A fractionated material is created by splitting a raw material into several equal parts.
Unlike a raw material, which is purchased from a supplier, a fractionated material is produced internally by cutting, slicing, dividing, or portioning that raw material.
Each resulting piece becomes an independent inventory item that can be sold or used to manufacture other products.
Why Fractionate Materials?
Many manufacturers purchase materials in large quantities but consume or sell them in smaller units.
Instead of tracking the original material, ProdCalc allows you to track the individual pieces created from it.
This makes inventory control more accurate and simplifies production planning.
Examples of Fractionated Materials
Steel Manufacturing
A company purchases a 6-meter steel bar.
The bar is cut into six 1-meter steel bars.
- Raw Material: Steel Bar (6 m)
- Fractionated Material: Steel Bar (1 m)
Each 1-meter bar can be sold individually or used in manufacturing.
Woodworking
A furniture manufacturer purchases a 3-meter wooden board.
The board is cut into three equal sections.
- Raw Material: Wooden Board (3 m)
- Fractionated Material: Wooden Board (1 m)
The smaller boards can later be used to manufacture furniture or sold separately.
Rubber Manufacturing
A company purchases one large rubber sheet.
The sheet is divided into several identical rubber squares.
- Raw Material: Rubber Sheet
- Fractionated Material: Rubber Square
Each square becomes an independent inventory item.
Textile Industry
A clothing manufacturer purchases a 100-meter fabric roll.
The fabric is cut into 100 one-meter pieces.
- Raw Material: Fabric Roll
- Fractionated Material: Fabric Piece
Each piece can later be used to manufacture clothing.
Selling Fractionated Materials
Fractionated materials do not have to be consumed internally.
Many companies purchase materials in bulk, divide them into smaller units, and sell those units directly to customers.
Examples include:
- Selling individual steel bars cut from larger bars.
- Selling wooden boards cut to standard lengths.
- Selling rubber strips cut from larger sheets.
- Selling fabric by the meter from a fabric roll.
Using Fractionated Materials in Bills of Materials
Fractionated materials can also be used to manufacture assembled products.
For example:
A furniture company cuts a rubber strip into rubber feet.
Instead of using the original rubber strip in the Bill of Materials, the company uses the Rubber Foot fractionated material.
This makes production planning much more accurate because the Bill of Materials references the actual component used during assembly.
Benefits of Fractionated Materials
Using fractionated materials allows manufacturers to:
- Track inventory using the units actually consumed.
- Sell smaller units created from larger materials.
- Simplify Bills of Materials.
- Improve inventory accuracy.
- Produce more reliable Material Shortages calculations.
- Reduce manual inventory calculations.
Try It Yourself
Open the ProdCalc AI and type:
Create a fractionated material named Steel Bar (1 m) from Steel Bar (6 m).
or
Create a fractionated material named Rubber Foot from Rubber Strip.
ProdCalc will create the fractionated material, allowing it to be stocked, sold, or used in Bills of Materials just like any other inventory item.