QuotedPartCost guides · Updated 2026-10-30
How much should heat treatment add to a machined part?
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Quench-and-temper heat treatment adds $260.00 per part at one, $26.00 at 10, and $2.60 at 100 to this turned 4140 part; the finished quotes are $573.57, $71.02 and $19.16. A furnace’s specification, weight and certification can change that outside-process amount.
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The 4140 steel example part
The part is a two-inch 4140 pin with a drilled end and one relief groove. It is priced as machined before treatment, then the quench-and-temper finish is added. The geometry is intentionally ordinary: a shop can substitute its own shaft, carrier or coupling and keep the same separation between cutting and outside processing.
How the quantity break works
Heat treat is often a lot cost rather than a smooth per-piece rate. At one part, the minimum dominates. At 100 pieces, the $4 piece charge becomes the larger share. That is why a buyer asking for “just one hardened sample” should see the lot minimum rather than a falsely low unit rate.
What the material or process changes
Treatment can also move the machining route. A grind allowance or post-treat bore may need a second operation; those minutes are not in this table. Specify hardness, case depth, atmosphere, straightening and the inspection certificate before requesting a vendor price. Do not infer a mechanical property from this illustrative line.
How to turn this into a firm quote
Carry the finish as its own quote line and show its lead days. If a customer changes from 4140 pre-hard to annealed stock, rerun cutting time and material instead of applying a percentage. That keeps the quote auditable when the heat treater changes its minimum.
Questions to settle before release
A heat-treatment request is incomplete without the target hardness, test location, quench medium and certificate requirement. Ask the vendor how it charges baskets, racks, straightening and rush work. Measure whether the part needs stock for distortion or a grind after treatment. Put those decisions in the routing before promising a date. The computed line is a planning aid that exposes the lot minimum; it is not a substitute for the processor’s written quote.
For this heat treat cost estimate, when the job is urgent, show the schedule impact separately from the price. A rush setup, outside-service expedite or second machine may change lead days and cost in different ways. Naming those choices lets the buyer decide what to trade. The base table remains useful because it records the ordinary US small-shop route before urgency is added.
Pricing engine output for the stated Steel 4140 pre-hard CNC turning example part
- • Material: Steel 4140 pre-hard; the US catalog stores its small-lot price and machinability factor.
- • Process: CNC turning; 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 2 in turned part from 1.5 in bar; one drilled end hole and one groove.
- • Outside finishes: Heat treat, quench and temper using the catalog lot minimum and lead time.
- • 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 | 123.3 | 4.4 | $441.21 | $573.57 | $573.57 | 15 |
| 10 | 123.3 | 4.4 | $54.63 | $71.02 | $710.20 | 15 |
| 100 | 123.3 | 4.4 | $14.74 | $19.16 | $1916.00 | 16 |
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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