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Casting - Investment

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.

  • Pocket-like Features and SimpleHole Extraction: In the previous release, aPriori sometimes incorrectly determined that a cylindrical portion or portions of a pocket-like feature could be created by drilling or turning (and so it extracted a corresponding SimpleHole). This release corrects the problem; aPriori and no longer extracts a SimpleHole when creation of cylindrical portions via drilling or turning is not possible due to interference from nearby features. Instead, aPriori extracts a different GCD, such as a Void, and assigns appropriate milling operations. This change has a minimal impact on manufacturing estimates on average. In a large test set, the change affected only a small number of parts, and the increase in fully-burdened cost was less than 1%.

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.

  • Machine Overhead and Labor Costs (can affect Direct Overhead Cost): In the previous release, some processes double counted the cost for labor by inappropriately including it in machine overhead. This release corrects the problem by changing the machine property Overhead Multiplier from 1 to 0 where appropriate.

    As a result, Direct Overhead Cost decreases for the following processes, compared to the previous release:

    • Belt Sand
    • Ceramic Leaching
    • Cooling
    • Drying
    • Flash Fire De-Waxing
    • Knockout
    • Metal Pouring
    • Mold Burnout
    • Mold Preheating
    • Primary Sand Coating
    • Primary Slurry Dipping
    • Robotic Assist
    • Secondary Sand Coating
    • Secondary Slurry Dipping Direct Overhead Cost decreased by around 40% in a test set of affected parts, and Fully Burdened Cost decreased by around 5%, compared to the previous release.