QuotedPartCost guides · Updated 2026-10-30
How much does a machined heat sink cost?
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The small 6061 finned heat sink costs $464.53 for one, $83.77 each at 10, and $41.17 each at 100 pieces. Narrow fins slow the cut and make deburring and inspection important, so the example is a machining estimate rather than a thermal-performance promise.
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The 6061-T6 aluminum heat sink example part
The example part uses the same envelope as a small bracket but treats the pocketed area as fin work. Fins need enough spacing for the tool, enough stiffness to avoid chatter and an edge treatment that will not bend them. A skived, extruded or bonded-fin heat sink is a different process and should be quoted separately.
How the quantity break works
The setup line covers CAM, workholding and inspection; the cycle line reflects the extra narrow-wall work. At one part, setup dominates. At 100 pieces, fin machining repeats and dedicated workholding or an alternate process may become worth evaluating.
What the material or process changes
Material cost is modest compared with the time to remove and finish many narrow features, but a larger billet can change that balance. The example excludes anodize, thermal testing, lapping and fan hardware. Add those when the drawing or customer requirement calls for them.
How to turn this into a firm quote
Ask for fin height, thickness, pitch, flatness, base thickness and any thermal-resistance test. Keep the chosen process explicit so a buyer understands when a lower-priced extruded sink is a design change, not a discount on the same part.
Questions to settle before release
Confirm fin pitch, thickness, height, base flatness, edge break and the thermal test method before quoting a machined sink. Ask whether anodize, lapping, fan hardware or a TIM surface is required. If a commercial extrusion meets the requirement, compare that design route separately. The computed example part explains milling effort; the thermal specification decides whether it is the right process.
For this heat sink machining cost estimate, for a firm release, have the programmer and machinist read the assumptions together. They can spot an inaccessible feature, an extra load, a tool change or an inspection step before the number reaches the buyer. Treat the computed table as a shared starting point: the shop’s measured method and the customer’s print decide which edits belong in the final route.
For the heat sink, verify fin pitch against the available cutter before treating the table as a production cycle. The final release should preserve the drawing revision, stock source and inspection decision with the computed table.
Pricing engine output for the stated Aluminum 6061-T6 CNC milling example part
- • Material: Aluminum 6061-T6; the US catalog stores its small-lot price and machinability factor.
- • Process: CNC milling; setup, machine time, deburring and inspection are generated from the example-part geometry.
- • Markup: 30% default US catalog markup; quantities are 1, 10, 100.
- • Fictional 4 × 3 × 1 in milled block; no finish or outside process.
- • No outside finish, tax, freight, or customer-specific rate is included.
- • These are computed examples, not supplier quotes or market averages.
| Qty | Setup min (lot) | Cycle min (part) | Cost / part | Quoted / part | Lot price | Lead days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $357.33 | $464.53 | $464.53 | 11 |
| 10 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $64.44 | $83.77 | $837.70 | 11 |
| 100 | 191.0 | 13.5 | $31.67 | $41.17 | $4117.00 | 14 |
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- The figures are computed from the stated example part and US catalog assumptions.
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