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design & molding Objective Approach to Automating Tool Quoting Increases Accuracy and Consistency By Miranda Bastijns, Materialise NV, Belgium Developing quotes to produce tools for injection molding applications can be a time-consuming process. Even among members of the same company, people may consider different variables or assign different costs to various job components, which can result in different amounts being calculated for a given job. Quoting too high a price may mean the job goes to another shop; quoting too low may mean losing money on the job. Software companies are developing solutions specifically for tool quoting. These software solutions generally follow one of two fundamentally different approaches to the task. The detailed cost approach One approach is to calculate the tool production cost in detail, based on comprehensive time and cost estimates for all steps in the production process. Following this approach means all tool design decisions must be made up front. Each component of the tool must be considered, including the time and cost to design the component, prepare numerical control processing instructions, machine the component and assemble the completed tool. To estimate all of these factors accurately requires a thorough model that accounts for the cost structures associated with the machines and people involved. Setting up such a model is laborious in itself; in addition, the model must change to account for each new machine and technology introduced in the tool shop. This detailed approach is therefore cumbersome and relatively expensive to execute. In practice, a person developing a quote will use estimates and assumptions. If the final quote does not match expectations, the quoter may change his estimates and assumptions to bring the amount in line with expectations. This detailed approach may actually result in an inaccurate quote or significant differences in quotes developed by different people for the same job. The objective ratings approach Another approach supports a more objective method of developing a quote through an intelligent software tool in which costs are calculated based on ratings for various parameters, with the aim of achieving more consistent quotes based on a limited amount of required input data. Following this approach, each rating is translated to a cost. The built-in intelligence allows the software to "learn" which parameters to consider in developing a quote and what is the relationship between each rating and its associated cost, based on user-input information about previous jobs for which the final costs are known. The parameters for a new tool quote are derived from an analysis of a 3D CAD file of the part design. The analysis reveals parting lines, undercuts, wall thicknesses and draft angles, which give insight in how to construct the tool, how many inserts will be needed and how much machining is required. Based on this analysis, the user then inputs general information to describe the tool, including parameters related to the tool geometry, mold construction (numbers of inserts and slides, for example), molding process (including the gating system and injection pressure) and finishing details such as tolerances and surfacing requirements. Based on these parameters and the "learned" ratings, the program calculates the quote. The result is a cost in which users can have confidence. Following this approach prevents underestimating, because the upfront analysis accounts for potential problem areas, and the ratings themselves are set up in a way that achieves consistent quotes, even if the same job is quoted by different people.
Choosing a software tool that supports this objective approach to automating tool quoting can lead to more accurate and more consistent quotes.
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