Final Vacuum Bag Process

Cycle Time = (Labor Dependent Process Time *
Cycle Time Adjustment Factor) /
Number of Operators

Cycle time depends on the following:

Labor-dependent process time (see formula)
Cycle time adjustment factor: specified by the cost model variable cycleTimeAdjustmentFactor (1 in starting point Digital Factories). Digital Factory Administrators can change the cost model variable to globally adjust cycle times for Composites.
Number of Operators: this is the number of operators for the Hand Layup process. By default, it is specified by the machine property Number of Operators. Users can override the default on a per-part basis with the setup option Number of Operators.

Labor Dependent Process Time =
Unroll Vacuum Bag Material Time +
Apply Release Film Time +
Apply Release Peel Ply Time +
Apply Breather Cloth Time +
Install Vacuum Port Time +
Tape Vacuum Bag Edges Time

Labor-dependent process time is the sum of the following:

Unroll vacuum bag material time: time to unroll the required amount of vacuum bag material prior to taping the bag edges to the mold. See formula.
Apply release film time: time apply release film, which helps retain resin on the laminate surface. See formula.
Apply release peel ply time: time to apply a release barrier between the laminate surface and the breather cloth. See formula.
Apply breather cloth time: time to apply breather cloth, which traps excess resin from the laminate. See formula.
Install vacuum port time: this is the time to install the connector between the bag and the vacuum pump tubing. It is specified by the cost model variable installVacuumPortTime (300 seconds in starting point Digital Factories).
Tape vacuum bag edges time: time to seal the bag to the mold. See formula.

Unroll Vacuum Bag Material Time =
Tool Surface Length / Unroll Vacuum Bag Material Rate

Unroll vacuum bag time depends on the following:

Tool surface length (see Tool Length, Width, and Area)
Unroll vacuum bag material rate: specified by the cost model variable vacuumBagMaterialUnrollRate (1400mm/sec in starting point Digital Factories).

Apply Release Film Time =
Tool Surface Area / Release Film Apply Rate

Time to apply release film depends on the following:

Tool surface area (see Tool Length, Width, and Area)
Release film apply rate: specified in area per unit time by the cost model variable applyReleaseFilmRate (7000mm2/sec in starting point Digital Factories).

Apply Peel Ply Time =
Tool Surface Area / Release Peel Ply Apply Rate

Time to apply a release barrier between the laminate surface and the breather cloth depends on the following:

Tool surface area (see Tool Length, Width, and Area)
Release peel ply apply rate: specified in area per unit time by the cost model variable applyReleasePeelPlyRate (7000mm2/sec in starting point Digital Factories).

Apply Breather Cloth Time = Tool Surface Area / Breather Cloth Apply Rate

Time to apply the breather cloth depends on the following:

Tool surface area (see Tool Length, Width, and Area)
Breather cloth apply rate: specified in area per unit time by the cost model variable applyBreatherClothRate (7000mm2/sec in starting point Digital Factories).

Tape Vacuum Edges Time =
Part External Perimeter / Vacuum Bag Apply Rate

Tape vacuum edges time depends on the following:

Part external perimeter: this is the length of the part’s contours, excluding internal contours. It is specified by the geometric property External Perimeter.
Vacuum bag apply rate: specified by the cost model variable applyVacuumBagRate (30mm/sec in starting point Digital Factories).

Additional Direct Costs =
Vacuum Bag Material Cost +
Release Film Material Cost +
Release Peel Ply Material Cost +
Breather Cloth Material Cost +
Sealant Tape Material Cost

Additional direct costs for this process consist in costs for consumable materials. It depends on the following:

Vacuum bag material cost (see formula)
Release film material cost (see formula)
Release peel ply material cost (see formula)
Breather cloth material cost (see formula)
Sealant tape material cost (see formula)

Vacuum Bag Material Cost =
Vacuum Bag Cost per Area * Vacuum Bag Material Used

Vacuum bag material cost is the product of the following:

Vacuum bag cost per area: specified in cost per square meter by the tool shop variable costPerArea_vacuumBag.
Vacuum bag material used: this is the area of vacuum bag used, which is assumed to be equal to the surface area of the tool; see Tool Length, Width, and Area.

Release Film Material Cost =
Release Film Material Cost per Area *
Release Film Material Used

Release film material cost is the product of the following:

Release fill material cost per area: specified in cost per square meter by the tool shop variable costPerArea_releaseFilm.
Release film material used: this is the area of release film used, which is assumed to be equal to the surface area of the tool; see Tool Length, Width, and Area.

Release Peel Ply Material Cost =
Release Peel Ply Material Cost per Area *
Release Peel Ply Material Used

Release peel ply material cost is the product of the following:

Release peel ply material cost per area: specified in cost per square meter by the tool shop variable costPerArea_releasePeelPly.
Release peel ply material used: this is the area of release film used, which is assumed to be equal to the surface area of the tool; see Tool Length, Width, and Area.

Breather Cloth Material Cost =
Breather Cloth Material Cost per Area *
Breather Cloth Material Used

Breather cloth material cost is the product of the following:

Breather cloth material cost per area: specified in cost per square meter by the tool shop variable costPerArea_breatherCloth.
Breather cloth material used: this is the area of release film used, which is assumed to be equal to the surface area of the tool; see Tool Length, Width, and Area.

Sealant Tape Material Cost =
Sealant Tape Material Cost Per Length *
Sealant Tape Material Used

Sealant tape material cost is the product of the following:

Sealant tape material cost per length: specified by the tool shop variable costPerLength_sealantTape.
Sealant tape material used: see formula.

Sealant Tape Material Used =
Part External Perimeter *
Sealant Tape Length Multiplier

This is the product of the following:

Part external perimeter: specified by the geometric property External Perimeter (the length of the part’s contours, excluding internal contours such as internal cutouts).
Sealant tape length multiplier: specified by the cost model variable sealantTapeLengthMultiplier (1 in starting point Digital Factories). Administrators can use the cost model variable to increase the amount of tape used relative to the part perimeter, if that better reflects your manufacturing practices.

Vacuum Bag Drop Test Component-level Operation

The cycle time for this operation is specified by the cost model variable vacuumDropTestHoldTime (20 minutes in starting point Digital Factories). This is a labor-independent activity and is assumed to carry no labor cost.

Attach Thermocouples Component-level Operation

This operation occurs as part of the layup processes, see Routing and Feasibility for Composites. It models attaching thermocouples to the part in preparation for the Autoclave Cure Process.

Cycle Time = Labor Dependent Process Time / Number of Operators

Cycle time depends on the following:

Labor-dependent process time (see formula)
Number of operators: by default this is specified by the machine property Number of Operators. Users can override the default with the setup option Number of Operators for the current process; see User Inputs for Composites.

Labor Dependent Process Time =
Thermocouple Application Rate *
Thermocouples Total Number Required

Thermocouple connect time is the product of the following:

Thermocouple application rate: this is the time required to attach a single thermocouple to the part. It is specified by the cost model variable thermocoupleApplicationRate (30 seconds in starting point Digital Factories).
Thermocouples total num required: this is the total number of thermocouples required for the part. By default it is calculated based on tool surface area (see formula). Users can override the default with the setup option Number of Thermocouples.

Thermocouples Total Num Required =
roundup(Upper Surface Area of Part /
Thermocouple Application Density)

Thermocouple total num required depends on the following (by default; see Number of Thermocouples):

Upper surface area of part: half the part’s Surface Area.
Thermocouple application density: specified by the cost model variable thermocoupleApplicationDensity (465,000mm2 in starting point Digital Factories). This is the maximum upper surface area of the part that can be covered by an individual thermocouple.