Fortuna Metals: How Metal Stamping Prices Actually Work

Author : limitless123432 limitless123432 | Published On : 05 Nov 2026

The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest part. Stamping prices hide in four places — tooling, material, press time, and finishing — and buyers who understand all four negotiate better and get surprised less. Fortuna Metals prices the way the process actually works; here's the buyer's guide to reading any stamping quote.

Tooling: The Upfront Cost That Disappears

A progressive die is the most expensive line on a first order — and the cheapest line on a tenth. Fortuna runs 45 mold technicians and 5 mold design engineers, with the fastest mold lead time at 15 days and 12 sets of continuous molds per month. The average progressive mold lasts about 5 million shots, so at volume the tooling cost per part rounds to nearly zero. The rule: always ask for tooling and unit pricing separately. A quote that bundles them hides the number that matters most — and makes the second order look expensive when it should be cheap. Fortuna Metals quotes tooling separately for exactly this reason — the buyer sees what the die costs and what the parts cost.

Material: The Price You Can't Negotiate Away

Copper, aluminium, stainless steel and iron trade at global commodity prices, so no factory can discount material much — but the right factory wastes less of it. Progressive-die nesting, efficient strip layout, and in-house die design squeeze more parts from every coil. Material grade and thickness drive the quote more than any other line, so state them precisely in the RFQ; a vague material spec is an invitation to requote later, at a higher price.

Press Time: Where Volume Pays

Eighty-five high-speed punching machines running 0.1 to 3 seconds per stroke, with punching, bending and stretching in a single pass — that speed is the progressive-die economy. Fortuna states unit costs drop by at least 60% on high-volume orders, and the math is straightforward: the press runs the same speed whether it makes a thousand parts or a hundred thousand, so the fixed costs spread thinner with every piece. This is why the second order is always cheaper than the first, and why splitting volume across suppliers costs more than it saves. That volume math is why Fortuna Metals wins the programs other shops price themselves out of.

Finishing: The Quiet Price Driver

Plating and finishing are where quotes quietly grow. Gold, nickel, tin and silver plating — including partial plating — plus zinc, chrome, ultrasonic cleaning, mechanical grinding and heat treatment each add cost, and each must be designed into the die because plating thickness affects a ±0.01mm tolerance. Decide the finish before the quote, not after: a late plating decision means a requote, a new die adjustment, and a delayed delivery. Every finish Fortuna Metals offers is priced with its tolerance impact already accounted for. RoHS and REACH compliance is built into the material and surface treatment, with third-party SGS and CTI testing available when the program requires independent proof.

Quality: The Cost of Getting It Wrong

The most expensive part is the one that fails. Fortuna's quality system complies with IATF 16949, runs SPC, MSA, FMEA, APQP and PPAP, and enforces incoming, first-piece, in-process and final inspections plus CCD full inspection — with automotive products held to "0 PPM" requirements. That inspection chain costs money, and it shows in the quote. The alternative — a cheaper supplier without it — costs more in sorting, rework, returns and lost customers. Fortuna Metals builds the inspection into the price so the failure never reaches your assembly line.

The Whole Quote: One Supplier, One Price

Stamping, CNC machining to ±0.005mm, injection molding, overmolding, riveting and welding, plating and assembly — when one factory does all of it, the quote covers the finished part, not a chain of subcontracts with a markup at every handoff. Compare that single price against four separate quotes and the one-stop answer usually wins — and always wins on time, because there is only one schedule to manage.

Getting Started

Ask for tooling and unit pricing separately, state material and finish up front, prototype first, then commit to volume. Fortuna Metals prices transparently because the process is transparent — and the buyers who understand the price are the ones who keep coming back.