The processes Hydroform and Offline Blank both require hard tooling. For each, costs for tooling are calculated for the following categories:

The Investment tab provides an itemized estimate of tooling costs:

For Hydroforming, tooling costs increase with the number of required forming cycles, since a different tool is used for each cycle. For deep draw routings, later cycles require taller, more expensive tools.

For fluid cell routings, the cost of an intensifier is included if the part has a bend whose minimum radius is less than or equal to three times the blank thickness.

For Hydroform and Offline Blank, the tooling model estimates the number of parts that can be produced with a given tool before it wears to the point that it needs to be replaced. Based on that estimate, the cost model determines the number of tools required to manufacture the production volume specified in the Production Scenario tab of the Cost Guide, and accounts for that number of tools in total hard tooling cost.

Tool-life estimation is based on part material (see tblToolLife), and adjusted for tool material (with a factor specified by the tool shop variable Tool Life Factor) and tool coating type (with a factor specified in tblToolCoating). For a given costing, either the formula Dependencies or Investment tab displays the number of tools assumed by tooling cost calculations.

For Offline Blank, several setup options affect die height, which is a major driver of tool material cost:

For both Hydroform and Offline Blank, VPE administrators can use cost model variables to configure tooling, including in the following areas:

See the Variables table for Sheet Metal—Hydroforming, in the VPE Manager.