Mask-Bench Inputs

Mask-Bench provides the following setup options:

Total Masked Surface Area on the Part

This specifies the total surface area of the part that is to be masked with tape, in mm2. This is for information only and is calculated by aPriori as the product of the surface area of the part and either the:

  • Fraction Part Masked setup option (if its Mode Name is ‘User’ or ‘Computed’).

  • Sum of the individual surface area masking operations. Note that this only includes features that are assigned a Masking-Bench operation; it does not include the area of features that are plugged.

Total Time to Mask Surface Area

This specifies the total time to mask the part surfaces with adhesive tape and to insert silicone plugs. This is for information only and is calculated by aPriori using the Mask-Bench Process Time formula (the sum of Handling Process Time and Non Handling Process Time). See Mask-Bench Process Time Calculation.

Number of Plugs Used

This setup option affects cycle time.

This specifies the total number of silicone plugs used to plug holes in the part. By default, aPriori calculates this by summing the individual number of plugs used in all plugging operations. aPriori determines when a plug should be used according to the feasibility rules and cycle time calculations – see Mask-Bench Optional Operation Rules and Mask-Bench Formulas.

With this setup option, users can override the default on a per-part basis. Note that overriding the default will not affect operation assignment (that is, it will not add or remove plugging operations to/from features).

Fraction Part Masked

This setup option affects cycle time and the Fraction of Part Area that is Powder Coated setup option for the Powder Coat Cart process.

This specifies the fraction of the total part surface area that is masked with tape. By default, aPriori sets this to Manually Assigned, using the formula: (sum of individual masked surface area operations / the surface area of the part). This is the most accurate calculation, however, if overridden, aPriori will estimate which features are masked with tape when calculating the cycle time (see Mask-Bench Formulas). Users can override the default by selecting one of the following options:

  • Non Painted Area (Assigned via Manual Paint): If the part is manually painted, the fraction to be masked is calculated using the formula: 1 - the Fraction Part Painted setup option value for the Manual Paint process (1 by default in starting point Digital Factories, as specified by the defaultFractionPartPainted cost model variable). If the part is not manually painted, a value of 1 is assigned.

  • User Override: Enter a value between 0 and 1.

Note: When you update this setup option, it will automatically update the Fraction of Part Area that is Powder Coated setup option for the Powder Coat Cart process. For example, if Fraction Part Masked = 0.6 (60%), Fraction of Part Area that is Powder Coated = (1 - 0.6) = 0.4 (40%). See Fraction of Part Area that is Powder Coated for more information.