Costing

Abstract

The principles of cost estimation for RTM components are the same as those for any other manufacturing process, Materials, tooling and equipment costs must be calculated, direct and indirect labour requirements must be assessed and the overhead burden of the line or product must be ascertained. The mix of capital and labour requirements for an RTM line will be substantially different from that found on an autoclave or contact moulding line. This means that the common practice of simply dividing the total overheads by the number of shop floor workers to give a factory-wide burdened labour rate will not give a true picture of the overhead costs for the RTM line. Both overestimation and underestimation of the RTM costs could arise from the use of factory-wide burdened labour rates, depending on the baseline processes used elsewhere in the factory.