AI should-costing for automotive manufacturing
Matterize is AI should-costing software for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. Upload a 3D CAD model and get an objective should-cost breakdown, the optimal manufacturing process plan, and an embodied-carbon estimate in minutes - so engineering designs to cost and procurement negotiates from data.
Sourcing on quotes alone leaves money on the table
Most cost decisions happen without an objective baseline. The result is overpaid parts, late cost feedback, and estimates too slow to act on.
Quotes you can't challenge
Without an objective cost baseline, supplier prices are accepted at face value and margin leaks away unnoticed.
Cost locked in too late
70-80% of a part's cost is fixed during design, but cost feedback arrives after tooling is committed.
Slow, inconsistent estimates
Manual cost models take days and vary by estimator, so teams can't compare options at the speed of design.
Walk into every negotiation knowing the answer
Objective, bottom-up cost from geometry - itemized down to material, machine, labor, tooling and overheads - so procurement negotiates from facts, not quotes
Automated process planning
AI selects the optimal process and routing across 50+ options for each geometry.
Should-cost engine
Line-item cost - material, machine, labor, tooling, overhead - on live prices.
Cost & carbon
Embodied CO₂ per part reported next to cost for unified decisions.
Tooling design & DFM
Generative gating and runners from simulation, plus DFM manufacturability checks.
Process plan comparison
Compare candidate plans side by side for the lowest-cost route.
200+ materials
Metals, polymers and composites with real-time pricing.
Every estimate, itemized
See - and challenge - each cost driver behind a part.
- Material
- Mass x live grade pricing, with scrap and yield.
- Machine time
- Cycle time per process step at machine rates.
- Labor
- Direct labor by operation and region.
- Tooling
- Die, mold and fixture amortization over volume.
- Overhead
- Plant burden, energy and indirect costs.
- Margin
- Expected supplier margin for benchmarking.
RFQ-only sourcing vs. should-cost sourcing
| Capability | RFQ only | With Matterize |
|---|---|---|
| Objective cost benchmark before quoting | ||
| Cost estimate directly from CAD | ||
| Automated process selection | ||
| Carbon (CO₂) estimate | ||
| Generative tooling & DFM | ||
| Time to evaluate a quote | Weeks | Minutes |
Grounded in real manufacturing knowledge
Matterize encodes how parts are actually made - process physics, machine capabilities, tooling and regional rates - so estimates reflect the shop floor, not a generic formula. Expert manufacturing know-how is captured once and applied consistently to every part.
The result is should-costing and manufacturability intelligence that is defensible, repeatable, and improves as more parts flow through Matterize.
Process & cost libraries
Machine rates, labor and material prices kept current.
Defensible by design
Bottom-up, line-item models you can audit.
AI applied to manufacturing
Geometry reasoning, not manual feature tagging.
Improves over time
Coverage and accuracy compound with usage.
Explore CAD-to-cost, cost & carbon and the manufacturing processes we model.
Frequently asked questions
What is should-costing software?
What is should-cost analysis?
How does Matterize calculate should-cost from a CAD model?
Can should-costing software help negotiate supplier quotes?
How long does it take to deploy Matterize?
Does Matterize report cost and carbon together?
Get a should-cost estimate from your CAD model
Upload a 3D CAD model and get a manufacturing process plan, cost breakdown and carbon estimate - free.