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Casting - Investment

Cost impact for upgrades to aPriori Professional 2021 R1 SP1

Geometry or Cost Engine Changes that Could Impact Configured Digital Factories

The following changes might impact costing, even for Digital Factories that use earlier cost model versions.

  • NO IMPACT

Bug Fixes or Small Improvements to Prior Cost Model Versions

The following changes might impact costing for Digital Factories that use earlier cost model versions.

  • NO IMPACT

Cost Model Changes that Do Not Affect Configured Digital Factories

The following changes do not affect costings with Digital Factories that use earlier cost model versions. The changes are available only in the latest cost model version.

  • Tree Wax and Soluble Wax Costs (impacts Additional Direct Costs): This release accounts for the cost of soluble wax used for cores and for different tree-wax types used for runner systems and patterns. Previously, the soluble wax cost and the wax type were neglected. This release uses data for a single soluble wax and for three types of tree wax: virgin, reconstituted, and reclaimed. With new setup options, users can specify the type of wax to use for runner systems, and separately specify the type of wax to use for patterns.

    As a result of this enhancement, Additional Direct Costs for the Wax Pattern Molding and Soluble Wax Core processes increase for all investment castings. In a set of test parts, Additional Direct Costs increased by an average of 61.7% and Fully Burdened Cost increased by an average of 1.5%.

  • Ceramic Core Extrusion (impacts Cycle Time and Hard Tooling Cost): This release adds support for extruded ceramic cores. Previously, aPriori assumed that ceramic cores were made by the injection process Ceramic Core Making. Now, if the undercut geometry consists of only a single SimpleHole GCD, Ceramic Core Extrusion is automatically assigned instead.

    Making ceramic cores with extrusion instead of injection molding is significantly faster and cheaper. In this release, for a single core about 1 inch in diameter and 8 inches long, core making cycle time decreases by 98% and tooling cost by 82%, compared to the previous release.  The overall impact on part cost due to this change depends on the complexity of the part and the number of cores feasible for ceramic extrusion.

  • Cool Time (impacts Cycle Time): This release updates the cool time calculation for the Cooling process. Previously, cool time was the time required for a part to cool. In this release, cool time is the longer of the time required for a part to cool and the time required for the runner system to cool.

    As a result of this change, cycle time decreased for 85% of parts in a test set. Among parts for which cycle time decreased, the average decrease was 25%. Among parts for which cycle time increased, the average increase was 10%. For the whole test set, fully burdened cost decreased by an average of 10%. There was no impact to labor time.

  • Core Making Tool Life (impacts Hard Tooling Cost): This release improves the estimation of core making tool life. aPriori previously overestimated tool life for “shared” tools, that is, tools that handle cores for multiple distinct undercuts (that have identical geometry). This release corrects the problem.

    As a result of this change, tooling cost increased for 8% of parts in a test set. Among parts for which tooling cost increased, the average increase to Hard Tooling Cost was 38% and the average increase to Fully Burdened Cost was 0.6%.

  • Chemical Etching Load Weight Limit (impacts Cycle Time): This release improves the calculation of the number of parts that can be etched at once. Previously, the number of parts in a single load was limited only by the number of parts that could fit into the basket of the etching tank. In this release, the number of parts is further constrained by part weight: a load’s total weight must be no greater than the value of the new machine property Max Basket Weight.

    As a result of this change, cycle time increased for about 8.5% of parts in a test set. Among parts for which cycle time increased, the average cycle time increase was 24%.

  • Metal Pouring Machine Data (impacts Cycle Time and Direct Overhead): This release adjusts the prices for Consarc brand vacuum furnace machines, which affects Direct Overhead. Fully burdened cost decreases by around 30% when these machines are used for melting heat-resistant super alloys and titanium.

    In addition, this release corrects furnace capacity data for Metal Pouring machines, which was too low by a factor of ten for most of the machines. As a result, machine selection, Cycle Time, and Direct Overhead may change.