit and risks** — DFM issues, extracted features and tolerances, and the best-fit processes — each with a plain reason.
3. **Route and prove it** — Build the multi-process route — cast-then-machine, cut-bend-weld, print-finish — and simulate where it counts.
4. **Cost and plan** — An itemized should-cost across methods with quantity break points, and a plan you can hand to the shop.

## Start free. Upgrade when it's winning you work.

One account across every module. Simulation is metered by compute run, not by part — analyze as many parts as you like.

| Tier | Price (EUR / USD / GBP) | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | €0 / $0 / £0 | 10 parts a month; DFM findings + best-fit process; Advisory analysis, draft resolution; No credit card |
| Pro | €199 /seat · mo / $199 /seat · mo / £169 /seat · mo | Unlimited parts, full resolution; Should-cost, reports, exports; Process selection, routing, DFM across processes; 30 simulation runs a month |
| Shop | €699 /mo · 5 seats / $699 /mo · 5 seats / £595 /mo · 5 seats | Everything in Pro; Your shop's rates & cost model; Quote calibration + API access; 150 pooled simulation runs a month |
| On-prem | €15k yr 1, then €10k renewal / $15k yr 1, then $10k renewal / £12.5k yr 1, then £8.5k renewal | Runs on your hardware; Unlimited simulation, no metering; Signed updates, never phones home; 10 seats · optional device lock |
| Enterprise | from €25k / from $25k / from £21k /yr | Multi-site licensing, custom processes and rules, a model tuned on your own quote history, and an SLA. |

EUR and GBP prices exclude VAT, added at checkout where it applies. Early adopters keep their price as the suite grows.

## In the cloud by default. Behind your firewall when it has to be.

- **Cloud — Nothing to install** — Sign in and analyze from any browser. We run the compute, ship the updates, and keep your data yours — the shared model only ever learns from your own numbers to calibrate your prices.
- **On-prem & air-gapped — For parts that can't leave the building** — Aerospace and anyone under NDA can run the whole suite on their own hardware. Licenses and updates are signed files — it never phones home, so an air-gapped install stays air-gapped.

## Casting has its own world. It gets its own home.

Castimation is the casting environment inside Partimation — rigging, gates and risers, pattern and core tooling, printed sand, filling and solidification simulation, casting yield, and cast-then-machine routing. Same account, same cost model, tuned end to end for the foundry.

**Partimation → Castimation — The suite, focused on the pour** — Everything Partimation does for a part, plus the casting specifics:

- Rigging design
- Gates & risers
- Pattern & cores
- Fill + solidification
- Casting yield
- Cast-then-machine

## Frequently asked questions

#### What is Partimation?

Partimation is manufacturing intelligence: design-for-manufacture checks plus should-cost across every process, from one upload. Send in an STL or STEP model, a DXF or PDF drawing, or both, and six process families — casting, molding, forging, machining, sheet metal, additive — come back screened feasible, marginal, or infeasible with the constraint that drove each verdict. The cost comes out itemized, every line naming the rate or rule behind it.

#### Is there a free version, and what does Partimation cost?

Partimation's free tier covers 10 parts or estimates a month with no credit card. Pro is €199 per seat per month; Shop is €699 a month for 5 seats. On-prem is €15k in year one and €10k on renewal, and Enterprise is €25k. EUR and GBP prices exclude VAT. Pro and Shop are self-serve checkout; On-prem and Enterprise are sales-led.

#### Where do our CAD files go — can Partimation run on our own hardware?

Partimation runs in the browser by default, and on your own hardware when it has to. The On-prem license runs the whole suite inside your network: licenses and updates ship as signed files, and verification is a local Ed25519 signature check rather than a server round-trip, so there are zero outbound calls and an air-gapped machine behaves exactly like a networked one. Aerospace and NDA work is the case for it. On-prem is sales-led.

#### Is Castimation a separate product from Partimation?

Castimation is the casting sub-suite inside Partimation — same account, same cost model, its own brand and its own app entry at app.castimation.com, tuned end to end for the foundry. A Castimation casting quote and a Partimation machining quote are built by the same engine, from the same rates and the same cost model, so the two numbers are directly comparable rather than two tools' two sets of assumptions.

#### Are PartDFM, CostDFM and the other DFM sites separate products we'd buy individually?

The DFM names — CostDFM, MachDFM, MoldDFM and the rest — are modules of Partimation, not separate products. Each has its own domain, and that domain redirects to the module's page on partimation.com and into the same shared app. One account, one cost model, one set of rates sits behind all of them, and no module carries a price of its own.

## Related pages

- [MFGDFM](https://partimation.com/dfm/)
- [CostDFM](https://partimation.com/costing/)
- [ProcessDFM](https://partimation.com/process-selection/)
- [Partimation Core](https://partimation.com/core/)

## Put your next part through it.

Analyze a real part free in your browser, or book a walkthrough set up for your shop's processes and rates.

## Tell us about your project.

We reply within one business day.

> Partimation is decision support, not a guarantee — every result names the rule behind it. Validate against your shop's practice before committing tooling.