G10

COMPARE / LIFECYCLE COST

Compare injection molding machine total cost on one production boundary.

Purchase price is one line. Normalize the configured cell, installation, machine-only and product-related energy, auxiliaries, labor, changeovers, maintenance, wear, scrap, downtime and financial horizon before comparing candidates.

ANSWER FIRST

A credible worksheet compares evidence states—not marketing totals.

Use one common production and finance basis. Keep quoted, measured, calculated and estimated costs visible, and show a range when an uncertain assumption materially changes the decision.

Normalize the architecture comparison first

Comparison total structure

Acquisition and configured-cell investment
Installation and startup costs
Recurring operation, labor and quality costs
Maintenance, wear, support and downtime
End-of-horizon cost less approved residual value

Request costs on one boundary

TOTAL-COST WORKSHEET

Use twelve cost buckets and state what each number includes.

The worksheet is a structure, not a supplier cost claim. Adapt currencies, tax and financial treatment with the buyer's finance team.

Cost bucket	Inputs	Normalize	Evidence
Machine & configured options	Quoted machine, injection unit, screw/barrel, controls, interfaces, options, documents and included services	Same required configuration, exclusions, currency, Incoterm and quote date	Controlled supplier quotation
Automation & auxiliaries	Robot, guarding, dryer, loader, temperature control, chiller, hot runner, inspection and downstream equipment	Same complete-cell boundary and responsibility matrix	Configured equipment and integration quotes
Freight, rigging & installation	Packing, freight, duties/taxes as applicable, unloading, foundation, rigging, utilities, commissioning and travel	Same destination, site condition and acceptance scope	Logistics, contractor and supplier estimates
Machine-only energy	Consumption/classification under a named machine-related method and comparable machine size	Do not treat a class label as the production-cell result	Method, configuration and test record
Product-related machine energy	Machine consumption for the same part, mold, resin, cavities, quality and production cycle	Same output and downtime treatment	Comparable measured or agreed test
Auxiliary utilities	Drying, cooling, mold-temperature control, compressed air, material handling, robot and downstream consumption	Separate from machine-only energy and state facility tariff/boundary	Equipment schedules and measured/estimated duty
Labor & changeovers	Operators, setup, mold/material change, first-off approval, inspection, cleaning and training	Same staffing model, product mix and release criteria	Time study, routing or marked scenario
Maintenance & wear	Planned service, lubrication/fluids, filters, screw/barrel/check ring, seals, belts, calibration and inspections	Same duty, material exposure and service horizon	Maintenance plan, parts list and local labor/travel assumptions
Downtime & support	Planned stops, fault response, remote/on-site support, spare availability, recovery and lost production	Same availability definition and contribution-margin method	Service scope plus buyer-approved scenario
Startup scrap & recurring quality loss	Purging, first-off parts, process stabilization, rejects, inspection and rework	Same material cost, mold, quality method and accounting boundary	Measured baseline or transparent scenario
Floor space & infrastructure	Machine/cell footprint, access, storage, crane route, ventilation, cooling and electrical capacity	Same site valuation and required service clearance	Released layout and facility cost basis
End of horizon	Removal, restoration, disposal, transfer, remaining obligations and residual value	Same horizon and finance policy; keep residual value as an explicit assumption	Finance-approved estimate

ENERGY BOUNDARY

Keep four energy layers separate before calculating cost.

EUROMAP machine-related and product-related methods answer different questions. Auxiliaries and facility tariffs require additional records.

Layer	Include	Does not prove	Worksheet use
Machine-related method	The configured machine under the named standardized or supplier test boundary	A claim about the buyer's actual part, auxiliaries, facility or payback	Screen comparable machines only when size, method and configuration qualify
Product-related machine result	Machine energy while producing the defined part with the agreed mold, resin, cavities, cycle and quality	Auxiliaries unless the test explicitly includes and meters them	Translate the molding job into a comparable machine operating cost
Auxiliary/cell result	Robot, dryer, loader, temperature control, chiller, hot runner, air and downstream equipment	Unmeasured facility overhead unless separately allocated	Complete the production-cell utility boundary without double-counting
Facility and tariff	Demand charges, tariff periods, cooling infrastructure and approved overhead allocation	Generic global utility assumptions	Convert measured or estimated consumption into the buyer's site cost

COMPARISON CONTROLS

Six controls prevent false precision and missing costs.

Engineering, operations and finance should sign off the fields they own before a commercial conclusion is published.

Common production boundary

Use the same part, mold, resin, cavities, target quality, output, automation and destination requirements for every candidate.

Common financial boundary

Agree horizon, currency, exchange-rate date, tax treatment, inflation/discount method, operating schedule and residual-value policy.

Evidence status

Tag every input as quoted, contracted, measured, calculated, estimated or excluded. Never let a blank field silently become zero.

Scenario range

Separate base, lower and upper cases for uncertain utilization, tariffs, scrap, maintenance and downtime instead of publishing one false-precision total.

Acceptance connection

Map material claims—energy, cycle, output, setup or quality—to a test condition, evidence owner and remedy if the result differs.

Decision ownership

Have engineering approve technical comparability, operations approve production assumptions and finance approve the cost method.

BUYER QUESTIONS

Machine total-cost comparison FAQ

The answers keep purchase price, standardized energy evidence and buyer-specific operating scenarios on explicit boundaries.

01Is the lowest machine purchase price the lowest total cost?

Not necessarily. Compare the same configured cell and include installation, utilities, labor, changeover, maintenance, wear, scrap, downtime, support and end-of-horizon assumptions. The result depends on the buyer's production and financial boundary.

02Can an energy-efficiency class be used as the annual energy cost?

No. Keep machine-related classification, product-related machine consumption, auxiliary consumption and site tariffs separate. A class under a defined method is not a site-specific production or payback result.

03How should downtime be valued?

Define what counts as planned and unplanned downtime, the affected production, recovery behavior and the finance-approved loss method. Show scenario ranges when response time, spares or production value are uncertain.

04What if a supplier cannot provide one cost input?

Do not enter zero. Mark the field as unavailable or estimated, name the owner and sensitivity, and compare scenarios. A large unknown may remain a commercial condition or acceptance item.

05What should be attached to a total-cost RFQ?

Attach the common production boundary, configured cell list, operating schedule, site tariffs, changeover profile, material/wear conditions, maintenance and support expectations, acceptance tests, cost horizon and required quotation/exclusion format.

TOTAL COST / NEXT STEP

Request one configured scope and one evidence format.

Attach the common production boundary, cell configuration, site conditions, operating scenarios, maintenance expectations and acceptance tests so candidate costs can be compared.

Build the machine brief