Glossary / Tooling

Tooling

The molds, jigs, and fixtures built to mass-produce a part. Expensive to commission, and worthless scrap if the design changes or the product dies.

Introduced in Chapter 1 — Why is Hardware THAT Hard? of Tangibles.

Related terms

• Externalities — Costs (or benefits) of a product borne by third parties or the environment rather than its maker or buyer — for example, the waste a device leaves behind.
• Sunk cost — Money already spent that cannot be recovered.
• Three axes of disruption — The three dimensions a killer feature moves along at once — user benefit, technology, and business model — that together can redefine a category.
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) — The full lifetime cost of owning a device — service, logistics, downtime, support — not just its purchase price.