Validation and Design to Cost: Stock Machining
The following sections describe the Stock Machining version of Validation and Design to Cost.
To validate aPriori’s assumptions about Stock Machining
Use the following illustration to step through the validation phase for Stock Machining.
1 Click the Validation tab.
2 Read the boxed information in the first panel to understand how aPriori’s assumptions can affect your cost.
3 Click the Information Help button (
) in the first panel.
) in the first panel.4 Read the Help display for more detailed information on how this area can affect costs, and how best to proceed.
5 Click the provided button(s) to review and/or adjust aPriori’s assumptions for this aspect of costing.
6 These buttons display various dialog boxes or editors for you to evaluate and adjust (if necessary) the settings that aPriori chose for this particular area of costing. When you click Apply or Ok for these windows, aPriori immediately recosts the component with your adjusted setting(s).
7 Repeat Steps 2 through 5 for each of the Validation panels that are relevant to your component.
Once you have validated and adjusted these basic settings, you are positioned to evaluate and adjust design-related cost driver details using the Design to Cost Information tab.
To use the Design to Cost tab for Stock Machining
The Design to Cost Information tab provides the designer with very specific cost driver details, and places at his or her fingertips both detailed context-sensitive help to understand the cost ramifications of these details, as well as the ability to evaluate and adjust these details. The workflow is similar to that of the Validation stage but goes into greater detail.
Note: Some panes may identify issues that could prevent the part from being manufactured, while others might identify costing considerations where the part could be redesigned to be manufactured more efficiently and less expensively. In most cases, aPriori does not identify problems that you must address; rather, it flags potential issues, or cost drivers that might be good candidates for evaluation and possible change.
Use the following illustration to step through the validation phase for Stock Machining.
1 Click the Design to Cost tab.
2 Click the Information Help button () in the first panel.
) in the first panel.3 Read the Help display to understand how this area can affect costs, and how best to proceed.
4 Click the provided button(s) to evaluate and adjust the settings for this area.
5 The dialogs and windows will vary depending on the cost drivers you are working with. Some may go down an additional level or two to provide the proper resolution and control of the displayed details. Read the information in each dialog for guidance about how to proceed. Some suggestions may direct you to aPriori settings, while others provide ideas that you may want to consider for incorporation in the CAD model itself.
Note that when you select items in these windows, the window often displays further context-sensitive guidance based on your selection and may also highlight relevant geometry in the viewer and in the Manufacturing Process and Geometric Cost Driver panels.
6 Where provided, take advantage of additional Information Help buttons.
7 The additional help panels can provide very specific guidance regarding your current selection. These are often context-sensitive and will display different information depending on what you have selected.
Repeat Steps 2 through 7 for each of the panels that apply to your specific component.