Aluminum Gravity Casting Cost & Pricing: 2026 Guide

# Aluminum Gravity Casting Cost Pricing Guide: RFQ Cost Drivers

An aluminum gravity casting quote is more than a part price. Buyers need to understand the cost drivers behind tooling, casting weight, alloy, machining, inspection, finishing, packaging, and freight before comparing suppliers.

This guide is for procurement teams and engineers building an RFQ for gravity cast aluminum parts in China, especially A356, ZL114, A380, ADC12, and buyer-specified alloys.

The main cost drivers

The biggest variables are:

• •part size, casting weight, and yield loss
• •wall thickness, ribs, bosses, cores, and draft
• •alloy and heat-treatment requirement
• •permanent mold, sand mold, or hybrid tooling path
• •machining datum strategy and cycle time
• •leak testing, CMM, X-ray, material certificates, or PPAP records
• •finishing requirements such as anodizing, powder coating, polishing, or impregnation
• •packaging, labeling, export paperwork, and destination

A clean RFQ should make these variables visible so suppliers price the same scope.

Tooling cost depends on more than size

Tooling is affected by parting line complexity, core count, cooling layout, expected mold life, tolerance risk, and whether the tool must support future volume growth. A simple cover and a pressure-tight housing can have similar weight but very different tooling effort.

Ask the supplier to clarify:

• •tool type and ownership
• •expected sample approval route
• •revision process if T1 samples need adjustment
• •storage, maintenance, and transfer assumptions
• •what happens if annual volume increases

Piece price needs quote-scope detail

Piece price should not be read without scope. The same part can be quoted as raw casting only, machined casting, finished casting, or export-ready assembly component. Buyers should ask for a quote table that separates casting, machining, surface treatment, inspection, and packaging.

For pressure-tight housings, valve bodies, pump parts, or EV thermal components, inspection and leak-test assumptions may be more important than the cheapest casting line item.

Landed cost matters

For overseas sourcing, total cost includes freight, duties, customs handling, inventory buffer, incoming inspection, quality risk, and communication effort. A supplier that helps clarify landed-cost assumptions gives procurement a better decision basis than one that only sends a unit price.

Bohua RFQ path

Bohua can review aluminum gravity casting RFQs for tooling path, quote-scope structure, machining assumptions, inspection records, and landed-cost inputs. Send drawings, annual volume, destination, and approval requirements through the formal RFQ form when the package is ready.