Defining stock form and alignment for the Stock Machining and Bar & Tube process groups
aPriori analyzes the geometry of a part and automatically chooses the optimal stock shape and alignment. You can display the automatically-chosen stock shape and alignment and override it using the Stock Form and Alignment tool 
in the Component Viewer tool bar. This tool is available only for the Stock Machining and Bar & Tube process groups. The available options and capabilities differ slightly between the two process groups, as described below.
in the Component Viewer tool bar. This tool is available only for the Stock Machining and Bar & Tube process groups. The available options and capabilities differ slightly between the two process groups, as described below.For more information, see the sections "Stock Machining" and "User Inputs for Machining" in the aPriori Cost Model Guide.
To define stock form and alignment manually
1 Click the Stock alignment tool in the Component Viewer tool bar.
in the Component Viewer tool bar. The Stock Form and Alignment window is displayed, with several options to give you control over the stock form and how it aligns with the part.
2 Specify the material stock form, using the drop-down menu choices:
• Let aPriori Decide – this menu option is selected by default indicating that stock form and alignment is automatically determined by aPriori. The stock form chosen by aPriori is displayed in parentheses following the field.
• Round Bar, Square Bar, Rectangular Bar, Round Tube, Square Tube*, Rectangular Tube*, Channel Bar*, Angle Bar*, Hex Bar* or I-Beam* – if the actual part stock is of a different form than that chosen by aPriori, select it from the menu.
* Square Tube, Rectangular Tube, Channel Bar, Angle Bar, Hex Bar, and I-Beam stock forms are available only in Bar & Tube Fabrication; they are not supported in Stock Machining.
In Bar & Tube Fabrication, the selected stock form must be similar in shape and size to the finished part, otherwise aPriori will display the message "aPriori cannot find the requested stock form for this part". For example, for a turned part, aPriori supports selection of a round bar or round tube. However, if you select a square bar, aPriori will display the error message. This is because Bar & Tube Fabrication is intended to model the cost of fabricating parts from “as-supplied” stock forms, without the need for additional rough machining around the part boundaries.
In the Stock Machining process group, you may select stock forms that do not closely match geometry of the part, since general rough machining is supported.
3 Specify the stock axis/alignment direction - this is an optional field that allows you to indicate how the part is aligned with the stock axis. Typically, you will not need to use this field, as aPriori will analyze the part from multiple directions and determine which direction and stock form are viable. But in some cases, a part potentially could be made from more than one stock form, depending on what is assumed to be the stock-axis direction.
To change this assumption in Bar & Tube Fabrication, click the Pick button and then click on an edge of the part this is parallel to the desired stock axis. As you move the mouse cursor over the part edges, the edges are highlighted. Highlight the edge along which you want to align the stock and click the left mouse button. Use the Clear button to revert to the stock alignment direction automatically determined by aPriori.
To change this assumption in Stock Machining, click the Pick button and then select either an edge of the part or an axis of the part parallel to the desired stock axis direction, or a planar face on the part that is perpendicular to the desired stock axis direction. As you move the mouse cursor over the part edges or faces, they are highlighted in yellow; as you move them over available setup and turning axes (shown in gray), the axis arrow highlights and a dotted red line is displayed in the axis direction. Highlight the desired item, then click the left mouse button. Use the Clear button to revert to the stock alignment direction automatically determined by aPriori.
4 Show Cross Section - Check this checkbox to show the stock material cross section superimposed against the part and display information about the stock shape and dimensions in the lower right corner of the Viewer pane.