Working with scenarios
When you open a component in aPriori and perform the initial costing, an initial cost scenario for the component is created and displayed on a component scenario tab and within the component’s Scenarios folder on the Navigation pane. The initial scenario is shown with (Initial) in the name of the component scenario tab. As you make changes to the component’s geometry or manufacturing process, you can save those changes in multiple cost scenarios.
You can create scenarios for parts, assemblies, roll-ups or comparisons:
• A part scenario shows the cost of manufacturing the part using the specified GCDs and Manufacturing process.
• An
assembly scenario shows aggregate costs from the part sub-components, the assembly sub-components, and the assembly process. Creating an assembly scenario generates a new scenario for the current assembly which contains default scenarios of all subcomponents based on a
User Preferences setting. You can also specify that other part scenarios roll into the assembly. You can change a single component, or a component and all of its children, using the
Scenario menu (see
Using the Scenario Menu below). From Assembly Detail view, you also have the option of selecting any number of components and using the right-click
Switch Scenario option to rapidly change several components to other scenarios. See
Switching Scenarios in Assembly/Roll-up Details view on page 1 for more details.
• An assembly snapshot scenario shows aggregate costs from the part’s subcomponents, the assembly’s subcomponents, and the assembly process. Creating an assembly snapshot automatically creates locked associated scenarios for all assembly components.
• A roll-up or comparison scenario contains aggregate costs from the part, assembly, and virtual cost objects components.
You cost just the currently selected, top-level scenario, or you can cost all scenarios. In the case of assemblies, you can also “deep cost” – you can cost the current scenario and all of its children; and even cost all scenarios and all of their children.
aPriori gives you a great deal of control over scenarios as you try different costing options. You can specify that different part scenarios – not just “official” -- roll into a given assembly scenario. You can specify whether or not scenarios are automatically updated by CAD changes (“active” or “inactive”). And you can specify whether scenarios (or scenarios and their children) are locked against changes.
You can also copy changes from an assembly to all its children.
Note: In addition to the menu commands described in the next section, aPriori also provides the following keyboard shortcuts:
Ctrl-S – Saves the current scenario
Ctrl-Shift-L – Opens the Latest (i.e., “most recent”) scenario