---
title: "Partimation — one tool-cost engine, priced with the piece"
url: https://partimation.com/tooling/
description: "ToolDFM prices the die, mold, pattern, or core box a part needs through one shared block-and-machining model — real costing where your rates are set, a labeled estimate otherwise — amortized into the same should-cost curve as the piece price. Start free."
product: "ToolDFM"
domain: tooldfm.com
---

# One tool-cost engine, wherever your part needs a cavity — priced with the piece, not after it.

*Dies · molds · patterns · core boxes · tool-life amortization*

Every process that needs a die, a mold, a pattern, or a core box — casting, injection, forging, die casting — prices its tooling through the same block-and-machining model in Partimation, with a clearly labeled area-estimate fallback until your shop's rates are in. See the tool cost and the piece price together, amortized over the tool's real life, before you commit to steel.

- **One engine everywhere** — dies, molds, patterns, and core boxes price through the same model
- **Block + machining, or the honest fallback** — real steel costing when your rates are set, a labeled estimate until then
- **Tool life, amortized** — shots or pieces per tool spread the NRE into the should-cost curve
- **Slides, cores, extra gates** — priced as their own line items, not folded into a black box

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

## Tooling cost and piece price shouldn't live in different quotes.

- **Tool cost and piece price are two different conversations** — The die or mold is one number, the piece price is another, and nobody puts them on the same curve to show where the tool actually pays for itself.
- **Every process prices tooling differently — or doesn't explain how** — A sand pattern, an injection mold, and a forge die are different tools, but molders and foundries alike often hand over a lump-sum tooling number with no way to check it.
- **Nobody itemizes what a slide or an extra core costs** — Undercuts add slides, lifters, or core boxes to a tool — and that's usually a verbal add, not a line item you can push back on.

## One tooling model, real costs, and the amortization that follows.

- **One model, every process — Dies, molds, patterns, core boxes — same engine** — Whether it's a forge die, an injection mold, a permanent-mold die, or a sand pattern with core boxes, Partimation prices the tool through the same block-and-machining model, so the numbers are comparable across processes.
- **Real costing, not a black box — Steel block + removal rate, or a labeled estimate** — When your shop's die-block and machining rates are set, tool cost comes from a real block size and removal hours; until then, an area-based estimate stands in — clearly marked as the fallback, never presented as the real number.
- **Tool life, spread honestly — Amortization on the should-cost curve, not a lump sum** — Every tool carries a life — shots for a mold, pieces for a forge die — and that NRE is spread across the curve so you see cost-per-part at your real quantity, tooling included.
- **Every add-on, itemized — Slides, cores, and extra gates price as line items** — An undercut that needs a slide, a cavity that needs a core box, a flow path that needs a second gate — each one adds its own costed line, not a verbal markup.

## Four steps from a part to a tool cost you can defend.

1. **Drop a part** — Upload the model — Partimation screens the processes that fit.
2. **See the tool it needs** — Die, mold, pattern, or core box, sized to the part and its cavity count.
3. **Check the real cost** — Block-and-machining pricing where rates are set, a labeled estimate otherwise — slides, cores, and extra gates itemized.
4. **Read the amortized curve** — Tool life spread across the should-cost curve, with the crossover quantity visible.

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

Priced for a single buyer checking a tooling quote and a shop running dies at scale alike. Tool-cost breakdowns are unmetered — run as many parts as you like.

| Tier | Price (EUR / USD / GBP) | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | €0 / $0 / £0 | 10 parts a month; Tool-cost breakdowns (area-estimate basis); Advisory findings; No credit card |
| Pro | €199 /seat · mo / $199 /seat · mo / £169 /seat · mo | Unlimited parts, full amortization curves; Block-and-machining costing; Slide / core / gate line items; 30 simulation runs a month |
| Shop | €699 /mo · 5 seats / $699 /mo · 5 seats / £595 /mo · 5 seats | Everything in Pro; Your die-block & machining rates; 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 price a tool from any browser. We run the compute, ship the updates, and keep your data yours — the shared model only ever learns from your own jobs to calibrate your rates.
- **On-prem & air-gapped — For tooling quotes that can't leave the building** — Infrastructure and anyone under NDA can run the whole thing on their own hardware. Licenses and updates are signed files — it never phones home, so an air-gapped install stays air-gapped.

## The engine underneath molding and forging tooling.

- [MoldDFM](https://partimation.com/molding/) (molddfm.com) — Injection molding — draft, wall thickness, undercuts, gates, cooling — and the mold tool this engine prices.
- [ForgeDFM](https://partimation.com/forging/) (forgedfm.com) — Closed-die forging — forgeability, draft, flash — and the forge + trim dies this engine prices.
- [See all modules](https://partimation.com/#modules) (partimation.com) — Machining, fabrication, casting, additive, assembly — the full Partimation suite.

## Frequently asked questions

#### Is a sand pattern priced the same way as an injection mold or a forge die?

Dies, molds, patterns, and core boxes all price through one block-and-machining tool-cost model, reused across HPDC, permanent-mold, injection, and forging. Tool costs from different processes end up comparable to each other rather than four vendors' four conventions. When a molder's number and a foundry's number sit on the same basis, you can tell which one is out of line.

#### Is tooling quoted as a lump sum or built into the piece price?

Tooling is amortized into the per-piece should-cost curve rather than handed over as a lump sum. Every tool carries a life — shots for a mold, pieces for a forge die — and that non-recurring cost spreads across the curve, so the cost-per-part at your real quantity already has the tool in it.

#### At what quantity does the tool pay for itself?

The quantity where one tooling investment overtakes another is solved in closed form and shown as an exact crossover. Tool cost and piece price sit on the same curve, so the payback quantity is read off a number instead of argued about. A die that looks expensive at 200 pieces and cheap at 5,000 stops being a matter of opinion.

#### Does the tooling number come with a confidence on it?

Tool-cost lines carry the same confidence band and named basis as every other line in the quote. For a buyer, that turns a tooling conversation into a specific one: push back on the stated basis and on the quantity the tool is amortized over, rather than on a lump figure with nothing named behind it.

## Related pages

- [ForgeDFM](https://partimation.com/forging/)
- [MoldDFM](https://partimation.com/molding/)
- [CostDFM](https://partimation.com/costing/)
- [MachDFM](https://partimation.com/machining/)
- [Tool cost you can't check: pricing a die, mold or pattern from memory](https://partimation.com/solutions/tooling-cost-guesswork/)
- [No defensible number behind the price — Partimation](https://partimation.com/solutions/should-cost-basis/)
- [The process was picked by habit — not by the volume | Partimation](https://partimation.com/solutions/wrong-process-choice/)

## Put your next tooling quote through it.

Price a real tool free in your browser, or book a walkthrough set up for your shop's die-block and machining rates.

## Tell us about your tooling.

We reply within one business day.

> ToolDFM's tool costs use a real block-and-machining model where your shop's rates are set, and a clearly labeled area estimate everywhere else — never presented as more certain than it is. Validate tool life and removal rates against your own die shop before committing steel.