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Key Validation Steps

Below are some key validation steps. These steps are important , even if your part costs successfully.

See also Validation and Design Guidance Tabs.

General Mill Finishing, Contouring, and Other Slow Operations

Use the heat map to check for slow finish machining operations, such as General Mill Finishing and Contouring, which can have a large impact on cycle time and cost:

  1. In the Viewer tool bar, click the Geometry Analysis button, Image. The Geometry Analysis dialog appears.
  2. In the Geometry Analysis dialog, set the Criterion to Finish Milling Operation Type or General Area Removal Rate. The Viewer displays the part as a heat map, making it easy to identify the features that are assigned to slow operations.

If a GCD is assigned an inappropriate operation, you might want to manually assign a different operation. For example, a GCD is assigned General Mill Finishing when all other finishing operations are deemed infeasible by aPriori, and it therefore carries a significant time penalty; but if, in fact, a special tool is available that makes a faster operation feasible, you might wish to manually assign that faster operation.

For more information, see Modifying Machining Operation Assignments in the Cost Model Guide.

Zero-Cycle-Time GCDs

For machined parts, use the Validation pane to check operations that have zero cycle time. Sometimes, a zero-cycle-time operation is assigned to a GCD that is created as an indirect effect of another operation.

The Validation pane allows you to

  1. Identify zero-cycle-time GCDs: In the Machining Details section of the Validation pane, click Review Operations next to Machined GCDs. The Machining Operations table appears. Ensure that Show operations with no cycle time is checked.

    In the Machining Operations table, click the column header Cycle Time to sort the operations by cycle time.

  2. Identify the operation that creates a GCD as an indirect effect: Select a zero-cycle-time row of the Machining Operations table. The Related Operations table appears and displays the operation or operations that create the selected GCD.

    For example, aPriori sometimes decides that a fillet can be created as an indirect effect of side milling. In such a case, the fillet bears the IS_FILLET_OF relation to the side milled surface (as indicated in the Relation column of the Related Operations table). The fillet GCD is assigned the operation Indirect Filleting, which has zero cycle time.

    In addition, some volumetric operations, such as slot milling, finish the surfaces that bound the milled volume. With slot milling, for example, the surfaces that bound the slot bear the IS_WALL_OF relation to the clot and are assigned the operation As Slot Milled, which has zero cycle time.

If you do not think the GCD could be made as an indirect effect of the related operation(s), you can manually assign a different operation.

For more information, see Modifying Machining Operation Assignments in the Cost Model Guide.

Stock Form and Alignment

For process groups that use material stock as a starting workpiece, the Stock Form and Alignment section of the Validation tab indicates aPriori's choice of stock form. Click Review/Modify to

  • Modify the stock form: select from the dropdown list at the top of the Stock Form and Alignment dialog.
  • See how aPriori assumes the stock is oriented relative to the finished part: The Viewer displays the stock cross-section.
  • Modify the orientation: Click Pick to modify the length or thickness direction.

Click Apply to re-cost the part with the modified stock form or alignment.

Part Nesting for Sheet Metal Parts

For sheet metal parts, review part nesting. In the Viewer toolbar, from the Analysis menu, Image, select Material Nesting Review.

If the nesting does not match your expectations, consider modifying the nesting-related process setup options. See Part Nesting Options in the Cost Model Guide.

Draw Direction, Ram Direction, or Build Direction

For process groups that have a draw direction (such as Plastic Molding), ram direction (such as Forging), or build direction (Additive Manufacturing), use the Validation tab to verify the draw direction:

  • Select Review/Modify in the Draw Direction and Parting Lne section of the Validation tab.

    The Draw Direction dialog appears and the Viewer shows the current draw direction.

If aPriori selected an unexpected draw direction, consider manually specifying the draw direction as described in the Draw Direction dialog.

Setups

For machined parts, use the Validation tab to verify the setups that aPriori selects: In the Machining Details section of the Validation pane:

  1. Click Review Setups next to Milling Setups. The arrows in the Viewer represent the direction from which the tool approaches the workpiece or, for rotational setups, the axis of rotation of a 4-axis mill's table.
  2. For turned parts, click Review Setups next to Turning Setups. The arrows in the Viewer represent the axis of rotation of the workpiece.

If the setups look inappropriate, you can add or deactivate setups.

For more information, see Working with Part Setups and Setup Axis GCDs and Modifying Machining Operation Assignments in the Cost Model Guide.

Labor and Overhead rates

Review the labor and overhead rates used in the analysis. In the Part Details tab, expand the Manufacturing Info column group to find the columns for Labor Rate, Direct Overhead Rate, Indirect Overhead Rate, and Total Overhead rate.

If the rates do not match your expectations, review the labor rate data and/or machine data in your Digital Factory. See Digital Factory Manager.

Multiple Solid Bodies

Check whether your CAD file has multiple solid bodies (either intentionally or due to modeling errors). By default, only the largest solid body in a part's CAD file is extracted.

To treat all solid bodies as subcomponents of an assembly, override the default solid body settings. Select Tools > User Preferences > Multi-Body Options. Vertically re-size the Multi-Body Options dialog to see all the options.

See also Cost Multi-Body Parts (Free Bodies).