Parametric Scale-Up Cost Factors for Conventional and Micro-Scale Tools

This article estimates cost scale-up factors for micro-scale tools, including high speed steel micro tools, micro thread hand taps, and various types of mesh and wires. Many of these tools initially have a positive scale-up factor where the material costs directly correlate with the cost of the tool; they then transition to a negative scale-up factor at the micro-scale where manufacturing is more difficult and becomes the determining factor for the prices of the products. This article describes the transition from positive to negative scale-up factors, which generally has not been previously reported in the literature. In the future, the negative scale-up factor region of cost estimation could become more important because products, such as electronic hardware, will continue to become smaller in size.